Giving Thanks at the Inaugural Ceremony

Our new mayor and councilmembers were administered the Oath of Office while> on stage with their families at the F. Scott Fitzgerald Theatre yesterday. Susan Hoffmann took the Oath then administered it to John Britton, Phyllis Marcuccio and Anne Mahoney Robbins.

As was first reported by Rockville Central, Piotr Gajewski was out of the country serving as a juror at the 8th Grzegorz Fitelberg International Competition for Conductors. His wife, Tisha, and their younger daughter were honored with seats on the stage in his absence. He will be sworn in at the December 3rd Mayor and Council Meeting.

Mayor Hoffmann began her remarks by recognizing representatives from the State, County and City. When she came to Larry Giammo, she referred to him as “former mayor”, then quickly stopped herself to check, before confirming that he was in fact “former”. Although she had already been sworn in, at that moment, it became official.

“Wow what a day, extraordinary for all of us!” she exclaimed. She said this was a new chapter, and that with respect and conciliation we could have a better tomorrow. She vowed to mend the divide, and find a cost-effective, efficient way to resolve the trash issue and move forward. She would like it to be “gentle to our environment”.

She spoke of her newly-created Rockville Citizens Transition Advisory Group to be co-chaired by representatives of both “old” and “new” Rockville. Each councilmember will appoint one person to the Group and she will choose the rest. They will produce a report with a prioritized list, which will be available for public comment.

When did she receive applause? The first round was for the benchmark energy survey she wants to complete. You might wonder why an energy survey would be so well-received but she promised that by 2020 our City would emit less carbon, thereby reducing energy costs and lowering taxes. As would be expected, there was also a big round of applause when she announced that the state of Rockville was good and she intended to keep it that way. She marveled that there were only 55 cities of our size in the entire country to get a AAA bond rating.

“This is Thanksgiving week and we have much to be thankful for,” she summarized.

As the crowd milled around the reception, you could find all of the mayoral candidates and most of the council candidates in attendance. It became apparent that we do have something for which to be grateful. Everyone came together to celebrate their participation in the electoral process and offer each other congratulations. Hopefully the goodwill will continue.

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