Big City Mayors
The "Big City Mayors" is a statewide coalition of mayors from California’s 13 largest cities by population. This influential bipartisan group is composed of the mayors from: Los Angeles, San Diego, San Jose, San Francisco, Fresno, Sacramento, Long Beach, Oakland, Bakersfield, Anaheim, Stockton, Riverside, and Irvine. Big City Mayors includes mayors representing nearly 11 million residents in California – more than a quarter of the state’s population. The coalition was successful over the last several years in advocating for and securing funding to address homelessness through California’s Homeless Housing, Assistance, and Prevention (HHAP) program, among other advocacy efforts.
Inland Empire Coalition of Mayors
The Inland Empire Coalition of Mayors brings together mayors from the Riverside and San Bernardino metropolitan area to jointly advocate for regional needs. This influential bipartisan group brought about by Mayor Patricia Lock Dawson is composed of the mayors from: Colton, Corona, Eastvale, Fontana, Jurupa Valley, Lake Elsinore, Menifee, Moreno Valley, Murrieta, Norco, Perris, Rialto, San Bernardino, Temecula, and Wildomar. This coalition is committed to improve the quality of life for all our residents and has successfully advocated for crucial legislation, like CARE Court.
Mayor’s Bipartisan Forum
Launched in October 2021, Mayor Patricia Lock Dawson convened a group of 14 community members with differing political ideologies to drive solutions for crises facing the city with a focus on homelessness, crime, and mental illness. The forum agreed that state-level mental health reforms are needed, including tools that would allow families to compel their family members to receive psychiatric and addiction treatment. The Mayor’s Bipartisan Forum were consequential in the passage of CARE Court legislation (SB 133B) to require mental health treatment.
Sister City Relations
The Office of the Mayor welcomes dignitaries from nine sister cities around the globe and a variety of international locations who seek to establish relationships, identify economic opportunities, and provide cultural enrichment.
Whether it is laying the groundwork for business expansion by international companies, such as SolarMax and SunSpark Technology, or facilitating an international visit of the John W. North High School Marching Band to Jiangmen, China, the Mayor’s Office facilitates all international relations for the city.
Sister City Highlights
December 16, 2022 – The United States and Mexico celebrated 200 years of Amistad (Friendship). The City of Riverside and Riverside IRC specifically, celebrated 54 years of our Sister City relationship with Ensenada.
March 3, 2023 – The City of Riverside hosted a delegation from Sister City Erlangen Germany, a follow-up to a Riverside visit to Germany in June 2022.
April 11, 2023 – The City of Riverside entered into a Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) with the Dosan Ahn Chang Ho Memorial Foundation of the Americas to explore the development of a Korean-American Cultural Center in Riverside. Approximately $25 million in donations have been received by the Dosan Ahn Chang-Ho Memorial Foundation of the Americas for the construction of this center.
April 21, 2023 – A delegation led by Mayor Lock Dawson traveled to Korea for a trade mission and further exploration of the MOU. This was followed by a visit to Riverside from the Mayor of Gangnam shortly after the Riverside delegation returned home.
August 10, 2023 – The City of Riverside welcomed Congresswoman Bae Hyun-jin from South Korea. During this visit, she toured the proposed site for the privately-funded Dosan Ahn Chang Ho Korean American Cultural Center – near the California Citrus State Historical Park. This visit, along with the support of the City of Riverside and the Dosan Ahn Chang Ho Memorial Foundation, is building momentum for international investment in this grand cultural and tourist destination.
