What I’ve learned From Mayor <strong>Ron</strong> <strong>Loveridge</strong> in 2014, and earlier th<strong>is</strong> year the Intelligent Community Forum deemed <strong>Riverside</strong> the world’s Intelligent Community of the Year for its efforts to channel high-tech growth into the community. As <strong>Loveridge</strong>’s tenure at City Hall comes to an end — Mayor-elect William “Rusty” Bailey officially assumes the gavel on Dec. 11 — we asked the retiring five-term mayor to reflect on h<strong>is</strong> years in <strong>Riverside</strong> and in public office. Through <strong>interview</strong>s and speeches, here’s h<strong>is</strong> story, in h<strong>is</strong> words: “ When Marsha and I left Stanford to come to UC <strong>Riverside</strong> in August 1965, we never imagined that I would be an elected official. I came here to become a professor. At UCR, I taught about local and state politics — public opinion and environmental policy classes. I always assigned students to do field papers, taking concepts from books and classrooms into the real world, and that’s how I started to get some understanding of place. … Multiple things led me to run in 1979. It was a time when the city was under enormous stress. It was not doing well. It had lost its way, and you felt some opportunity and obligation to try to focus on a set of future values. … 24 | riversidethemag.com | december 2012 - january 2013 » You tend to walk a narrow path in your private life, but when you become mayor you recognize how many people are doing good things in th<strong>is</strong> city. It’s part of the social capital concept. » Life <strong>is</strong> not what you did yesterday, but what you’re going to do tomorrow. » You need to l<strong>is</strong>ten to and respect the views of others. It doesn’t mean agreeing. » Whatever you do, be prepared to see it on a billboard on the way to work. » <strong>The</strong> purpose in life <strong>is</strong> to make a difference. » We live in neighborhoods — they define place. » You must have goals, otherw<strong>is</strong>e any route will not get you there. » Cities are the wealth of nations. Cities are where economic development takes place, and where quality of life <strong>is</strong> experienced. <strong>The</strong> theme of my campaign was, ‘Pride in <strong>Riverside</strong>, Again.’ I ran against four other candidates. I studied the best campaign texts, and I knocked on nearly 5,000 doors. I was elected to the council with 63 percent of the vote. For the first time in the city’s h<strong>is</strong>tory, no incumbent council members were re-elected. … When I ran for mayor in 1993, I had a 28-step plan called ‘Renewing <strong>Riverside</strong>: An Action Plan for a Great City at R<strong>is</strong>k.’ I pitched the campaign around the themes of great streets, great jobs, great neighborhoods. … I have always emphasized that neighborhoods are the building blocks of a good city. A signature effort of mine has been the Mayor’s Night Out (when the mayor, council members and city staff meet with residents in each of the neighborhoods). We’ve done more than 160. In 2000, I proposed a Good Neighborhood Program with 22 proposals. Over time, there has been something like 50 initiatives, and the city has implemented many of them. … Today, there <strong>is</strong> pride in <strong>Riverside</strong>, again. <strong>The</strong> city <strong>is</strong> a safer place than it was in ’94. … We’re a university community, and a green community that can compete with any city in the country. <strong>The</strong> city looks good, and you can see that in the parks and landscaped medians. We have a downtown that there <strong>is</strong> pride in. <strong>The</strong> M<strong>is</strong>sion Inn was in poor shape — particularly when I was elected to the City Council. But today, the icons of the city — the M<strong>is</strong>sion Inn, Fairmount Park, Mount Rubidoux, the Fox theater, Victoria Avenue — they’re all remarkably better. … Why didn’t I run again? <strong>The</strong> simplest answer <strong>is</strong> Marsha said 32 years <strong>is</strong> good. That was the vote of the women’s caucus, and Marsha’s position <strong>is</strong> one that I respect. We are in our 51st year, and it’s actually longer than that since we’ve been going together. I’ve used that phrase from the Beatles, and Marsha still feeds me at 74. … It’s time for me to do something else, and I will be the head of the Center for Sustainable Suburban Development at UCR. It started 10 years ago, and the center looks at not only the immediate city and region, but sustainability in Southern California. <strong>The</strong> idea <strong>is</strong> to try to take the research of the university and make it meaningful for public policy. I’m also going to go back to UCR to teach political science. … I will be able to bring what I’ve learned as an elected official about policy, ” process and politics to the classroom.
<strong>Riverside</strong>, CA <strong>Riverside</strong>FestivalofLights.com Take-Along Map and Event Guide
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