Recap of Pasadena’s State of the City Address 2022

On February 24, in spite of international and scheduling conflicts, Pasadena Mayor Victor M. Gordo gave the State of the City speech at Pasadena City College.

By Garrett Rowlan

The evening began as Vice Mayor Andy Wilson introduced various city and PCC officials and a video that highlighted Pasadena’ resurgence from Covid-19, citing the general willingness of workers across the spectrum to face myriad issues. The PCC choral singers provided a soothing musical obbligato to this introduction.

When Mayor Gordo took the podium, he continued the theme of Pasadena’s resilience, beginning with the city’s response to the Pandemic—including a nearly 100% rate of residents who received at least one shot—and moved on to the challenge of the homeless, for whom the city is seeking and providing material assistance.

Gordo cited several bright spots, one being the return of the Rose Bowl to the #1 outdoor entertainment venue in SoCal. The Rose Bowl’s centennial approaches, and Gordo promised that the city would continue to “raise the bar” in terms of improvements.

Gordo has praised the way the Pasadena Library system responded to the need to circulate information in the wake of Covid. He mentioned the rebuilding of the Central Library, promising a new and vastly improved structure.

He praised the City fire and police departments for meeting the health and safety challenges Pasadena faced.

City finances have been a challenge, Gordo said. However, property tax and the strong real estate market kept Pasadena’s finances and critical services afloat. “While the overall picture is bright,” Mayor Gordo said, areas like a decline in business travel and leisure travel, and the looming threat of a bloated Consumer Price Index will have to be dealt with. Mayor Gordo pointed out the many ways Pasadena will welcome companies of technological innovation and business development in the coming years.

One significant issue is the 710 corridor. “We worked diligently to bring the corridor back to its original owners, city of Pasadena. The corridor is and will be an area of significant transportation and economic development. “ Quoting Will Rogers on the importance of land, Gordo said, “They’re not making any more of it.”

Concluding, Gordo said while much needs to be done, today Pasadena is stronger for having overcome considerable problems and is looking forward to new and ongoing challenges.