Mayor’s Monthly Message – June 2021
Published: 06/02/2021
Mayor’s Monthly Message – June 2021
Back in the fall of 2019, when I launched my campaign for mayor, if you would have told me that my first year in the mayoral role would revolve around a global pandemic, I would have thought you were crazy. Well, how wrong I would have been!
We all know this has been an unprecedented year that has affected our community in many ways. But I want to share with you something not frequently spoken about—the sense of hope and optimism on the horizon. In Riverside, there truly is a new sense of optimism as we begin the final push to crush the virus in our city and beyond.
Our state is on its way to fully reopening on June 15, which is just days away. But, to make that reopening a long-lasting one, we must continue to press on and further the promising vaccination numbers we have seen. Riverside’s vaccination numbers are higher than the state average—with 55% of Riversiders having at least one shot and over 40% being fully vaccinated. Perhaps the most impressive number is over 92% of Riverside’s seniors have been vaccinated—positioning us well on our way to the “return” we all long for.
California has the lowest COVID-19 positivity rates in the country, and Riverside is open for business. As our businesses begin to welcome back in-person customers, the City of Riverside is launching an “Open for Business” initiative. Banners lining our main streets and avenues are encouraging Riversiders to shop local as we reopen after a year of various rounds of closures. The City is also offering resources like a “Retail Toolkit” that provides materials businesses can download and print for messaging and signage, and a “roadmap” with a comprehensive guide to industry specific assistance and offers. This is all accessible for our local business owners online at riversideca.gov/business.
I will continue my weekly ward spotlights of businesses that need and deserve our local support. And my team and I will press on to find ways that we can partner with Riverside’s business sectors to further the hope for our economic future—this is an effort that benefits all Riversiders.
I look forward to the days when COVID-19 will be in our rearview mirror, but until then let’s all keep doing our part—for our city and for its future.
