TULSA, Okla. — Tulsa Mayor Monroe Nichols delivered his first State of the City address Wednesday evening at the Tulsa Performing Arts Center, highlighting the progress his administration has made over the past year and the challenges still ahead.

Nichols told the packed audience that many of the goals he campaigned on remain his top priorities as mayor — from tackling homelessness to improving safety and strengthening partnerships with tribal nations.

“I said progress wouldn’t come easy or in a short amount of time,” Nichols said. “But I pledged that we would never shrink from challenges, no matter how big or complex they were. We’ve faced those challenges with honesty and transparency, understanding that whatever it was, we were going to have to do it together.”

Nichols emphasized his vision to make Tulsa a better place to live, work, and play. His long-term goals include reaching functional zero homelessness by 2030, creating 6,000 new affordable housing units by 2028, improving outcomes for students and youth, and making Tulsa “the safest big city in the country.”

“Just over a year ago, when I was elected, I vowed to make Tulsa the safest big city in the country,” Nichols said. “Because without safe streets, families can’t thrive, and without safe neighborhoods, businesses can’t invest. To achieve that vision, I appointed Laurel Roberts as my public safety commissioner.

Following the address, FOX23 spoke with Mayor Nichols about what’s next as he enters his second year in office.

“Here, pretty soon we’ll deploy the housing resources that we passed in ‘Improve Our Tulsa,’” Nichols said. “We’ll start on that track of 6,000 affordable units by 2028 — we’re about 10% there right now. So really, we’re focused on doing the things we said we were going to do.”

Nichols closed his speech with a message aimed at inspiring Tulsans to stay engaged and invested in the city’s future.

“It’s time to win the next decade,” Nichols said. “I want to continue to hear from people, to be held accountable, and to take the next step as the next generation of Tulsans. Cities don’t become great by accident — it happens because people choose to invest in them.”

If you missed the full State of the City address, you can watch it below or by clicking here.,