The theme of Mayor Bob Coble’s “State of the City” address this year, delivered last Thursday at the Convention Center, was “Challenges and Opportunities.” [Download a PDF of the speech.]

Whether you agree or disagree with the mayor’s take on the status of things in our fair city, Coble’s speech gives a good deal of insight into his perception of how our city is doing.

Perhaps more importantly, the speech gives citizens some benchmarks by which to measure future success — or lack thereof.

Here are some of the highlights, along with thoughts on what the mayor said:

Introductory remarks: “In Columbia, our relationship with our neighborhoods is strong. I would ask that our neighborhood leaders stand and be recognized.”

Yes, it is strong — some would say too strong. While governing is always a balancing act among competing interests, in Columbia, neighborhoods have shown a striking ability to deploy a not-in-my-backyard mentality to great effect, frequently killing proposals that aren’t to their liking but might well be in the best interests of the city as a whole.

Of course, it’s not just neighborhoods with this ability — it’s almost any well-organized, vocal group. Case in point: The landlords who just successfully killed a proposal to require $11 per year business licenses, a move that neighborhood groups supported.

Accounting breakdown: “We have been scrutinizing our city’s financial operations from top to bottom, and we have not been happy with what we have seen … Without making any excuses for embarrassing past weaknesses, we have now made solid progress in constructing a modern financial management structure for the city.”

Kudos to the mayor for addressing this issue head-on and pledging to fix it. But I have to wonder how long the city’s accounting issues might have festered if not for aggressive media coverage of the problem.

Crime: “Fighting crime will always be our top priority. Chief Tandy Carter is implementing his Comprehensive Plan for the Police Department that concentrates first on hiring, retention, and training of the officers in our Department.”

Commitment to fighting crime is key. Columbia has an absurdly high crime rate, and the combination of recession and tight budgets will make the challenge of bringing that rate down even more difficult than usual. Will City Council give Chief Carter the support he needs? And where will the money come from?

Homelessness: The mayor mentioned the city’s commitment to the Housing First Pilot Program and the Winter Shelter on Calhoun Street. Not mentioned: A proposed new shelter on Elmwood Street that has drawn controversy from surrounding neighborhoods for its proposed location.

Education: Coble touted the city’s Together We Can program, a collaborative effort with Richland School District One. City involvement in improving downtown schools is welcome and long overdue; let’s see how this plays out.

There’s plenty more in the speech on any number of subjects. You might find it enlightening to read Coble’s speech and ask yourself if his perception of Columbia’s challenges and opportunities matches yours. After all, the mayor is asking us for a sixth four-year term in 2010. The least we can all do is give serious thought to whether he deserves our support.