Mayor's 2011 State of Downtown Mixer

On October 21, 2011 we had the Mayor's 2011 State of Downtown Mixer at The Duce. This was the Mayor's last big official event. He took this time to thank all his supporters for helping him transform the City of Phoenix during these 8 years, to the city it's become now. He was made fun of for juggling many projects at once when he started in office. I've become a witness of the accomplishments he's done. All of the juggling projects he once had up in the air, are all projects up and running. Below you'll find the speech Mayor Gordon delivered on Friday, October 21, 2011.

Mayor Phil Gordon Remarks
State of Downtown Mixer
The Duce, Phoenix
Friday, October 21, 2011

"Good evening everyone.

In the past 8 years, I’ve stood in front of hundreds of gatherings like this all over Phoenix. Each time, I’ve started by thanking the audience for inviting me and for listening. While my gratitude always has been sincere, I need to do more than that tonight.

The end of my term is closing in … it’s only 10 weeks away.

With that in mind, I need to thank each of you … and everyone in the Downtown community … for your support of my administration and my career in public service.

Thank you.

Thank you for your advice, your kind words, your donations, your time, your sweat and your passion.

Together, we’ve made the City of Phoenix and this Downtown what it is today.

The safest big city in the United States.

A city that hasn’t simply survived the worst economic downturn in our lifetimes, but has prospered.

A city with a balanced budget, a AAA credit rating and a 95 percent approval rating from its residents.

And a city where Downtown has defied all expectations, where we’ve pushed past the naysayers. We’ve forged ahead on more projects than I can possibly name, from light rail to CityScape, the biomedical campus to ASU downtown, the College of Medicine to new hotels and a newly expanded Phoenix Convention Center.

So many of you are my friends. Looking out, seeing you here tonight, reminds me of so many good works, so many dreams that have come true. I’m thankful for your friendship and for your vision.

I want to single out a few people … and I’m sure I’ll miss you, so you have my apologies in advance. I may need to tour the city and knock on a million doors to make sure I get everyone.

Steve Rosenstein, the owner of The Duce … thank you for being a great host tonight and for your commitment to Downtown.

To ASU and UA, my alma maters … thank you for investing in downtown, for your partnership and for educating the next generation of Phoenix visionaries.

To Mike Ebert and Jeff Moloznik, our friends with RED Development … thank you for CityScape, for your ability to never take no for an answer … and for your belief in Downtown Phoenix.

To Downtown Phoenix Journal, the Urban Affair team and Catrina Kahler … thank for your creativity and support with tonight’s event.

I also want to thank the downtown arts community for their commitment and their help tonight. And I especially want to single out the Roosevelt Row Artlink community for their efforts to keep First Friday alive and well.

Thank you.

Two groups and the men who lead them deserve my special thanks for everything they’ve done to support Downtown.

The Downtown Phoenix Partnership and Dave Roderique. And Don Keuth and the Phoenix Community Alliance … thank you.

Dave, thanks so much for all of your help with State of Downtown, the PAPA festival and so much more. You’ve never stopped pushing to make downtown successful. Thanks for being part of the team. 

Don, thanks for serving as emcee tonight. You’ve always been a gracious partner. I know our city can depend on you to keep our Downtown on the rise.
 
Both of you … thank you for your friendship and your years of effort.

Finally, I want to thank my staff and every employee in the City of Phoenix.

Each of you has helped Phoenix do more with less. Each of you has generated ideas, worked through frustration and pushed harder when it didn’t seem possible. I wish I could give you all the credit you so very much deserve.

Many of you, I’m proud to call a friend. Each of you will have my gratitude for the rest of my life.

Thank you. I know those are just words, but they are deeply felt and sincerely meant.

You have my promise here today: While I may be leaving office, I will not be leaving behind Phoenix, or the efforts to make this City and the     Downtown we all love the very best place it can be.

I will be there with you in the future, just as I have been for the past 25 years.

Thank you … for today and for everything."





 

Enjoying San Juan, Puerto Rico!!

I departed Phoenix on October 12, 2011 on red eye to Boston, then finally to San Juan, Puerto Rico. I don't even know where to start! I guess I can start by saying I'm here with my friend Perla, her son Danian, and her mom Olivia. We landed at around 1pm at Luis Munos Marin International Airport in San Juan. We got our rental and went our way to our hotel. The Conrad is where we are staying with a view to the Atlantic Ocean. The airport is only like 3 miles from our hotel. It took us and hour to get there. We got lost! lol We finally got to our destination and walked to a local restaurant and ate traditional Puerto Rican food. I had pork chops with white rice and plantains. Delicious food! That was day one.

On day two we went hiking to El Yunque National Forest. El Yunque National Forest is the sole tropical rain forest in the U.S. National Forest System.  We saw La Coca falls and La Mina Falls, two of the most beautiful falls the forest has. I don't know how many miles it was to get down there but I know it took us 45 minutes. We wore the wrong gear (sandals). The trail down along the river to La Mina falls is made of rock and concrete. But in the rain it's slippery in places as it runs along the river. Once finally down there the view was breathtaking. The hike took most of the day and we ended it with more traditional food.

 Day three we visited Coamo thermal hot springs. Coamo is about two hours from San Juan. For hundreds of years people have been enjoying these natural hot springs, which are said to have healing powers. The water was super hot with a sulfur smell to it. This part of the trip was a great relaxing experience.

Day four we visited Vega Baja "La Ciudad del Melao Melao". That means it's the city of syrup. Vega Baja used to produce the most sweet syrup out of sugar canes. Here at Vega Baja we visited family members of my friend Perla. We received with such warmth and lots of food. It was great. All it was pouring. It would stop for a couple minutes and then it would start pouring again. Phoenix needs the excess rain they get here. Our night concluded with happy hour back in San Juan. We visited a ocean front bar and cheered for a good vacation so far.

Today we visited Plaza Las Americas, which is the biggest mall in Puerto Rico. People kept telling us that that if you haven't visit Plaza Las Americas, then you haven't been to Puerto Rico. So, who can resist some shopping? Of course not I. After a little shopping we went and visited Old San Juan. In Old San Juan we toured Fort San Cristobal. The Spanish fort was built by Spain to protect against land based attacks on the city of San Juan. This tour was an awesome experience. Here below is me at one of the watch towers to the Atlantic Ocean.

So far this has been a little recap of my trip in San Juan, Puerto Rico. I'll keep you posted of how it ended when I return.

What I woke up to... The Atlantic Ocean

El Yunque National Forest

The Coca Falls

La Mina Falls

View to Old San Juan from the San Cristobal Fort watch tower

Old San Juan

Walking to explore Old San Juan

One of the many traditional meals: Pork chops, Rice, and Tostones (plantains)

Me enjoying Atlantic Beach

Washington, DC here I come!

The week of September 19 was hectic. I was making traveling arrangements for the Mayor to fly to Washington, DC. It’s a process of days! Getting paper work approved and making sure we have documentation stating that the trip is for business purposes. Finally, every thing set and done Mayor departed to Washington, D.C. on September 26, 2011 for several meetings. The main objective of this trip is to meet with the Secretary of Energy Steven Chu to discuss the City’s success with Solar Phoenix and Energize Phoenix. The Mayor was joined by executives from National Bank of Arizona, Arizona Public Service and Salt River Project. The launch of Solar Phoenix II was discussed as well as how the Department of Energy can potentially partner with the City of Phoenix on this program.

While in Washington, D.C. the Mayor also met with Cecilia Munoz, director of Intergovernmental Affairs for the White House, and David Agnew, Deputy Director of Intergovernmental Affairs for the White House, and staff from Senate and House Representatives.

Mayor was gone for 3 days on this trip which means we had more than enough time to get caught up with work. Our administration consists of 12 members and when we started it was an administration of approximately 23. We do more with less. So, it’s hard to get things done when we have the Mayor running 100 mph in the office. It may sound kind of cruel and funny to say we get more done when he’s gone. ;-)

Mayor Gordon has been to Washington, DC numerous of times for several different reasons, but for some reason his recent trip has gotten me into a traveling mood. So, I booked a vacation for Washington, DC this December. I can not wait!!