In Unconventional State of the City Address, Mayor Says 'Brighter Days' Are Ahead

The mayor’s state of the city address Thursday night—delivered for the first time via video to an RSVP-only crowd at —was stuffed to the gills with sunny clichés. 

Clearly optimistic about the town’s future, said he intentionally chose to deliver an unconventional address by refraining from sharing crime statistics and other telling-data and trends. 

“I really wanted to capture San Juan Capistrano from a human level,” he told the audience after the video stopped.

The video opens during daybreak on a 30-degree morning. Allevato, cowboy-hat-clad and teeth chattering, stands on grassy, green hills in some of San Juan's protected open space. With the sun rising in the background, he tells viewers he's about to share with them "a new vision."

It continues with interviews with venerable locals, such as Tony Moiso, president of Rancho Mission Viejo, and Don Tryon from the San Juan Capistrano Historical Society. The speech focused more on San Juan's history, plans for the future and its character than it did on its present.

Allevato only jumped knee-deep in the nitty-gritty when he spoke of how the recession had in the past few years forced the closure of San Juan Capistrano businesses, primarily shuttering car dealerships that had generated much-needed tax revenues. But “brighter days are on the horizon,” he quickly concluded with a for the , under attack in .

It's with redevelopment agency money that are opening soon along Camino Capistrano. He also noted the recent construction of five new bus shelters, the new and plans for a new downtown.

"With all of this good news comes even greater news," he said,  transitioning into the imminent construction of a and the later-to-come construction of next to .

These news of development drew cheers and hearty applause from the audience.

CEO Mark Bodenhamer, also featured in the video, said the idea to make a video came after former Mayor Lon Uso delivered a 27-page speech last year. He said his reaction at the time was that he "almost had a heart attack."

The city and chamber plan to use the video as a marketing tool in conjunction with San Juan's 50th anniversary of incorporation. It will be posted to the city's website.