Tonight it is my privilege to stand before the community and discuss the third element of building a great City…image. Previously, I have discussed a civic strategy for peace and prosperity. Any discussion about Salinas’ image is bound to provoke a range of reactions and emotions…perhaps because the topic is ultimately personal in nature. Tonight’s focus will be on image but it is important to note that it is not possible to separate image from peace and prosperity and all three need to move forward together as civic priorities.

A civic conversation about Image needs to be realistic, practical… leading to action and ultimately inspirational if we are to recast our image locally, nationally and internationally. I believe city beautification, the arts and code enforcement issues are a good place to start.

Salinas residents have strong views about major issues facing Salinas…but they are also quick to tell you about their neighborhood or their street... or a part of town they think looks terrible. Tonight is meant to be a start to address the Image issue.

Despite the many good things about Salinas and the wonderful people here...there can be no doubt Salinas has an image issue. At times our image has affected our ability to attract new business. Our reputation for gang violence whether overstated or not keeps our friends in the Peninsula from shopping and dining here. Many in Salinas might say things aren’t that bad, it is isolated, etc…but for too many people and even businesses it is an issue.

I have cited the comment by a Borders executive as an example of the business challenges Salinas faces to expand its retail tax base. That individual was quoted as saying that one of the problems with Salinas is only 12% of our residents have graduated from college. I object strongly to that read of the greater Salinas area. But the fact is we have to overcome that perception. Don’t think for a minute Trader Joes, Crate & Barrel, Whole Foods and other upper end retailers haven’t made the same judgement on Salinas. But all of us in this room know it is absurd to think there is no money in Salinas. But our Image directly affects the prosperity agenda.

So in thinking about that I acknowledge we have to take care of the day-to-day physical attributes of the community and our neighborhoods that concern us. That is why we will talk about code enforcement this evening, how it works and a workshop how we can better educate our community how to get the types of the results they want and deserve. It is also why I am pleased to see such good corporate citizens here such as BFI who have a strong commitment to an aesthically pleasing Salinas and are committed to working with Salinas as we build a community work plan. Tonight the City is also announcing a Summer Surge in Code Enforcement activity.

Both civic beautification and the Arts are both areas that truly inspire passion. There are clear grassroots examples that can be pointed to.

Salinas residents routinely ask why are their no welcome signs to our community. Salinas Valley Leadership participants asked that same question this year and have done something about it and the Salinas City Council will work with Union Pacific and Leadership Salinas to start a sign entrance program to Salinas at underpass coming into downtown Salinas.

Ray Villenueve is a park steward at Natividad Creek Park and dedicated to restoring native plant life and has developed an artistic approach for curbside stenciling by our rain gutters. I am particularly impressed with his Weed Warriors program and I was certainly told more than once as I campaigned…Nanotechnolgy is great…but “clean the weeds”! So just to get into the spirit of things and to let the community know we heard you…we will be raffling a weed eater tonight after the breakout sessions.

Beautification can take many forms in terms of personal interest and what it might mean for a community. Salinas has an extensive creek system that could with a little imagination fit into a marvelous nature pathways program for biking, walking and running. It could lead to a citywide commitment to participate in one of many national programs that honors clean cities. And I personally think that Salinas should be a leader in the “green revolution”. What city is more logical than the world’s biggest garden to be green…and wouldn’t that really change our image?

Tonight I am pleased to announce that Salinas will create Beautification Council that will help guide the City on these issues. Sonya Varyea Hammond will join Council members Barnes and Barrera in helping form this important initiative.

But let me tell you why beautification is truly important. In the next 20 years Salinas will likely rebuild its entire core…we can either do that well, randomly or poorly. Two of those choices are bad. So we must out of necessity to preserve our quality of life have a sense of aesthetics, grace and beauty if we are to become a great city. It is a marvelous and unique opportunity. It speaks to all sorts of wondrous possibilities with regard to urban planning, green space, historical architecture and ultimately what the physical image of what a new Salinas will look like for the remainder of this century and into the next.

I want to finish my formal comments by talking about the arts. I have asked David Ligare to speak to you tonight about the arts…. I do not know what he is going to say…but I will share a question he and I have discussed. He had pointed out to me that the arts over the centuries have had at time major impacts on cities such as 5th century Athens or the Florence during the renaissance. I asked him if he thought the artists of that time had a sense they were part of something bigger and transformational.

The reason I am so intrigued by that question is that I believe arts are the “wild card” in Salinas. Yes I know they are good for economic development and they are changing the face of downtown thanks to the efforts of people like Trish Sullivan and the First Fridays Art walk program. And we are all excited about the return of the Fox Theatre.

It is my personal belief that the arts are the wild card in becoming a city at peace. I have simply seen too much artistic talent in our young people not to believe that if we nurture that through our institutions we can literally transform this city. Young people excited about their ability to dance, play an instrument, sing, design buildings, develop software truly know there is a better avenue in life than gangs.

I have told more than a few people that one of the reasons I chose to run for Mayor was because of my experience with bringing the St. Michael’s Boys Choir to Salinas. To see the reaction of over 1000 people to see boys singing from another country in support of our library problems literally helped me see what can happen when a community comes together. The arts can inspire that type of passion. It took my affection for this community to another level that has not subsided to this day. And the artistic skills and interest of our young people particularly in the Alisal lead me to believe Salinas may be on the verge of its own renaissance and that the hopes of organizations such as SUBA that Salinas could truly be a regional cultural center are well founded.

The City will be reinstituting an Arts Commission. The range of arts interest in this community is deep and wide. …whether it is promoting the arts, participating in the arts, arts as an agent of social change, public art, arts for economic development. In many ways this may be the most complicated initiative that we undertake. It will require passion, goodwill, tolerance and passion…but intuitively we all know it be worth it.

I also want to make a personal commitment. I recently had the opportunity to speak with Joel Trusckutt the head of the Monterey Symphony. He asked him if he could have anything what would he want for Salinas. He said a conservatory. Tonight I pledge I will do everything I can to help make that a reality for Salinas. Too many young people deserve it and I believe it is a building that can symbolize our desire for Peace, Prosperity and Image.

I would like to close by paraphrasing a great Irish poet and substitute the Salinas for Ireland…” I believe profoundly…. in the future of Salinas…. that this is a city of destiny, that it’s future will be glorious…. and then when our hour is come, we will have something to give to the world.

Salinas…our hour has come.