The people of San Jose and Silicon Valley have changed the world. The innovations that have come out of our collective efforts over the past few decades have helped raise the living standards for hundreds of millions of people around the world. We are at the epicenter of the transformation of society from the industrial age to the information age and into the knowledge age. What we do here is important and it must continue.
San Jose must remain the Capital of Silicon Valley, and Silicon Valley must remain the innovation center of the world. The best days of San Jose and the best days of Silicon Valley are ahead of us.
There are many things that San Jose must do to make that happen, such as being the best place in the world to start and grow a business and making sure our driving industries stay here and grow here.
San Jose is the 10th largest city in the nation, the 3rd largest city in California, a state that alone would be the world’s 8th largest economy, but our role in the world is more than just economic development and technological innovation. We have an opportunity and an obligation here in San Jose to demonstrate to the world how people from different ethnicities, religions and cultures can live, work, play and prosper together.
San Jose will be a beacon of peace and prosperity to show the world what can happen when people from around the world come together and focus on what they have in common rather than on their differences. In a world full of ethnic and religious hatred and violence we have a chance to show the world a better way of life. We can do it and we will do it.
(Excerpted from Inauguration Speech)
     
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