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In yet another well-received State of the City speech, Mayor John Marchand lauded Livermore as a great place to live, work and play while beaming with pride at the podium.
Hosted by the Livermore Valley Chamber of Commerce at Garré Winery, the May 22 event once again brought together movers and shakers of the Tri-Valley, including elected officials, business owners and community leaders, to hear about what’s new in Livermore and the status of its economic vitality.
Marchand kicked off his speech with nods to the notable work of Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory researchers, including El Capitan which has been deemed the world’s fastest supercomputer.
Breaking the ice with a humorous quip Marchand said, “Livermorium, fusion ignition and El Capitan – three of the most significant achievements in the history of humankind – and all of them recognized during my tenure as mayor.”
The tone of his remarks remained lighthearted and sprinkled with humor while sharing information about the city’s finances, goals and ongoing projects.
“Over 36 years we’ve received a certificate of achievement for excellence in financial reporting,” Marchand said. “I get to work with great people,” he added before inviting all of the city staffers in the room to stand and be celebrated with applause.
He also highlighted the results of a research survey the city circulates every two years. “This really is not so much about habitability, it’s about livability,” Marchand said of the survey. “It’s about creating a place where people want to live.”
Of those surveyed, 95% said they believe Livermore is an excellent or good place to live and 92% said they would recommend living in the city to others.
“This is the highest number in the history of this poll. We have never gotten this number – 95%. I think that’s remarkable and it’s a testament to the great work of the people that I get to work with,” Marchand said.
The survey was conducted by the National Research Center at Polco using a rigorous, representative sampling method, city officials said in a statement following the event. Of the 3,000 randomly selected Livermore households, 374 residents completed the survey between February and April 2025, resulting in a 13% response rate. Responses were weighted to ensure representation across age, gender, race/ethnicity, housing status and geography, according to officials.
While discussing performance measures, Marchand noted that the Livermore Police Department in the last year took 23,000 911 calls and nearly 56,000 total calls for service.
“That’s our first responders responding to the needs of our community,” he said.
As for the fire department, they responded to almost 10,000 calls for service. However, less than 3% of the calls are actually for fires with most of them being traffic accidents, health-related and public safety calls.
Among the city projects making progress that received applause from the audience is the replacement of the fence along Holmes Street, which for many years was a source of frustration for residents and an eyesore to passersby.
“(The city) took ownership of this 60 years ago but there was never a mechanism to fund the replacement of it,” Marchand explained, adding that eight years ago the city started working on a plan to replace the aging and deteriorating fence and now the first increment is finally done.
Additionally, Marchand highlighted the plan to develop an aviation innovation center at the Livermore Municipal Airport as well as successfully bringing unleaded fuel to the facility.
While discussing housing projects underway, Marchand called attention to the Cornerstone residential development that was approved by the City Council in January. “Cornerstone church made a remarkable commitment to this community. They understood the importance and the criticality of the housing crisis and they committed to provide more affordable housing that was required for the project but they said that they understood the need for the community and they wanted to help meet that need,” Marchand said.
Although he spent time recognizing new housing going up in the city, he also emphasized Livermore’s commitment to open space and the hundreds of acres the city has acquired in the last year to preserve as open space like the Quint property located next to the Garaventa Wetlands Preserve.
Toward the end of his speech, Marchand underscored that the past year saw several big wins for Livermore as a community such as the annual rodeo being inducted into the ProRodeo Hall Of Fame, the beloved Deacon Dave’s Christmas display winning “The Great Christmas Light Fight” television competition and the city receiving the 2024 Beacon Spotlight Platinum Award for Sustainability Best Practices by the Institute for Local Government.
Marchand closed his remarks by sharing a list of words he thinks best describes the city. “Community, home, wineries, family, hometown, awesome – I couldn’t agree more because we are Livermore.”
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