After three years in office, Modesto mayor to give state of city talk
Modesto Mayor Ted Brandvold will do something he has not done in the three years since he took office: give a state of the city address.
Mayors across the nation give these speeches every year to celebrate their cities’ achievements, share their visions for their cities and take notice of their cities’ challenges and opportunities.
“I think there is a lot to talk about,” Brandvold said in a Thursday interview. “I’ll probably recap the previous years,” he said when asked whether there wasn’t a lot to talk about in prior years that warranted a state of the city address. “There is plenty to discuss.”
The mayor is reserved and a man of few words but said his reticence was not the reason for not giving a state of the city address until now.
He said he was too new to the job when he took office in February 2016 after winning a runoff election (previous mayors have given their speeches in February), and the city was in transition the next two years as it turned over many of its top management positions.
Brandvold said the details need to be worked out, including when he will deliver his remarks, but he plans to work with the Chamber of Commerce to put together the event and wants community and civic groups to be part of it. “I just want it to be all inclusive,” he said.
The chamber has produced previous state of the city addresses. The event has been a luncheon fundraiser for the chamber, drawing more than 400 people annually. Seating is provided for those who don’t want to pay for lunch but want to hear the mayor.
“It’s important for the electorate to understand the direction of their city leaders,” chamber President-CEO Cecil Russell said Thursday.
When asked about Modesto’s accomplishments during his tenure, Brandvold pointed to increasing general fund budget reserves and the hiring of more police officers.
He also noted progress in extending ACE commuter train service to Modesto. Service to San Jose could start as soon as 2020 and several trains are expected to connect Modesto to San Jose and to Sacramento by 2023.
And Brandvold highlighted the recent opening of Valley Children’s Healthcare’s Pelandale Specialty Care Center as another example of Modesto becoming a regional health care hub. “We’ve got great medical facilities,” he said. “We’ve got world-class doctors right here in Modesto.”
Brandvold said employee pensions remain a challenge as the California Public Employees’ Retirement System requires cities and other local governments to pay more. Much of Modesto’s pension costs are for police officers and firefighters, which places stress on the general fund budget.
This story was originally published February 24, 2019 at 11:21 AM.
