Durham Mayor Leonardo Williams delivers State of the City address

DURHAM, N.C. (WTVD) -- Mayor Leonardo Williams laid out his vision for the future of Durham in his second State of the City address, telling residents he would "always have their backs."

On Tuesday evening, he addressed a variety of topics, including ongoing gun violence, the revitalization of Durham's most distressed areas, and how the city plans to confront the root causes of housing insecurity.

"Our task over this coming year will be to develop plans that evolve our thinking to provide for affordable living for all residents," Williams said.

He also talked about his "Mayor's Personal Finance Playbook," which is designed to help people in Durham improve financial literacy and build generational wealth.

ABC11 talked to him just before his address about his top priority as he leads the city for another year.

"The things we talk about on a daily basis here, from, you know, housing to, you know, all of the social determinants, you know, how we get around, how we move around transportation, you know, tree preservation, bike lanes, everything, all of those things are extremely important, but none of them are as important as the preservation, the safety of the lives of our little ones, our young people," Williams said. "And I am unapologetic at making that the No. 1 priority."

Williams talked about creating cross-sector collaboration to address youth gun violence as a public health crisis and promised to continue to seek solutions to the problem.

He ended the speech by sharing how much he loves Durham, complete with a performance of the song "I Love My City" to end the night.

"Durham is resilient, y'all," Williams said. "We are forever cemented in being the best person, the best neighbor, family member and community member that we can be."

Last year, the mayor emphasized public safety and affordable housing, and closed with the memorable line "Durham is dope."

Retired ABC11 anchor Anthony Wilson took to the podium to deliver remarks and introduce the mayor.