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 Pittsfield’s

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 city’s 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 Pittsfield’s 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 today’s 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 Pittsfield’s youngest

citizens.

Ladies and Gentleman of the City Council – congratulations to each of you. You are the

people’s 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 pre-

algebra two years in a row. Thank you, mom and dad, for your constant vigilance. I am here

today, in this chamber, as Pittsfield’s 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 you’s. 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 Pittsfield’s 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

Pittsfield’s 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 let’s 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.