Garcetti's State of the City charts a course of 'bold action' for L.A. as his budget stakes out top priorities
Mayor Eric Garcetti used his State of the City address Thursday to present Los Angeles as a compassionate counterpoint to the policies of President Trump, charting a sharply different path on climate change, immigration and efforts to help those in need.
While the nation is “anxious and divided,” Los Angeles has the opportunity “to be a model of moral leadership and bold action,” Garcetti told the crowd of politicians, labor leaders and business representatives inside the Los Angeles City Council chambers.
Fresh off a historic reelection victory, Garcetti, 46, acknowledged that the city remains “an imperfect paradise” but said L.A. is making major strides on jobs, tourism, transportation and housing.
He also released his proposed budget for the 2017-18 fiscal year, staking out homelessness as his top priority while closing an estimated $263-million shortfall.
The $9.2-billion spending plan also lays out additional money to repair the city’s most damaged streets, adds 75 firefighters and dramatically expands funding for the city’s Vision Zero program, which seeks to end traffic fatalities.
Garcetti used his speech to contrast the “progressive” activities in Los Angeles with a “backward, retrenching Washington,” said Los Angeles City Councilman Mike Bonin. “Trump is writing a public narrative of America, and I think Los Angeles and California are the counter-narratives to that.”