Impact, connection and delivery of services were the main ideas in San Leandro’s State of the City address. Organized by the city and San Leandro Business of Commerce, the event took place at the Senior Community Center on April 28.
San Leandro Mayor Juan González stood at a podium, using a slideshow presentation to guide his speech and present pictures, graphs and data.
The first update was public safety. González said crime is down in San Leandro. According to 2023 and 2025 data from San Leandro Police Department, homicides are down 50%, robberies dropped 60% and thefts are down 30%.
“The bottom line is San Leandro is safer,” said González.
The police department’s dispatch team is now in-house, after outsourcing the service in 2024. González said out of over 40,000 emergency calls, about 92% were answered within 15 seconds, which he said exceed state standards.
Homelessness was addressed in three different ways. Last year, about 17 people were offered permanent supportive housing. “Instead of moving folks simply around the county, we’re helping to get people back on their feet,” González said.
The Drop-In Center helps people who are unhoused, through meals, showers, laundry and other services. Nearly 300 people were served last year.
The third way the city has served the homelessness is through crisis calls. “Living on the streets takes a tremendous physical and emotional toll on individuals,” said González. “Hence the need for effective and efficient response to those experiencing crisis on our streets.”
The city responded to over 1,300 behavioral health calls, where 800 individuals were served.
Nearly 3,000 people experiencing homelessness interacted with crisis staff, and 3,800 follow up connections were made. Hundreds of referrals were made, connecting homeless people to resources.
Economic Development highlights include a national recognition of Coreshell, a clean energy battery company. FUSE Energy Technologies, a company attempting to commercialize clean energy through fusion, received a $10 million dollar state grant.
Infrastructure improvements include a new waterpark, renovating playgrounds and addressing flooding in parts of the city.
Towards the end of his speech, González talked about the city’s struggle with funding infrastructure. The three oldest fire stations don’t meet modern seismic standards that were set 40 years ago.
Another problem is city roads. “Despite real progress on major roads…many local roads are at risk or have simply failed. Starting with Lake Chabot Road in the east,” González said.
In addition, he pointed out “alligator patterned cracks and potholes” in San Leandro neighborhoods. “Because it’s so expensive to fix a failed road, residents can wait decades for repairs,” he said. Consultants told the city it would cost about $500 million dollars to rebuild roads from scratch.
Because of road replacement costs, building maintenance and pension liabilities, the city may reach a budget deficit of $11.6 million over the next three years. “We need a revenue measure to start addressing our infrastructure challenges,” González said. “Any kind of remedy measure that I’ve heard about will not solve the problems, but they will make an impact.”
Connecting residents through its communication channels was another significant update. From 2022 to 2025, city website visits increased from about 100,000 users to about 400,000. Instagram followers doubled from about 2,000 to 4,000, and YouTube subscriptions went up from about 2,000 to 14,000. Facebook video views reached 2.4 million views.
My San Leandro App makes it possible for staff to respond to non-emergency issues. The average time it took to respond to illegal dumping and graffiti issues is one day.
González wrapped up his speech by saying, “As a city where kindness matters and innovation flourishes, let’s remain a welcoming city, a city where hope prevails over hate, and where love overcomes fear, because by working together, young and old, rich and poor, dark and pale, gay and straight, immigrant, native, together. We are building a brighter future for San Leandro.”
