Mayor Nickels' State of City speech emphasizes community volunteerism

Seattle Mayor Greg Nickels gave an upbeat State of the City speech this afternoon in Southeast Seattle, urging unity and volunteerism during tough times.

"Despite their worries, people — especially young people — want to help. ... It is up to us to capture this spirit. Neighbor by neighbor, business by business, we must lend each other a helping hand. This is how we will emerge from this crisis stronger," he told a crowd of city staff, community members and Seattle City Council members gathered at the Rainier Vista Boys & Girls Club.

To underscore his prompting, Nickels announced only one new initiative: a partnership with the local United Way chapter to recruit 10,000 new volunteers, an "army" he said can contribute by cooking meals for senior citizens, staffing cancer-survivor hot lines, picking up donated merchandise for those in need and organizing diaper drives.

"We know that better times will come only if we stand strong together," he said.

The mayor, who is running this year for re-election to a third term, attempted to strike a tone of hope amid a worsening economic crisis. He spent much of his speech reflecting on city initiatives already in place, acknowledging there was more work to be done.

Even as he praised the early effort on his Seattle Youth Violence Prevention Initiative, he called out by name a half dozen young people shot over the last year, including a 26-year-old music promoter who was shot and killed in the Central Area this week.

Nickels pointed out his work to increase the city's rainy-day fund — but acknowledged the city expects to face a continuing decline in tax revenue when new economic reports are released next month. And he pointed out new jobs being created by city initiatives, but listed major Seattle employers that are cutting jobs.

"For months, we have seen the gathering clouds of an economic downturn and hoped we would be spared, but today we find ourselves in the middle of the storm," he said.

Members of the City Council said after the speech they appreciated the mayor's upbeat tone and emphasis on the community coming together. It's not the time for new initiatives, said Council President Richard Conlin.

"The stuff that's going on has got to be in place," he said. "We have to actually accomplish these things."

Emily Heffter: 206-464-8246 or eheffter@seattletimes.com