“Phoenix’s Best Days Have Arrived”: Phoenix Mayor Kate Gallego Delivers an Optimistic, Cautionary, and Forward Agenda in Her Annual State of the City Address

Saying Phoenix’s best days have arrived and the future is here, Phoenix Mayor Kate Gallego delivered her annual State of the City Address before a packed house of the Greater Phoenix Chamber of Commerce at the Sheraton Hotel on Third Street.

In her usual mix of optimism, policy wonkiness, and forward vision, Mayor Gallego summarized the achievements of the previous year for the nation’s fifth-largest city that showed “government can work” and charted a course for the next one while thanking her family, Phoenix Councilmembers, staff, volunteers like the Phoenix Police Reserves, and other stakeholders for their support and contributions that helped make those feats possible.

She also expressed caution with regard to the city’s water security and Trump policies with regard to food assisatnce.

2025 Accomplishments

Among the accomplishments the Mayor cited in her annual address were:

• Increasing investments in the city’s bioscience sector, including a $50 million funding of ASU Health, the growth of Caris Life Sciences, and the basing of Taiwan’s JelloX Biotech and Spain’s ROIS that have resulted in 39 percent job growth in that vocation.
• The continuation of the construction of the semiconductor industry, primarily through the growth of TSMC and the growth of industries like education and training programs that supply the workforce to sustain it, helping a 31 percent growth in that sector.
• Attracting major sporting and commercial events like the Super Bowl and the Forbes 30 Under 30 Summit.
• Expanding the Light Rail Network to South Central Phoenix.
• The unveiling of the city’s first 12 electric powered buses.
• Reducing commute times to Sky Harbor Airport.
• Starting, thanks to the passage of Proposition 479, construction on the Loop 303/I-17 interchange.
• The creation of the Phoenix Housing Trust, which will be used to pay for affordable housing, and the planning approval permitting process.
• The opening of affordable housing units, including solar powered redesigned shipping containers, for seniors and homeless.
• The construction of a childcare facilty at Sky Harbor Airport that would serve 100 children of Sky Harbor employees along with city funds to assist families in paying for their childcare needs.

In her remarks on the growth of the bioscience sector, the Mayor touched on the experiences of her late mother, who fell to cancer, movingly saying “The path to cure cancer runs through Phoenix.”

In perhaps her funniest moment that generated lots of laughes from the audience, the Mayor commented on the surge of births among the Tawainese that have settled in Phoenix, offering:

“I’ve heard many times about Taiwan’s low birth rate, but when I was asked what our “secret” is during my visit in January, I have to admit I was a bit puzzled. I was told that the TSMC families who came here to train the Phoenix workforce have celebrated the arrival of more than 300 babies. I explained that our secret is simple: 300 days of sunshine a yearcan put anyone in a good mood.”

On the creation of additional affordable housing options for seniors, Mayor Gallego expressed:

“Seniors comprise one of the fastest growing populations experiencing homelessness—these are our parents, our grandparents. No person should face the indignity of spending their senior years on the street.”

Moving Forward with Quantum Techologies and Light Rail Expansion.

In her remarks, Mayor Gallego said “Phoenix is on the leading edge of biosciences and semiconductors—and we’re not stopping there.”

She then discussed the next technological sector that should see growth in Phoenix announcing, with the hiring of former director of the National Science Foundation, Dr. Sethuraman Panchanathan, that the city will
“Create a Phoenix Quantum Strategy, a focused initiative to position our city as a quantum hub in the United States.”

Expanding on her vision for this technological area, the Mayor said:

“Together, we will unite industry, universities, and government to ensure we are ready to lead in the next era of breakthrough technology…Quantum technology is a promising platform for new economic growth, and by
harnessing our assets and having the right approach, we can attract investment and better diversify our economy with industries built for the future…That is a powerful signal that Phoenix is not just participating in the future of
quantum technology—we have the potential to become the place where it takes root.”

Mayor Gallego also conveyed that light rail will expand to Maryvale.

The Mayor Cautions that Progress is Dependent on Solving Colorado River Water Security.

Saying that “Protecting Arizona’s water is the defining challenge that will determine our shared security and stability for generations,” Mayor Gallego cautioned that the progress Phoenix has made and plans to make is in jeopardy if there is no resolution on a new agreement among the seven states that use the resources of the Colorado River.

Noting that Phoenix, thanks to its conservation efforts, drought management plan, and water purification achievements, “total (water) consumption is the same today as it was when Google lived in a garage,” the Mayor said:

“Water security is not a challenge that can be “fixed,” but one that requires long-term, thoughtful management…The current set of rules that determine how to divide the river’s water among seven states and Mexico will expire at the end of the year. And despite years of negotiation, there is not yet an agreement for how to move forward. That makes federal intervention necessary. The reality is that if we are to achieve the level of conservation required to save the river, all of the river’s users must contribute. We’re willing to do so in Arizona. But proposals currently on the table from the Trump Administration would disproportionately devastate Arizona and require virtually nothing of the states upstream.

That just won’t work.

Here’s what’s puzzling: The federal government’s proposals ignore the economic earthquake that a dry Central Arizona Project canal would cause. Nor does the Administration seem to grasp the devastating impact it would have on Arizona’s advanced manufacturing, which is essential to America’s security. Even more perplexing: What they’ve proposed fails to stabilize the system in every modeled scenario. The federal government could learn something from Arizona. In our state, we have a long history of coming together to find solutions to water challenges. At a time when national and global attention is on the West, I’m more grateful than ever that
we have so many outstanding water champions.”

The Mayor also Condemns the Trump Administration for its cuts to SNAP/Food Assistance.

Chastsing the Trump/MAGA Republican Big Beautiful Bill policies that have resulted in cuts to SNAP/food assitance programs resulting in “181,000 children in our state losing the lifeline that helps keep them fed,” Gallego called that reduction “absolutely unacceptable,” and announced that she and Councilwoman Anna Hernandez to put monies in the city budget to help families consult website assistance to cut through the red tape barriers the Trump Administration and MAGA Republican Congressmen have put up.

The Mayors Closing Thoughts.

Mayor Gallego concluded her address on an optimistic note, relaying:

“From creating jobs with real opportunity and good wages to making it easier to commute to work to making our city the very best to raise a child to developing cures for cancer, we are making a difference in Phoenix.

I just began my eighth year as your Mayor. There have been tough moments, and I know there will be more tough moments in my final three years. But I love this job because I know that every day—if we work together, and lead with competence and collaboration, there’s nothing we can’t accomplish.”

“I used to say that Phoenix’s best days are ahead of us. But after eight years of working alongside you, I can tell you: They’ve arrived. Because of you, because of our work together, the state of our city is stronger than it has ever been. The future is Phoenix—and the future is now.”