Riverside’s State of the City event, held on Jan. 28, 2026, honored award recipients with recognitions like the cultural preservation, the Mayor’s Award and the Riverside Hero Award. Mayor Patricia Lock Dawson took the stage to the upbeat song “Level Up” by the artist known as Ciara, setting a positive foundation for her update on the state of the city.
The mayor is a University of California, Riverside (UCR) alumna who graduated in 1988 with a Bachelor of Science in environmental biology, but has since gained experience in local politics while serving as head of the city’s government for the past five years. She is one of two women who have been elected as the mayor of Riverside.
Mayor Dawson began her introductory speech by stating that “every metric is going right in the city of Riverside,” while listing five key areas where Riverside has “leveled up.” The list goes as follows: safety and stability, economic opportunities, health and environment, identity and closure with our residents.
Beginning with safety and stability, the Mayor stated that “Riverside is an incredibly safe city and is becoming safer,” as statistics have shown a 35% drop in overall crime, a 12% drop in violent crime and a 38% drop in homicides in the past four years. Mayor Dawson even claimed that “every case has been solved this past year” in the city.
The remodeling of the 60-year-old police headquarters on Orange Street was announced, along with the building of a bridge over Third Street, otherwise known as the Third Street Grade Separation Project, which aims to reduce traffic congestion. About 96% of office space in Riverside is occupied, giving the city one of the lowest vacancy rates in the country.
Transitioning to the city’s economic opportunities, the Mayor reported Riverside being the “fourth fastest growing economy in the country.” She also discussed the $4.3 billion investment that has been diverted towards new construction in 2025, as well as the multiple international companies that have settled into the city.
This investment has also created 18,000 new jobs. It was stated that Riverside Public Utilities (RPU) offers some of the lowest electricity and water rates in the state. Six international companies have located here in the past two years, growing the city’s innovation economy.
Regarding the health and environmental sector, it was reported that 70% of the city’s energy will derive from renewable sources by 2027, paving the way for a sustainable future. UCR’s medical school was also highlighted for graduating its largest class of doctors ever, where Mayor Dawson then added that “additional investments will correct years of underinvestment” in healthcare. She concluded this segment by declaring that “Riverside is closing the healthcare gap and saving lives” through these innovations.
California Baptist University has doubled its physician assistant cohort. La Sierra University offers an online MBA in health care management. The mayor announces a nearly $1 billion expansion of Riverside Community Hospital is underway, and an expansion of Kaiser Permanente hospital in La Sierra is expected to open in 2027.
The fourth key point was based on the city’s identity, which led to introducing the Arts and Culture District (ACD) in Downtown Riverside, as being recognized by the California Arts Council. In celebration of the ACD’s achievements, the audience was serenaded by two dance performances, one ballet and the other ballet folklorico. The Mayor closed by saying that “a city that knows where it comes from knows where it is going.”
The final key point the Mayor covered was the city’s residents. She declared that Riverside has lowered youth homelessness to 0%, while the county has experienced an overall 9% drop. She also discussed her plans for introducing 6,000 new housing units, which include 59 affordable senior units and 150 family homes.
Riverside’s senior centers now serve more than 75,000 seniors and deliver over 31,000 meals annually. The mayor’s new Senior Forum connected seniors to resources and provided a place for seniors to make their voices heard.
The mayor also brought attention that the community centers served more than 1.5 million people last year. Parks and playgrounds were upgraded, with more improvements on the way at Orange Terrace Community Center, Hole Lake and Fairmount Park. In the Eastside neighborhood, it was announced that a $300 million in state investment will create a new Jesus Duran Library, renovate the Cesar Chavez Community Center and build the new Dell Roberts Bordwell Park Gym.
Among the 1,100 attendees present, UCR’s Chancellor S. Jack Hu accepted the Mayor’s Award on behalf of the school for North District Phase 2 Student Housing’s advancements towards connecting the communities of UCR and Riverside Community College. When asked about expanding affordable student housing, including on-campus housing, the Chancellor stated that it is ultimately “dependent on Riverside’s architects,” but he is working to “support our students.”
