SACRAMENTO, Calif. —
Sacramento Mayor Kevin McCarty delivered his annual State of the City address Thursday morning at the Crocker Art Museum, opting for a non-traditional format.
McCarty spoke at the podium for roughly 10 minutes, highlighting progress on homelessness, the development of the railyard, the success of the Aftershock music festival, and efforts to bring Major League Baseball to the region permanently.
After his brief speech, the mayor transitioned to a pre-arranged question-and-answer session, spending more time discussing his signature issue of homelessness and shelters than he did during his opening remarks.
When asked about his priorities moving forward as a leader, McCarty said, “Just focusing on being steady. I think when I ran for mayor I didn’t want to overpromise and get distracted by new initiatives. Just focus on basics: keeping our neighborhoods safe, focusing on our youth, housing affordability, homelessness and just zeroing in on those issues and making progress.”
He used a baseball analogy saying, “You can win a game by hitting a home run … or hit singles.”
McCarty added that he was focused on “moving Sacramento forward” by “focusing on the basics.”
McCarty also said the city council would be meeting in the coming months to discuss broader issues, including artificial intelligence and data centers.
During the question-and-answer session, McCarty announced plans to direct city staff to simplify the permitting process for businesses seeking to operate within Sacramento.
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