Piercy Talks Green Jobs, Jails, Housing, In-House Attorney in State of City Speech

BlogNews by Alan PitmanPosted on

In her fifth state of the city speech tonight, Eugene Mayor Kitty Piercy called for tapping into the Obama federal stimulus package, an Economic Summit, discussion of an in-house city attorney, locating a solar panel factory at the abandoned Hynix plant and hinted at possible tax measures for more jail beds, crime prevention and affordable housing.

Here’s some key excerpts from Piercy’s speech to a standing-room crowd of more than 300 people in the Hult Center lobby:

    • “Eugene has a list of over $200 million in ‘ready to go’ projects that fit the stimulus criteria…We expect these projects, if funded, could create 4,404 well-paying jobs by the end of next year–with an emphasis on green industry.”
    • Piercy called for an Economic Summit early this year. She called for “more jobs that pay well” and decreasing “our impact on climate change and finite resources.” The mayor said, “Moving from Hynix to solar is our community goal.”
    • “We cannot have this revolving door in our jail, and a court system that cannot do its job. While our city is still rated one of the safest, this won’t continue if the system is not fixed. Eugene voters will support specific, balanced and accountable solutions that are not simply a forwarding of failed policies.”
    • “The Mayor’s Blue Ribbon Committee to finance Homelessness and Housing Programs will report its recommendations to the council on January 26. It will then be important for a larger community discussion to occur about the steps this community is willing to take to reduce the numbers and ensure that more citizens have basic needs met, including treatment programs, mental health care and shelter options. It will not be cheap.”
  • “The City Manager has stated that he will examine whether or not an in-house city attorney makes good governance sense for a city of our size and complexity, and will be seeking input from the city council as part of his analysis.”

The Eugene police union attacked Mayor Piercy’s last state of the city address as a “bizarre,” “three-ringed circus” for focusing on environmental issues. This year, Piercy included an award to a group of violent crimes police detectives as part of the ceremony.

Comments are closed.