Mayor Marchand praises quality of life in Livermore during State of the City address

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Livermore Mayor John Marchand talks new development, public safety and more during his first State of the City address since being reelected in 2022. (Photo by Ron Essex Photography)

New housing, incoming businesses and public safety were among the list of topics Mayor John Marchand highlighted to exemplify Livermore’s thriving quality of life in his first State of the City address since being reelected in the November 2022 general election.

Marchand, who served as mayor from 2011 through 2020 before temporarily terming out, picked up right where he left off with a number of projects he was involved in still among the city’s priorities like the Legacy at Livermore apartment complex in downtown that will soon be welcoming residents and the expansion of Black Smith Square, which will bring new retail and dining options to the downtown core.

The May 25 luncheon — where Marchand spoke to a crowd of about 300 guests — was hosted by the Livermore Valley Chamber of Commerce as part of its Wine Country Luncheon series, featuring guest speakers discussing issues relevant to local businesses and the community at large.

While giving an overview of the city’s economic status at the event, Marchand shared results from a 2022 citizen survey that found 92% of respondents feel that Livermore is a great place to live and raise a family and 89% feel that the overall quality of life in Livermore is excellent or good.

“You may have heard me say that, in this political climate, you can’t get 92% of the people to agree the sky is blue,” Marchand quipped, stressing the significance of the survey results.

Marchand spent a portion of the roughly 40-minute presentation also discussing storm damage recovery. He emphasized the collaboration between all five Tri-Valley mayors to make sure the entire region is in good shape. He pointed to the example of attending the U.S. Conference of Mayors in Washington D.C. along with Pleasanton Mayor Karla Brown, Dublin Mayor Melissa Hernandez and Danville Mayor Robert Storer.

Together, they advocated for regional and local projects, including getting a Federal Emergency Management Agency disaster assistance center opened up in the Tri-Valley.

“I’m so proud of the fact that we do collaborate,” Marchand said. “When I started out, when somebody was patting you on the back they were looking for a place to put the knife, but now we can actually work together and achieve success like this, which benefits the entire region.”

As a retired water chemist, Marchand also touched on the innovation happening in Livermore, including the forthcoming Quest Science Center, the work of i-Gate Innovation Hub to support technology startups in the Tri-Valley and Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory’s historic fusion ignition breakthrough.

Marchand underscored multiple times throughout his presentation that the city’s top priority is public safety. He further illustrated this by noting that more than 50% of the city’s budget goes to the police and fire departments. Additionally, capital improvement projects on the horizon include modernizing Fire Station 6 on East Avenue — home to the city’s centennial light bulb — and renovations to the police department building.

“We are continuing to grow and we need to make sure that the public safety has the tools that they need to accomplish their goals which is to protect our community,” Marchand said.

Finally moving forward with the Springtown Open Space improvements and increasing public parking options downtown are also among the city’s ongoing projects.

Marchand shouted out a number of new businesses that have either recently opened or are coming soon to Livermore, including the forthcoming Farmers Union Restaurant set to take over the site of the vacant SBC building downtown. The locally sourced American fare restaurant will feature indoor and outdoor dining as well as rooftop dining and a full bar serving local wines and beers.

Other new eateries include St. John’s Soul Food, Crumbl Cookies and Sons of Liberty Alehouse, among others.

With the city’s ongoing growth and expansion along with its embrace of innovation and technology, Marchand noted that Livermore is quickly becoming a destination community. He said, “We used to be a city that people would drive through and now we’re a city that people drive to.”

Marchand’s full presentation is currently airing on TV30 and live-streaming at tv30.org during various times throughout the month. The schedule can be found on the station’s website. Additionally, the speech may be viewed anytime on the TV30 website via video on demand.