{"id":24882,"date":"2026-03-24T07:44:44","date_gmt":"2026-03-24T07:44:44","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.jubi24.com\/?p=24882"},"modified":"2026-03-24T07:44:48","modified_gmt":"2026-03-24T07:44:48","slug":"whats-shaking-in-san-ramon-armstrong-reflects-on-past-year-in-state-of-the-city","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.jubi24.com\/?p=24882","title":{"rendered":"&#8216;What&#8217;s shaking in San Ramon&#8217;: Armstrong reflects on past year in State of the City\u00a0"},"content":{"rendered":"<p><br \/>\n<\/p>\n<div>\n<figure class=\"wp-block-image size-large\"><figcaption class=\"wp-element-caption\">San Ramon Mayor Mark Armstrong speaks to the crowd at his second state of the city speech in the San Ramon Community Center on March 4, 2026. (Photo by Jeanita Lyman)<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<p>The new Iron Horse trail overcrossing, ongoing redevelopment of Bishop Ranch, earthquakes and the city\u2019s overall quality of life were among the major topics at this month\u2019s State of the City event in San Ramon, in which first-term mayor Mark Armstrong also opened up about his own background and move to the city.<\/p>\n<p>Dozens of community members, elected officials, and local business owners and leaders gathered at the San Ramon Community Center on March 4 for Armstrong\u2019s second time providing the annual speech to his constituents as mayor after his election to the position in 2024.<\/p>\n<p>Armstrong began the speech with a quote from Innovation Tri-Valley CEO Katie Marcel during a conversation earlier in the event, in which she said she \u201ccan\u2019t wait to see what\u2019s shaking in San Ramon\u201d \u2013 a nod to the city\u2019s monthslong earthquake swarm \u2013 before providing details about how he came to be a longtime resident of the city and ultimately elected to office.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cI\u2019m going to talk to you from a perspective not just as a mayor, but one of your neighbors,\u201d Armstrong said.\u00a0<\/p>\n<p>Following his retirement from the U.S. Army in 2004, Armstrong \u2013 a Peninsula native \u2013 began looking toward next steps close to his hometown after being stationed in Germany, ultimately landing a job at Camp Parks.<\/p>\n<aside class=\"scaip scaip-1    \">\n        <\/aside>\n<p>\u201cSo then I started asking, \u2018where\u2019s a good place to live nearby?\u2019 And they said San Ramon,\u201d Armstrong said. \u201cEveryone was saying San Ramon. I grew up in Palo Alto. I had no idea where San Ramon \u2013 I didn\u2019t even know where Camp Parks was \u2013 but where is San Ramon, and why is everyone talking about it? And they were telling me about what a great city it was, safe city, beautiful city, great schools, things like that.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>A father of four, Armstrong was ultimately won over by San Ramon\u2019s reputation as a \u201cgreat place to raise kids\u201d and the San Ramon Valley Unified School District\u2019s high rankings as his family set down roots in the city, going on to become a grandfather and elected official.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cLater on in my time on the City Council, same sort of thing \u2013 I could go into different community events, different cultural events, interacting with people, Scouts, walking the dog, all sorts of times interacting and hearing about the things that are important to people,\u201d Armstrong said.<\/p>\n<p>The features that draw residents to San Ramon represent the city\u2019s \u201clived values\u201d according to Armstrong, including public safety, quality schools, recreation opportunities and open spaces, community connections, and \u201cthoughtful, balanced growth.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cIt\u2019s the active lifestyle; it\u2019s the outdoor activities; it\u2019s the fun things you can do at the park with the kids; it\u2019s our safe city and great schools and things like that,\u201d Armstrong said.<\/p>\n<aside class=\"scaip scaip-2    \">\n        <\/aside>\n<p>One project that symbolizes those values, Armstrong said, is the long-awaited Iron Horse Trail overcrossing at Bollinger Canyon Road that was completed and opened to the public last year.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cWith this new bridge, it\u2019s been able to activate the transportation corridor that connects our region, connects multiple cities, connects the north of the south part of the city here on the west side, and reduces a lot of that safety concern that we\u2019ve had,\u201d Armstrong said.<\/p>\n<p>Armstrong went on to discuss how those community values guide the council\u2019s strategic goals, and in turn, how those goals guide the governing body\u2019s decisions and function as a \u201cwork plan\u201d for the city manager.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cThese are not just talking points,\u201d Armstrong said. \u201cThis is really important to me, and it\u2019s important to you, and so that\u2019s what we focus on.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>Among those top priorities is public safety, and specifically earthquake preparedness, which was the topic of a much-anticipated town hall discussion the previous week that drew hundreds of residents who have been rocked by a slew of earthquakes as intense as magnitude 4.2.<\/p>\n<aside class=\"scaip scaip-3    \">\n        <\/aside>\n<p>While the growing city continues to attract new families, Armstrong also emphasized the importance of addressing the needs of its range of communities, particularly seniors, who are now the fastest growing population in San Ramon.<\/p>\n<p>One need that extends throughout all demographics of present and future residents of the city is housing, with the city tasked with planning and progressing on more than 5,000 new housing units by 2031.<\/p>\n<p>Armstrong reiterated that a majority of those units are set to be in the expanding city core, with multiple projects at various stages of development in Bishop Ranch as developers and city officials seek to transform the sprawling office park into a centralized, mixed-use downtown neighborhood.<\/p>\n<p>Attracting new businesses and supporting existing ones is also a key component of that plan, Armstrong said.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cWe\u2019ve had a lot of ribbon-cuttings lately, new restaurants and retail, and non-retail, and some of our shopping centers have been going through revitalization, which is really exciting to see,\u201d Armstrong said. <\/p>\n<aside class=\"scaip scaip-4    \">\n        <\/aside>\n<p>\u201cAnd what we\u2019re doing from the city perspective to help make all this happen is we\u2019re creating that great quality of life, creating the environment where businesses can thrive and operate, where it\u2019s safe for our businesses to operate, for the shoppers to shop, and for the families of local workers to be able to live here in San Ramon,\u201d he continued.<\/p>\n<p>But the top challenge for the city during Armstrong\u2019s previous term on the City Council \u2013 in which he served as vice mayor \u2013 and in his current term as mayor has been its budget deficit, which led to drastic cuts across all departments in 2024 as well as the passage of Measure N, which raised the city\u2019s sales tax rates by 1%.<\/p>\n<p>Despite the increase in funds from the sales tax measure, Armstrong emphasized that the city government is committed to \u201cliving within our means.\u201d That means no new positions or programs without trade-offs, no debt spending, and no \u201cunsustainable commitments\u201d amid ongoing work to reduce and eliminate the city\u2019s structural deficit.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cWe\u2019re on track right now to bring in about $13.5 million of additional revenue, and that\u2019s good news, because that\u2019s allowed us to restore some of the things we cut in the previous budget,\u201d Armstrong said. \u201cAnd probably more importantly, we\u2019ve been able to maintain a lot of those essential services and programs that you said are so important to you.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>Armstrong concluded that \u201cour future is bright,\u201d thanks not only to efforts by the city government and staff but of its volunteers and engaged community members.<\/p>\n<aside class=\"scaip scaip-5    \">\n        <\/aside>\n<p>\u201cThank you for being a part of all that we do,\u201d Armstrong said. \u201cWhat makes San Ramon such a great city is because of what you value, that you\u2019ve communicated to us. It\u2019s your involvement, your leadership, your participation in different community events that makes this such a great city. It is not just a great city, but it\u2019s a city of neighbors, and I\u2019m part of that neighborhood as well.\u201d<\/p>\n<section id=\"block-20\" class=\"below-content widget widget_block\">\n<h4 class=\"wp-block-heading\">Most Popular<\/h4>\n<\/section>\n<section id=\"block-19\" class=\"below-content widget widget_block\" \/>    <\/div>\n<p><br \/>\n<br \/><a href=\"https:\/\/www.danvillesanramon.com\/san-ramon\/2026\/03\/21\/whats-shaking-in-san-ramon-armstrong-reflects-on-past-year-in-state-of-the-city\/\">Source link <\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>San Ramon Mayor Mark Armstrong speaks to the crowd at his second state of the city speech in the San Ramon Community Center on March 4, 2026. (Photo by Jeanita Lyman) The new Iron Horse trail overcrossing, ongoing redevelopment of Bishop Ranch, earthquakes and the city\u2019s overall quality of life were among the major topics &#8230; <a title=\"&#8216;What&#8217;s shaking in San Ramon&#8217;: Armstrong reflects on past year in State of the City\u00a0\" class=\"read-more\" href=\"https:\/\/www.jubi24.com\/?p=24882\" aria-label=\"Read more about &#8216;What&#8217;s shaking in San Ramon&#8217;: Armstrong reflects on past year in State of the City\u00a0\">Read more<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":24883,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"fifu_image_url":"","fifu_image_alt":"","_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":"","jetpack_publicize_message":"","jetpack_publicize_feature_enabled":true,"jetpack_social_post_already_shared":true,"jetpack_social_options":{"image_generator_settings":{"template":"highway","default_image_id":0,"font":"","enabled":false},"version":2}},"categories":[1],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-24882","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-uncategorized"],"jetpack_publicize_connections":[],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"https:\/\/www.jubi24.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/03\/Whats-shaking-in-San-Ramon-Armstrong-reflects-on-past-year.jpg","jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.jubi24.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/24882","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.jubi24.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.jubi24.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.jubi24.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.jubi24.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=24882"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/www.jubi24.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/24882\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":24884,"href":"https:\/\/www.jubi24.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/24882\/revisions\/24884"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.jubi24.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/media\/24883"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.jubi24.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=24882"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.jubi24.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=24882"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.jubi24.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=24882"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}