A new start with new Mayor 1 December 2005

Mayor and City Council in Cincinnati

Our plan is based on this speech by the new mayor for development in the Nati.

Good Evening Cincinnati.
I want to thank everyone for joining me here at the Cincinnati Museum Center at Union Terminal this evening to share this momentous occasion.

I want to start by thanking the people of Cincinnati for placing their trust in me to be their Mayor. I am honored and humbled by that trust and I will work hard to make you proud.

I would also like to thank (the categories on the back of the program).

I want to thank my staff.
And, I want to thank the countless volunteers who devoted so much of their time to our efforts to bring change to the city. I would not be here today without them.

Finally, I would like to thank my wonderful family for their support and sacrifice throughout the exhausting campaign. My entire family has been dedicated to public service, and they serve as my inspiration for all that I do.

The city of Cincinnati was named after the Society of the Cincinnati, a fellowship organization for Army officers. However, the top priority of the society was to take care of the members of the society and their families.

Their motto was “He abandons everything to serve his country.” Thus our city is founded on the ideals of taking care of each other and selfless service to the city.
I believe that these founding principles should serve as the basis for how we conduct our everyday lives.

Over the last year, as I visited every neighborhood in this City, I was always impressed by the sense of hope around the city.

Everywhere, people would share their feeling that things needed to get better, and how they truly believed things would get better.

The fantastic thing about living in a democracy is that citizens are able to let their opinions be heard and make changes if they think that we can do better.

Elections are an excellent opportunity to start fresh and set a new course for our city. On Election Day, Cincinnati called for a change in the way that business is done in our city.

The citizens selected four new City Council Members and elected me the first Mayor not to come from Council since the 1930s.
We have the opportunity to have the fresh start that our city has desperately needed for a while. We have the opportunity to turn away from our past and chart a course for a new future.

This is a great city. We need to seize this unique opportunity for a fresh start and recommit ourselves to the founding principles of our city: taking care of each other and selfless service to the city.

We have the power and ability to create the change that we all know our city needs.

We share that sense that we are all part of the same brotherhood. In order to make that feeling of brotherhood stronger, we need to focus on the issues that unite us as one Cincinnati.

The desire for nice, safe neighborhoods.
The desire for good schools and opportunities for our children.
The desire for good jobs with quality benefits
The desire for a vibrant city where we can all have fun.

If we focus on these issues of commonality, it will allow us to put aside our lesser differences and work together to improve our city for everybody.

I believe that we have all felt the enthusiasm in the community. There is a sense that we are about to turn a corner and once again move forward.

People are optimistic that the time is right for a major change in this city. People are ready for that change and they believe that it can and will happen.

I share this belief. I think that in the next few years, we have an incredible opportunity to transform our city for the better and set in motion the type of progress that will once again make Cincinnati a city that is admired across the country.

But, we cannot passively sit and wait for change, we must control our destiny. If we truly want to see change then we must actively make that change happen.

Our city has taken the first step. We have elected an excellent group of talented and motivated Council Members to help us take begin down the road of change.

From my discussions with the Council Members, I can tell you that they are deeply committed to doing what is necessary to turn this city around.

Now we must turn this positive energy and commitments into accomplishments.

Change is sometimes difficult but it is absolutely necessary. This Administration will make decisions that are in the best interest of the common good.

We must seize the opportunity that we have been given a make a fresh start. It is only through our hard work that we can make that change happen.

I am dedicated to creating a team on City Council that will come together to put the best interest of the city ahead of all else. The common element that unites all of the Council Members is that we love our city and we want very badly to make it better. Much better.

Now, I would like to recognize our next City Council.
Vice Mayor Jim Tarbell
Jeff Berding
Chris Bortz
Laketa Cole
John Cranley
David Crowley
Leslie Ghiz
Chris Monzel
Cecil Thomas

This leadership team you have entrusted to turn our city around. We are going to capitalize on the energy in this room and across the city and make the necessary changes to turn our city around and make it better.

You are looking at the future of the City of Cincinnati. I am completely confident that this team will do great things for all of us in the city of Cincinnati.

But we cannot do it along. You, the citizens of Cincinnati, are part of this team as well. If we are going to truly change our city for the better, we need your help as well. We can only make this city better if we work as a team, from the Mayor’s Office all the way down to very last citizen. All working to move the city forward.

So, I want to make a challenge to you. My challenge is to get involved and be an ambassador to the city.

You must ask yourself…
What are you going to do to turn Cincinnati around?
What are you going to do to make our city better?

We are on the verge of a great turn around in the City. By working together as a team, Mayor to Council to the city departments to the neighborhoods, and not letting anything get in our way, we can create the type of change and improvement that we all know that Cincinnati is ready for.

The 10 of us standing in front of you will work hard for you everyday. I ask you to commit yourself to also working hard. Together, I know that Cincinnati will live up to its amazing potential and become the city that our country looks up to once again.

I want to thank you all for coming. Good night and God Bless Our City

Cincinnati Mayor Mark Mallory's Inaugural Address