Mayor Christina Fugazi declared “Stockton is ready” during the city’s annual State of the City address Wednesday, highlighting investments in public safety, homelessness services and infrastructure while acknowledging ongoing challenges facing the city.
It was Fugazi’s second State of the City address since becoming mayor in 2025, a year marked by council infighting over the city manager’s position and by members making allegations of misconduct against one another that often overshadowed policy decisions.
Speaking before community leaders, elected officials and residents at Adventist Health Arena, Fugazi said Stockton City Hall was focused on “getting back to the basics” by improving core services, prioritizing public safety, cleaning up neighborhoods and supporting families, young people, small businesses and the people who keep the city moving.
“We are working for the next generation that deserves to inherit a Stockton that is safer, cleaner, stronger and more prepared than the one we have today,” Fugazi said. “What I want you to know is that Stockton is not finished. We’re not perfect. We’re not pretending all of our problems are small or solved, but Stockton is focused. Stockton is working. Stockton is organized.”
Throughout the presentation, city-produced videos played on the arena jumbotron highlighted Stockton’s history, city departments and community programs while Fugazi remained seated on stage between remarks. The format marked a departure from previous State of the City addresses, which traditionally relied more heavily on speeches from the mayor.
Fugazi thanked the city’s Office of Public Transparency, Information and Communication, or OPTIC, for helping create the videos shown during the event.
After 17 minutes of videos, Fugazi told audience members the city had replaced more than 1,000 streetlights, filled 25,000 potholes and removed more than 4,000 tons of illegal dumping over the past year. She also pointed to expanded enforcement of smoke shop and sideshow ordinances and the opening of the Sierra Vista police substation in south Stockton.
Fugazi highlighted the Stockton Fire Department’s work, noting that more than 42,000 calls for service were answered, 127 people were resuscitated and 200 structure fires were extinguished that could have caused more than $170 million in damages.
Public safety remained a central focus of the mayor’s address. Fugazi said homicides were down 43% compared with last year, nonfatal shootings had declined 19% and DUI arrests were up nearly 12%. She also noted that police had removed more than 260 firearms from the streets.
“The best statistic yet, we’ve had zero juvenile homicides this year,” Fugazi said. “This trend continues to go down, and we are seeing some of the best numbers since we started tracking incidents roughly 20 years ago. Please do not believe the narrative that crime is out of control, because the numbers show a far different story.”
Fugazi also touted technology upgrades for the Stockton Police Department, including expanded use of the Flock camera system and real-time translation capabilities on Axon police body cameras, allowing officers to communicate with community members in more than 50 languages.
The mayor said Stockton continued expanding services for people experiencing homelessness and housing, including the opening of the Carol and Henry Zeiter Navigation Center at St. Mary’s Community Services with 68 beds. She also pointed to two housing developments, Calaveras Quarters and Park Center Apartments, which provide 110 units for families, youth and veterans.
Fugazi acknowledged the city still faces significant challenges, including families living with the daily reality of homelessness, addiction, mental illness and poverty, as well as deteriorating roads.
“We are not pretending like everything is fixed because it’s not,” Fugazi said. “Twelve-point-five miles of road being fixed, it’s not enough, but we know the work that needs to be done. We have neighborhoods that need more attention.”
Fugazi said the mayor’s office plans to launch monthly town halls beginning in June to increase public participation and communication between residents and city government. The announcement came after she received pushback from the public over her request that the council hold its open session meetings at 1 p.m. instead of 5:30 p.m.
“Improvement doesn’t always happen overnight,” Fugazi said. “It does happen when leadership is consistent, when staff is empowered, when departments are aligned, when priorities are clear and when the city is honest about what it is doing. That is the culture we’re building. A culture of follow-through, service and common sense.”
Fugazi closed her address with a call to action for residents to spread the good news about Stockton and speak positively about the city.
“Let people know that Stockton is ready,” Fugazi said. “If we don’t tell anybody, then nobody thinks that we’re doing that.”
Nearly all Stockton City Council members attended the mayor’s address, including Vice Mayor Jason Lee and District 2 Councilmember Mariela Ponce, District 3 Councilmember Michael Blower, District 4 Councilmember Mario Enríquez and District 5 Councilmember Brando Villapudua. District 1 Councilmember Michele Padilla was absent because of her daughter’s graduation, according to the mayor.
Record reporter Hannah Workman covers news in Stockton and San Joaquin County. She can be reached at hworkman@recordnet.com or on Twitter @byhannahworkman. Support local news, subscribe to The Stockton Record at https://www.recordnet.com/subscribenow.
This article originally appeared on The Record: Fugazi declares ‘Stockton is ready’ in second State of the City address
Reporting by Hannah Workman, The Stockton Record / The Record
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