Complete text of McAllen State of the City Speech
January 21, 2010Wow! I had so much fun working on the 2010 McAllen State of the City Address. I am amazed at the great work the city continues to do.
Special shout out to my colleagues at the Public Information Office for the live broadcast, social media, setup AND of course, our Annual Report. It was truly an honor to work with such a great team.
You can see the complete text of the Mayor’s speech here.
The Brookings Institute recently reported that of the top 100 metro areas in the nation, the McAllen-Edinburg-Mission area was number one in the nation with actual job GROWTH during the third quarter of 2009. A similar report indicated that this area is the FIRST IN THE NATION to return to pre-recession levels of output and employment.
Mayor Cortez also praised the McAllen Economic Development Corporation for attracting business and creating jobs, even during these challenging times. The McAllen Economic Development Corporation actually relocated a total of 29 new companies, 14 in McAllen and 15 in Reynosa, with total jobs created by these new and expanded companies of 6,295, (1,288 in McAllen and 5,007 in Reynosa).
Several federal, state and local dignitaries, border city mayors and the Governor of Veracruz, Fidel Herrera Beltran were present for the Mayor’s address.
Despite challenges in 2009, McAllen welcomed the opening of the new Anzalduas Bridge, the opening of a new UTPA Teaching Site and the installation of a WiFi Video Surveillance System.
Upcoming projects include construction of the new main library, the addition of new Parks, and the expansion of Bicentennial Boulevard. The City of McAllen is also considering re-designs of the Boeye Reservoir and remains in talks to lure a major automobile manufacturing plant.
Mayor Cortez said he looks to a bright future for McAllen and said he finds more people saying, “Let’s meet in McAllen.”
