Gainesville Mayor Harvey Ward delivered his 2024 State of the City address at the Santa Fe College Blount Center Tuesday morning, touching on gun violence, traffic safety, sustainability efforts, and entertainment and culture, among other things.
Ward’s speech follows a tumultuous year for the city as the mayor had to grapple with dramatic budget cuts and job layoffs, and the city being stripped of its control over Gainesville Regional Utilities. Ward was even called on by a state lawmaker to resign. Despite the challenges, he said, the city is continuing to make progress.
“As we look back at 2023, I can tell you we are moving forward,” Ward said. “We are improving our technology, our sustainability, our equitable development, our access to the arts and to economic opportunity. We are working to enhance traffic safety and prevent gun violence.”
Ward said he used emails from residents to guide his speech, touching on topics he felt were most important to citizens, including the improvement of east Gainesville.