Mayor Denis Law struck a note of optimism in his third State of the City address Wednesday, pointing to a reviving economy and acccomplishments even in the face of budget cutbacks.

The recession has marked Law’s first term almost from the beginning, forcing him and his staff to cut services and this year to lay off 35 employees and many more part-time and seasonal workers.

“The economy is beginning to show some signs of a slow recovery, and we once again feel that we’re nearing the bottom of this recession,” he said.

But in the future, growth will be slower and more methodical in the nation, with a good job a privilege “rather than a right,” he said.”

“While we know it would be easy for a city facing tough times to just try to ride out the storm, preserve what we have, and not try anything new. But that is not the Renton way,” he said in the speech.

But Law didn’t want to dwell on the economy or the budget. There are positives, including:

• Renton has one of the lowest crime rates in South King County.

• Law will go to Washington, D.C. next week to continue to lobby the congressional delegation to fund a permanent fix to a weakened Howard Hanson Dam.

• Because of a $75,000 grant from First Financial Northwest, the city was able to build a new fitness room at the Renton Senior Activity Center.