Bret Jaspers/KJZZ

Kate Gallego in 2019.

Phoenix Mayor Kate Gallego gave the annual State of the City address Friday.

She talked about work by the police department, which is chronically short-staffed, and under investigation by the U.S. Justice Department.

Gallego is a Democrat. Members of her party continue to wrestle with a slogan, which grew popular after the 2020 murder of George Floyd, as midterm elections loom. 

“So today I say publicly without reservation, I have never and will never defund the Phoenix Police Department,” said Gallego, who is not up for re-election this year.

Her current term as Phoenix mayor ends in 2025.