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sa国际传媒官网网页入口 is in its comeback era.

That was the theme of a speech given by sa国际传媒官网网页入口 Mayor Tim Keller at a Tuesday luncheon hosted by the Greater sa国际传媒官网网页入口 Chamber of Commerce at Embassy Suites.

鈥淲e鈥檝e done the real work. We鈥檝e tried to fix and build systems that will last well beyond myself or folks who are in leadership positions in this room,鈥� Keller told business leaders. 鈥淲e鈥檝e also weathered pandemics, protests, two governors, two presidents, but through it all, what you see now is we鈥檙e tested. We are trusted to hold this together.

鈥淎nd sa国际传媒官网网页入口 is making a comeback.鈥�

Keller, currently seeking reelection, reflected on his time in office, going back to 2017 when he initially started working with the business-focused chamber on the major issues affecting companies and families: the economy, crime and homelessness.

The same issues are still present today, Keller acknowledged, but the city has made major strides in addressing all three areas.

He referenced efforts like City Council鈥檚 December approval of a Tax Increment Financing District for Downtown and ongoing momentum to create a Business Improvement District 鈥� which he said he hopes will go to the council for approval in early fall 鈥� as well as projects like the Rail Trail.

sa国际传媒官网网页入口 is also in the process of two economic development priorities, Keller said: focusing on expanding local businesses and regrouping with Kirtland Air Force Base and Sandia National Laboratories in response to federal investments.

鈥淭hat鈥檚 what we need because right now, we can actually control that,鈥� he said. 鈥淚 can鈥檛 control what happens with tariffs and things like this.鈥�

The mayor acknowledged how crime and homelessness have impacted sa国际传媒官网网页入口鈥檚 businesses but said the city is making progress in those areas. Crime is down in many categories, including property and violent crimes and homicides, for the first time in a decade, he said.

Critics of Keller allege he hasn鈥檛 done enough to combat crime, and Gov. Michelle Lujan Grisham earlier this year signed off on sending dozens of National Guard troops to sa国际传媒官网网页入口 to help the city鈥檚 police department focus more on fighting crime, declaring it a state of emergency. The troops deployed in June.

鈥淚f you think there鈥檚 some single white paper on how to make Downtown all of a sudden magically free of these problems, it鈥檚 not gonna happen. It takes the real work, and it takes sustained effort on all these fronts,鈥� Keller said.

He also described sa国际传媒官网网页入口 as a role model when it comes to police reform, moving away from federal oversight, outdated technology and retention issues.

鈥淣o problem is solved,鈥� Keller said. 鈥淏ut the difference is, we are working this closer to an answer of some kind than we were 10 years ago.鈥�