Phoenix Mayor Phil Gordon said Friday that he hopes to help lure tens of thousands of new jobs to the Valley before he finishes his last year in office.

"This Valley will have 35,000 new jobs in one year," Gordon said.

Gordon held a roundtable with reporters to discuss economic-development priorities and his overall plans as he winds down his eighth and final year as mayor.

The mayor said many of those jobs he hopes to bring to the Valley will target the health-care and energy sectors, and he plans to work with state officials, including Gov. Jan Brewer, on the regional effort.

Arizona's unemployment rate is hovering around 9.4 percent, according to the most recent figures from the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics.

Gordon said he hopes to spend his last year as mayor stemming those job losses through continued national and international travel, building relationships with business leaders and companies interested in moving to Phoenix.

He said reaching out to the business community is important because of Arizona's tarnished image from the recent passage of Senate Bill 1070, the state's controversial immigration law.

Arizona will also face more scrutiny over the immigrant-baby debate, efforts of some lawmakers to deny citizenship to U.S.-born children but whose parents are undocumented immigrants.

"Businesses don't want to be in the center of controversy," said Gordon, who has been a vocal opponent of SB 1070.

This month, Gordon plans to head to Mexico and Washington, D.C., to continue building economic development links.