by
Office of Communications and Media Relations | Jan 30, 2014
With nearly 900 people in attendance, McAllen Mayor Jim Darling rode into the McAllen Convention Center on his bike Thursday, January 30th in his unique style, to deliver the annual State of the City. Mayor Darling led the crowd on a video bike tour of the city with the City Commission and then laid out his vision for the future.
“McAllen is blessed with many talented people,” said Mayor Darling.
McAllen’s City Commissioners contributed video messages, highlighting accomplishments for 2013, such as Metro Connect, the airport expansion, the new fire training center, improvements to McAllen’s Veterans Memorial Stadium and the success of the McAllen Public Library.
Mayor Darling also touted the community’s involvement as a huge success for the city.
“Our citizens and institutions are fully engaged as a community and a region. We have so many volunteering, voting, leading and working together in a spirit of honesty and cooperation.”
Cooperation with other cities in the region was also emphasized during the speech.
“We can achieve more with cooperation instead of competing with each other,” the Mayor said. “The potential for our city is great, but for our region it’s even greater.”
Looking ahead, Mayor Darling shared his optimism, placing emphasis on development projects and focusing on city improvements and infrastructure.
“We need to give our citizens an avenue to be proud of our city and newcomers a reason to come here,” he said.
The address ended with Mayor Darling proudly wearing his “Made in McAllen,” t-shirt while the drum line from each McAllen High School closed out the show.
If you would like to view the event you can watch it on Time Warner Cable digital channel 17.12. You can also become a fan of McAllen by visiting www.facebook.com/McAllenTX. Or follow McAllen on twitter, www.Twitter.com/CityofMcAllen.