This year’s state of the city highlighted Levi’s Stadium being center stage globally. 

The city held its yearly gala Sept. 30 at Mission City for Performing Arts, located at Wilcox High School, 3250 Monroe Street.

With Levi’s Stadium hosting Super Bowl LX and six FIFA World Cup games, Mayor Lisa Gillmor’s keynote focused heavily on what those marquee events demonstrated about the city.

“We really met the moment this year,” said City Manager Jovan Grogan while introducing Gillmor, alluding to the city’s 2026 slogan “Where the Mission Meets the Moment.”

“While the world watched, Santa Clara showed what makes this community exceptional,” Grogan continued.

In her keynote address, Gillmor said Santa Clara gave the world a good show. The city showed it can be a welcoming, warm community that still brings big-ticket experiences to residents and visitors alike. 

“What a year it has been. It has been groundbreaking. It has been innovative. It has been bold,” she said.

Santa Clara has always been able to experience growth and not lose sight of neighborhood feel, Gillmor said. With tech giants like NVIDIA and Intel, Santa Clara is the “epicenter of the digital world,” she said.

Whether it is big companies or mom-and-pops, business success translates into a strong tax base that funds essential city services like infrastructure improvements, she said. She called city employees the city’s “unsung heroes,” ensuring that potholes get filled and lawns get mowed.

Gillmor also highlighted the medical field, drawing attention to Sutter Health’s new 1.3 million sq. ft. all-electric hospital and Santa Clara University’s forthcoming medical school.

Silicon Valley Power’s competitive rates are funneling money into the city’s general fund, Gillmor said, money that funds libraries, police and fire services.  

“These investments will help us grow,” she said.

At about the evening’s halfway point, Gillmor gave the stage to her colleagues to present the district resident of the year awards.

Vice Mayor Albert Gonzalez selected Nadia Ho for her work with Global Women’s Storytelling. Joe Garcia Jr.’s work with youth basketball and baseball earned him the District 2 award from Council Member Raj Chahal.

Council Member Karen Hardy selected George Doeltz, president of the Santa Clara Players board of directors, as District 3’s resident of the year. 

Council Member Kevin Park’s resident of the year was actually a group — the Santa Clara Swim Club. Club leadership Pamela Espinoza, Joe Javernick, Kevin Zacher, Amanda Pease and Julie Corrigan accepted the awards.

Hardy presented District 5’s award on behalf of Council Member Suds Jain, who was absent. He selected John Dietrich for cataloging community events such as the city’s Parade of Champions, Mission City Opera and the South Bay Historical Railroad Society with his videography work.

Santa Clara Police Department Officer Dave Machado, who runs the department’s Building Respect, Awareness and Values through Education (BRAVE) and Police Athletic League (PAL) programs, earned the District 6 award from Council Member Kelly Cox. 

Finally, Gillmor awarded the citywide resident of the year award to Linnea Sheehy, Santa Clara Parks and Recreation’s Elite Dance Team instructor and former Miss Santa Clara.

Gillmor rounded out her keynote by touching on how Santa Clara is contributing to regional issues. She started with housing.

“We haven’t just talked about it; we have built it,” she said. “No child in Santa Clara should do their homework in the back seat of a car.”

Santa Clara is also doing its part to help increase connectivity with transit, Gillmor said, with the extension of SV Hopper, a shuttle program in partnership with Cupertino, and Valley Transit Authority (VTA) planning a Bay Area Rapid Transit (BART) station in Santa Clara.

Also related to transit, she pointed to the city’s Vision Zero plan, which aims to eliminate pedestrian and cyclist fatalities. 

Gillmor also detailed challenges facing the city specifically, such as its lack of downtown, relocation of city hall and repairs needed at Levi’s Stadium and the George Haines International Swim Center (ISC). 

However, she said, there are some bright spots on those fronts too. Work at the ISC has begun, and the city has put out a request for proposal for a “transformative project” that will “serve as a catalyst” to the development of the downtown.

“Our fiscal house is strong,” Gillmor said. “We still have more needs than dollars … but I can assure you we are moving in the right direction.”

Since she is term-limited out, this year marked Gillmor’s final state of the city address as voters will select one of six candidates to replace her in November.

Contact David Alexander at d.todd.alexander@gmail.com