CITY OF PITTSFIELD

Inaugural Speech January 4, 2016

Good Morning and Happy New Year. Today we embark upon a new chapter of our shared
history. As we begin our time together I would like to recite a passage from Pittsfields
recorded history. I keep this sentiment nearby to remind me that the fabric of our common
legacy endures.

Pittsfield is a daughter of a loved and honored and honorable Commonwealth. All the
traditions, all the virtues and heroisms of Pilgrim and Puritan; all the struggles and triumphs of
colony and province; the long, steady effort to subdue and settle and develop the land; the
story of leadership and endeavor in the contest for freedom, and leadership and improvement
in subsequent national life; all high thoughts and noble deeds which grace history and honor
the citizens of the Commonwealth of Massachusetts, are our heritage, rightly to be used for
our inspiration and guidance.

From that January day in 1891 when those words were spoken by Judge James M. Baker to
this very day we are united in honoring our past and inventing our future. In this chamber we
are privileged by the presence of two of our citys judicial leaders representing the Berkshire
Probate and Family Court, Retired Judge Rudolph Sacco and First Justice Richard Simons .
Also, with us today are two of Pittsfields spiritual guides Father Peter Gregory of St. Charles
Church and Rabbi Joshua Briendel of Temple Anshe Amunim. We have here among us other

elected officials and dignitaries including members of the Berkshire delegation, former mayors
and past city council presidents. They, along with our families, friends, and neighbors have
gathered together to witness todays inauguration of city government.

Congratulations Madam Clerk and welcome back! We are in your good and trustworthy hands
for all things Pittsfield. Our city is counting on us, you and me, to help them navigate their
government.

My sincere congratulations to each member of the school committee and my best wishes as
you guide our school community. Our children are counting on us, you and me, to create safe
schools that give them every educational, social, and cultural advantage. It is our obligation to
ensure that every child is recognized for his or her extraordinary potential. Every moment of
childhood is an opportunity for us to strengthen the hearts and minds of Pittsfields youngest
citizens.

Ladies and Gentleman of the City Council congratulations to each of you. You are the
peoples legislative representatives chosen to advocate on their behalf, and to exercise your
sound judgment in all matters that affect their daily lives. The people of Pittsfield are counting
on us, you and me, to bear them in mind as we build mutual respect for one another in order
to create our future and realize our shared destiny.

President Marchetti and Vice President Krol congratulations! You have been chosen by your
peers to lead the City Council. Your steady hand, wisdom, and experience will serve us well as
you undertake the significant responsibilities on behalf of your colleagues and our citizens.

Together we have sworn an oath to our beloved Pittsfield, to our great Commonwealth, and
we have spoken an allegiance to our brave nation.

I am deeply humbled that I have been

entrusted by the people of Pittsfield to lead our community for the next four years. In my
heart I carry with me a great deal of respect and admiration for those of you that have blazed
the trail of excellence. I aspire to the great traditions of loyalty to purpose, dedication to
principle, and perseverance in struggle.

Pittsfield is our home.

Here at home we create opportunity for those who seek prosperity,

we strive for economic justice, we have compassion for struggle, we celebrate success, we
maximize our talent, and we build a future for this generation and the next. We read. We
sing. We write. And make art and follow dreams. Our heritage of innovation, invention, and
fierce determination will be our inspiration. Preserving the natural beauty of our surroundings
and respecting our environment will be our legacy. Together we will make our city ready for
good things to happen.

Coming to know the extraordinary people and organizations of our city has left a lasting
impression upon me. Community activism is alive and thriving. I am eager to be united with
each of you as you strive, often quietly and unnoticed, to be good citizens.

To the people of Pittsfield I make this vow: I will devote every day to protecting our
neighborhoods, to creating a community where every person thrives, and to shaping a modern
city where prosperity is for all. I will remember you when I am faced with difficult decisions. I
will celebrate with you when you succeed. I will honor you in all that we endeavor to achieve.
I will listen. I will learn. I will lead.

I did not walk into this chamber alone. My parents are here today. Every day I am more and
more grateful that they are here with me, right beside me, just as they were for that first
ballet recital, when I wanted to learn how to play the guitar, and when I had to take prealgebra two years in a row. Thank you, mom and dad, for your constant vigilance. I am here
today, in this chamber, as Pittsfields mayor because you loved me.

Campaigns are a contest of ideas and an exercise of discipline and strategy. A thousand and
one details have to be managed.

Strategy must be contemplated and then deployed.

Volunteers need organizing. Events are planned. Lawn signs all 900 of them were

delivered, and then retrieved. I did not walk into this chamber alone. I brought with me a
team of highly dedicated friends and family who devoted an entire year to this adventure.
This moment cannot pass without recognizing each of you. Mom you gave me the first $1,000
dollar donation and then you made 1,000 phone calls. Anne you brought me into homes all
across this city. Chris you throw a mad party. Marilyn thank you for the thank yous. Brian
you helped me stand my ground. Christina you designed the narrative in pictures and words
and launched a media blitz. Tom you carried the world on your shoulders. Barry you are
brilliant and brave and endlessly patient. You are the one who saw my unspoken aspirations
and then you gave me courage. I am here, in this chamber, as Pittsfields mayor, because you
believed in me.

I did not walk into this chamber alone. There is a deep and broad grassroots movement
coming from every neighborhood in Pittsfield. They opened their front door when I knocked.
Some held signs in the freezing cold. You cheered at rallies. You wrote letters. You voted.
One very special gentleman must be mentioned. Mr. Stevens was the first outside of my
family to give a donation, but then he gave me an even greater gift. Almost every week for the
entire campaign Mr. Stevens left me an encouraging telephone message on my answering
machine at my home. He often suggested ways to sharpen my thinking and inspired me to
keep going.

Thank you, Mr. Stevens, for your good and wise counsel. I am here, in this chamber, as
Pittsfields mayor, because all of you walked with me.

The work begins. The sentiments expressed today will be our guiding principles. It is for all of
you - our senior citizens and our young learners, our business leaders and their hardworking
employees, our artists and cultural leaders, our dreamers and achievers it is for all of you
that I devote myself to building a modern, agile government that seeks opportunity and races
toward it.

But, first lets all go to the spectacular Berkshire Museum a gem in the heart of our
downtown - to celebrate all that is the best of us. Pittsfield. It is our home.
Thank you.