The Time is Now

State of the City Remarks

April 10, 2018

Good afternoon. Thank you, Ed, for the generous introduction. And Archbishop for that moving
invocation.

Join me in also extending our appreciation to the San Antonio Chamber, the Hispanic Chamber, Alamo
Asian-American Chamber and Alamo City Black Chamber for organizing this united “State of the City”
gathering.

And finally, please help me welcome my partner in service and life, someone who I’m thrilled our city is
getting to know, San Antonio’s first lady Erika Prosper. I love you darling. You are my strength.

The “State of the City” address is more than a tradition. It is more than patting ourselves on the back for
our achievements. It is a vision and a strategy for tackling the critical issues we face, as we navigate
through a new and often uncertain American era. Most importantly, it is a commitment to engage
directly in our city’s future.

Educated and engaged residents are our most valuable resource. Thank for your willingness to be
involved and stay connected.

In my campaign, I promised that together, we would build the city you deserve. And over the last nine
months since you elected me Mayor, we’re delivering on that promise, even through some significant
challenges and plenty of tough debate.

One thing is for sure: this city has shown its compassion and its mettle. And we have lots to celebrate.
Recently, as nearly 100,000 visitors came to our city, I took my son Jonah down to our beautiful
Convention Center to enjoy Final Four Fan Fest. I was proud of what he saw.

Thousands of neighbors volunteering to make the events a success and welcoming visitors to a city that
many had been to dozens of times before.
Visitors described it as a brand new city – one that WE invested in. They walked along a brand new
stretch of the River Walk, watched games in a refurbished and modernized Alamodome … They saw a
downtown landscape that had been transformed.

The 2018 Final Four surpassed every expectation that the NCAA had for a host city and that local
residents set for a downtown event. Villanova may be the NCAA champion this year, but it was San
Antonio that won the Final Four!

Way to go Team San Antonio, including our city departments, SA Sports and the Local Organizing
Committee led by Jenny Carnes!

By the way, I’m happy to say that for 21 straight months, the San Antonio Airport broke its passenger
record. We had almost a million passengers in March. Keep up the great work, Russ Handy. Since the
last Final Four in 2008, our population has swelled by almost 20 percent.

But what makes San Antonio special is that as we have grown, we have not lost our soul, the character
that makes this one of the unique cities in the world. San Antonio is still the only city in America where a
championship celebration can break out in the middle of the interstate, and it’s a family friendly event.
That’s who we are. And now is our time.

This luncheon – along with most public events of 2018 – takes on extra gravity as we celebrate this city’s
Tricentennial. Please give a round of applause to Carlos Contreras, the Tricentennial Commission and
Councilman Roberto Trevino, who have been unflagging in their determination to make the
Tricentennial a success.

The Spanish governor Martín de Alarcón founded San Antonio on May 5, 1718. But even before that
day, the place that would become San Antonio was inhabited by the original Texans, the Indians of the
Yanaguana, for thousands of years.

When a new group arrived 300 years ago, it took vision and fortitude to fulfill a destiny that was already
hundreds of years in the making. Acting boldly, our founders launched the Mission San Antonio de
Valero, the Spanish military’s presidio and the civilian settlement … all in one fast-paced week.

While our Tricentennial is a time to reflect on our rich history, it is also the time for us to consider our
status in the world and stake out our future in it.

The Time is Now for San Antonio. Now is the day, and now is the hour for us show the world what San
Antonio has become, and why it is the perfect place to invest in the future.

This once-isolated mission has emerged as an international city that sits at an economic and cultural
crossroads. Our multicultural city is showing the nation what diversity really is and why the future is
right here in San Antonio.

Our economy is booming. The crime rate is down. People love this city so much that our population will
double in the next 30 years. Our airport is setting passenger records every month. We have the highest
bond rating of any major city in the United States. The Spurs are in the playoffs, and in Pop we still trust.
The state of our city is strong. I’m proud to be a San Antonian, aren’t you?
This city’s secret to success is teamwork. And I am honored to serve with dedicated, tireless City Council
colleagues. Please join me in recognizing our team as I ask them to stand: Roberto Treviño, “Cruz” Shaw,
Rebecca Viagran, Rey Saldaña, Shirley Gonzales, Greg Brockhouse, Ana Sandoval, Manny Pelaez, John
Courage and Clayton Perry. Thank you.

And I want to recognize City Manager Sheryl Sculley’s outstanding leadership and fiscal stewardship.
Thank you Sheryl, for your devotion to this city! And thank you to all the City staff who are here today,
for all you do to keep this City safe and running effectively, every day.

And to my staff in the mayor’s office – leaders in every respect. Thank you for tireless, endless work and
for reminding me to “Stay on Target.” And to our Bexar County Judge Nelson Wolff. Nelson, thank you
for your dedication to San Antonio and to our region. It is a privilege to work alongside you to make this
community one of the greatest in the nation.

We are all one San Antonio team. And we stand ready to ring in a new era with bold action that
connects our history to a prosperous future.

Our history has shown—time and time again—that BIG IDEAS . . . BOLD ideas . . . move this city forward.
From our founding 300 years ago . . .

To the decision to host the World’s Fair in 1968 . . .

To the creation of world-class institutions like the University of Texas at San Antonio and UT Health
Science Center . . .

To the courageous redevelopment of two military installations into economic hubs for our community.
San Antonio, big ideas are our legacy. It’s in our DNA. The time has come for US to put more big ideas
into action.

And that starts with creating jobs. We gained more than 33,000 new jobs in 2017, with a growth rate
faster than the state and nation. Continued growth will be a defining fact of life as we move into our
second 300 years. And it will be rapid. You’ve heard it enough now: more than 1 million additional
residents will live in San Antonio by 2040.

What you haven’t heard is a commitment from all sectors – public and private – to kick our job creation
efforts into overdrive, to ensure prosperity for residents and businesses. The time for that action is now.
And today, I pledge my commitment to help create more jobs than any mayoral administration in San
Antonio’s history!

We will move aggressively to create 70,000 San Antonio-area jobs – jobs with a future - over the next
two years. How will we do it? We'll do it by creating the kind of city people want to live in and move to.
We’ll do it by enhancing the strong partnership between the city’s Economic Development Department,
the San Antonio Economic Development Foundation, the private sector and educational institutions.

And we’ll do it by ensuring San Antonio remains people-focused and business-friendly, so that our
regulatory environment encourages more investment, not less.
Since I took office last June, more than 3,300 jobs and $260 million of capital investment have been
directly incented through the city’s partnership with the Economic Development Foundation. That
includes locally-grown tech firm IP Secure, which will more than double its workforce, while boosting
the cybersecurity industry on San Antonio’s West Side.

And today, I’m excited to announce that Standard Aero, now the world’s largest aerospace engine
maintenance company has secured a major new contract with Rolls Royce that will assure additional
engine work for the next 20 years. That’s good news!

The city and Port San Antonio helped make Standard Aero competitive in San Antonio. But let me tell
you, Lew Moorman. I hear you. I, too, am tired of hearing the incomplete narrative, that San Antonio is
the seventh-largest city in the nation. It’s not enough to be large. My vision is for San Antonio to become
a top-ten economy, too.

Today, I am announcing a plan to take advantage of the momentum we’ve created. I am pleased to
announce the formation of the Blue Chip Jobs Council. I have tapped this group of leaders from San
Antonio’s business community to be our cavalry of economic development. They will work side-by-side
with me to target business opportunities here and abroad, and in tandem with our economic
development teams at the EDF and the city, we will deploy our resources with one mission:
Bring investment and jobs to San Antonio, and bring them now.

Lew, Bill Greehey, John Montford, Johnny Hernandez, Mike Gibbs, Craig Boyan, Elaine Mendoza, Barbara
Gentry, Joe Robles, Kim Lubel, Graham Weston, Brad Barron, Lanham Napier, if you are here PLEASE
STAND.

Everyone take a look around, these are just some of the business icons in our community who have
agreed to be part of the Blue Chip Jobs Council. They believe in our future. And if you can help us, we
want you on the Blue Chip Jobs Council, too!

The Blue Chip Jobs Council will help open doors that might otherwise be closed, and ensure that San
Antonio is on the “List” for every company expansion or relocation. They will help us visit corporate
prospects, open their contact lists and carry the message to potential investors that the time is now to
go long on San Antonio.

And supporting the work of the Blue Chip Jobs Council will be our champions on City Council . . .
. . . Councilman Clayton Perry, who led a delegation to Austin which helped secure 24 new opportunity
investment zones.
. . . Councilwoman Shirley Gonzales, who cleared the way for economic development on the South Side
by helping to secure $30 million in federal funds for much needed transportation projects.
. . . Councilman Cruz Shaw, who is overseeing our federal investments on the Eastside Promise Zone.

I know this team will not stop until we are #1 in Texas at attracting high quality jobs, and I am proud to
stand with them. I’ll be meeting with key executives of the largest employers in San Antonio
immediately to find opportunities to grow and expand and add jobs.

I will do that with small businesses, medium businesses and large businesses. But we know it is not
enough to just create great jobs. A top-tier economy ensures that everyone has the opportunity to
prosper.
Our community must provide a quality of life that helps employers attract and retain great workers. And
that is a challenge since San Antonio has remained one of the most economically segregated cities in the
nation. Cities and regions with higher levels of equality enjoy stronger economic growth, and are better
able to support growth over time.

San Antonio is no exception. We must continue taking other steps to help ALL San Antonians prosper.
Building affordable housing is one essential step. San Antonio is struggling with a housing shortage. We
lack adequate affordable units, today. Over the next 20 years, our region will need half a million housing
units to accommodate population growth.

A crisis is fast approaching, as housing costs rise rapidly across the city. Without access to quality
affordable housing, working parents can’t achieve the stability they need to keep jobs, give their
children the chance to succeed in school and ensure the next generation’s workforce is adequately
prepared.

The Mayor’s Housing Policy Task Force has been working on solutions for the problem for seven months.
This summer, the task force will unveil a plan to address the issue. We will begin implementing the
panel’s recommendations by year’s end.

Thirty years ago, on March 31, 1988, outgoing Mayor Henry Cisneros delivered a proposal – a plea – for
a comprehensive housing strategy for San Antonio. He wrote, “… it is time to act [and] produce a result
that will be recognized as an essential building block of a healthy, prosperous, and cohesive city.”
In 2018, the time has come to make housing a priority for San Antonio.

And we will double-down on our economic strengths, too.

Manufacturing, medical, tech, new energy, cyber ... San Antonio is on the move in key global economic
sectors.

Did you know that the density of cyber-defense assets in San Antonio is second only to the Washington
D.C. area? Like medical, the cybersecurity field continues to grow, in large part, due to the military’s
influence on our economic success. San Antonio’s prosperity and the nation’s defense go hand-in-hand.

So this is non-negotiable: City Hall will remain a faithful partner to the military and Joint Base San
Antonio. With General Juan Ayala and our Office of Military Affairs, we will protect and grow the
mission, and we will protect the bases. The military is a vital part of this city’s fabric – it is the top
employer and generates $49 billion in economic impact annually.

Let me take a moment to recognize Brigadier General Heather Pringle, Commander of Joint Base-San
Antonio, and a friend to our city. We will soon be losing General Pringle, who has been assigned to
another installation.

General Pringle, we look forward to welcoming your successor, General Laura Lenderman, and on behalf
of this grateful city, I want to thank you and all of JBSA for an incredible relationship that emphasizes
that San Antonio really is “Military City, USA!”

Our economic development efforts will also hinge on working actively with our military and university
partners to make San Antonio a “smart city.” To further cultivate cybersecurity and the technology field,
in January I created the Innovation and Technology Committee in consultation with Councilman Manny
Pelaez, who serves as chairman.

The committee, which includes public officials and private citizens, is assessing the impacts of emerging
trends and technologies. The panel will recommend policies that enhance cybersecurity, promote digital
inclusion, improve mobility, and expand municipal broadband.

To fully realize that vision, however, we must cultivate a work force that is ready for the complex jobs of
the future. Education is central to building the workforce we need to ensure that the job growth we see
today will continue tomorrow. As a community and at every level, we are emphasizing the importance
of STEAM: Science, Technology, Engineering, Art and Math education because it is needed for so many
high-paying jobs in the modern economy. Stay tuned for an exciting announcement in the coming
months about making San Antonio the second STEM ecosystem in Texas.

But when it comes to economic development, a fundamental question every prospect wants to know is,
“what’s the traffic situation?” And it is true that San Antonio has fallen way behind. No more.

The time has come for us to go ALL-IN on mobility for the future. That means we must build a
multimodal transportation system that includes modern mass transit to maintain our economic health.

We must give people the choice of getting out of their cars -- and get those who drive to their
destinations faster and more reliably. First, we must take care of the fundamentals. I am calling for a
$110 million budget for street maintenance in the upcoming FY2019 budget. We need to fully fund a
top-flight street maintenance effort every year, and this is a three-fold increase from just five years ago.
Still, that won’t be enough to keep our city moving into the future.

Today, 79 percent of San Antonians — and most of you — commute alone. With area roads on track to
receive half a million more cars by 2040, something’s got to give. Traffic engineers are clear, business as
usual -- just building more roads and highways -- means average commute times will increase by 75
percent.

Here’s where we can all agree: Doing nothing is not an option if we want to be a top-tier economy.
That would bring our economy, and our quality of life, to a grinding halt. We can do better than that. We
MUST do better.

So today, I’m announcing steps to put our plans into action and make a modern transportation system a
reality. We have been digging into the data of how people move in the city to identify travel patterns.
We’ve used that data to build a comprehensive vision for mobility.

Judge Wolff and I have been meeting every week since I took office to work on the next steps, and we’re
transforming our public transit agency into a progressive, future-focused, and technology-based
organization. I want to commend VIA Metropolitan Transit leaders, including Chair Hope Andrade, City
staff, as well as the SA Tomorrow team.

We are on the brink of a new era of mobility in San Antonio. Now is the day, and now is the hour to act
boldly on transportation.
To guide the mobility plan from the drawing board to the ballot box, I am announcing today the creation
of ConnectSA. This nonprofit will facilitate community input, conduct research, and build support to
pave the way for citizens to vote on modern transportation for our city in 2019.

And I’m confident when they do, they will say YES. We want better. No more status quo.
Smart investment in transportation translates into economic development, improved public safety, and
a higher quality of life. The time has come to act.

And if there was any doubt that we aren’t serious about transportation reform NOW, please let me
introduce our ConnectSA Tri-Chairs, two San Antonians who have spent their lives moving our city
forward.

Hope Andrade, Henry Cisneros and Jane Macon, please stand.

That’s right folks. This is happening. ConnectSA directors include state Sen. Jose Menendez and state
Rep. Ina Minjarez, along with my colleagues on the Council Rey Saldaña and Ana Sandoval.

Now I’m sure some will argue that we’re not ready for this. That it’s too much, too fast, too soon. To
those people I say we cannot afford to wait.

And YOU know we cannot afford to wait. We are already behind Texas cities like Houston and Dallas
when it comes to serious investments in rapid transit, HOV and street improvements.
But there is no challenge that we as a City have not been able to surmount, together. And that’s what
we will do now.

ConnectSA is not just a nonprofit, it’s a promise. San Antonians should be able to connect to their jobs.
Connect to their neighborhoods. Connect to their schools. Connect to prosperity.

To all of you here today, we need your help. The time has come today for San Antonio. We need you to
join these leaders in connecting San Antonio with a prosperous future. They will be calling you soon! I
am asking every single person in this room to answer their call.

Our agenda at City Hall is always packed. On many days, the big issue is something no one was
expecting.

Let me be very clear: I will not stand down in my opposition to the misguided charter amendment
proposals being advocated by the firefighters union. Neither should you.

If the union leadership wants an agreement, they should come to the table. Today. We will not be
bullied into making bad decisions that mortgage our future. We did not inherit San Antonio from our
fathers. We are borrowing it from our children.

We will maintain our momentum and move toward being a more equitable city with increased
opportunities and prosperity for all -- as long as we stay engaged and keep our eyes on the horizon.
This is a special moment for San Antonio.
We must pursue a path as bold as Martin de Alarcón and those settlers in 1718, who committed to
building a city in the dangerous country known as New Spain.

The early San Antonians faced many difficulties -- hurricanes, disease and war. Our city founders did not
let hardships and obstacles deter them. They were persistent. They pushed forward -- again and again.
And as we prepare to stake our claim to a bright future, we must maintain that persistence.

Now is the day, and now is the hour.

To boldly move San Antonio forward -- into an era of equity and prosperity for all. We will invest in
ourselves and show the world why IT should, too.

Our next 300 years begins with San Antonio becoming one of the most dynamic success stories of the
21st century.

Join me and my City Council colleagues as we embrace big ideas and make the hard decisions necessary
to fulfill that potential. Join me and the business leaders who have stepped up on the Blue Chip Jobs
Council and ConnectSA as we do the work necessary to make the most of our opportunity.

The future will not wait. Let’s commit to each other and to those who come after us that we will answer
the call. Now is the day, and now is the hour. We love this city. We believe in this city. We will make this
the city we deserve, and the TIME HAS COME.

Nelson, hang on to your hat.

Viva San Antonio!