State of the City addresses are a little like birthdays for anyone over 30 — you acknowledge their existence but you don’t look forward to them the way you used to when you were young and naive.
If you were inclined to pay attention when you were younger, the State of the City was an intriguing event because it was a gathering of a city’s political, community and business leaders. For one night of the year a community’s power brokers were gathered under one roof — the expectations were that a mayor would reveal grand plans that thrust a city and its residents closer to greatness.
But over time, the illusion give way to reality.
Unlike their federal granddaddy, the State of the Union, typically the State of the City carries as much gravitas and meaning as a message found in a bowl of alphabet soup.
It’s not that there aren’t interesting or important developments occurring in a city like Chula Vista (whose mayor delivers her State of the City address Tuesday, March 17). This mayor — as all of her predecessors had — will tell you there are.
SOCs tend to be mundane affairs because, unlike the president of the United States and his use of vetoes or executive orders, the mayor of a city like Chula Vista doesn’t have the authority to unilaterally implement his or her vision. The mayor’s agenda is hampered — or supported — by his or her council colleagues. Any politicking or deal making is typically done away from the glare of the SOC spotlight and in the conference rooms and offices of City Hall.
What you’re left with, then, is a pep rally.
The mayor steps into the circle of attention, thanks the dozens of public figures who have made an appearance and launches into a list of accomplishments and opportunities that face a city.
Most likely Mayor Mary Casillas Salas will talk about the progress of Chula Vista’s bayfront and what the area’s development means for the economic future of the county’s second largest city. She will also spend time crowing about the prospect of bringing a four-year university to South County, as well as sing the praises of the Millenia project in the city’s east side. For nearly a decade we heard the same talking points from her predecessor Cheryl Cox.
Unlike Cox, however, Casillas Salas is governing in a time when the local, state and national economies are recovering and the challenges that face Chula Vista will not be as dire as they were in years past. But there will be challenges.
There always are.
What they are in Casillas Salas’s eyes and how she proposes addressing them may be the most interesting revelation of the night.
State of the City addresses are a time for nice words and praise. But the reality is, like birthdays after your 30s, they are a formality that signifies one more year has passed and you’re left asking, what’s really changed?
