Good morning and thank you to all of you for being here today.

I would like to begin by specifically thanking the following individuals who found time, from what I know is a busy schedule, to be present. Please know that the people I am about to recognize and thank are as important as any other words I say today:

Members of the Clergy, Reverend Doctor Robert P. Lawrence, His Excellency Bishop George W. Coleman, and Cantor Richard Wolberg; Lieutenant Governor Tim Murray; my local colleagues in State Government, Senator Joan Menard and Representatives Robert Koczera, David Sullivan, and Patricia Haddad; Chief Justice of the Massachusetts Appeals Court, Judge Philip Rapoza; Bristol County District Attorney Sam Sutter; former Mayors Edward Lambert Jr., John Mitchell, Dan Bogan and Carlton Viveiros; Senator John Kerry and Congressman Barney Frank; Consul of Portugal in New Bedford, Dr. Fernanda Coelho; Dr. Rodrigo Oliveira, Regional Director for European Affairs and Foreign Cooperation, who is representing the President of the Regional Government of the Azores Dr. Carlos César; Dr. John Sbrega, President of Bristol Community College; and all of the Durfee student groups who helped with today’s events.

I would also like to recognize, and thank in advance, the elected officials with whom I will serve during my first term: President of the City Council; Vice President of the City Council; Members of the City Council; Vice Chairman of the School Committee; and Members of the School Committee. I am looking forward to working alongside you to develop and implement initiatives that will allow us to rebuild our city.

It is with a great sense of honor, and a greater sense of humility, that I speak before you today for the first time as your Mayor.

Today is a very special day, one that would not have been possible had you not exercised your civic right to choose whom you believe to be most suitable to govern your city.

So, first and foremost, to the people of Fall River, thank you for this opportunity. You are the beating heart that sustains the life of our city’s democratic process with the only nutrient that can keep it alive – your vote.

To my wife Pat, my children Robbie, Sue and Mark, and granddaughters Karla and Kristen, there are no  words to express how much your love, support, and patience have meant during my quest to make life better for others, as it once was made for me.

To my parents, Manny and Mary, who have passed on, but on whose bible I today laid my right hand for the oath of office, thank you for your sacrifices, your guidance, and for always being a source of profound strength. 

To my extended family of friends who volunteered in the campaign, thank you for believing in both my message and, more importantly, in me. Your active and tireless participation made today possible. As Mayor, I will rely on your continued interest to lead Fall River forward, and with your help, I will seek to inspire more and more residents, regardless of who they supported during the campaign, to consider having a stake in sailing the “USS Fall River” into better waters and a brighter future.

To my opponents, thank you for your interest in the city’s future and for contributing to the open dialogue of our democratic process. I look forward to your continued input in the dialogue that began during the election.

I recently picked up a book on Fall River’s past. It made me reflect on why Fall River finds itself at a crossroads today. With each day that goes by we are witnessing events that are fostering an environment of fear and a loss of hope on our streets, our homes, places of employment and worship.  In my view, this succession of events is directly tied to the fact that Fall River’s booming past continues to haunt our present and cloud our future. As we go about our daily lives, we look back at our golden past – but know that it cannot be resurrected because somewhere we lost our collective confidence and pride. There is reason for both pride and confidence. We are a community with a rich entrepreneurial spirit, a sense of hospitality, a remarkable work ethic, and a gritty will to survive that is unique.  I believe it is time to rebuild our most valuable municipal asset – our pride. And rebuild it we will.   

The theme of the Inaugural Festivities, and the mantra that I will adopt during my administration, is “Pride City Wide.” This theme was developed by the Fall River Inaugural Committee, an enthusiastic and talented group, who deserve our applause for organizing the celebrations open to all citizens who wish to participate.  

The theme was chosen in recognition of the fundamental fact that to effect change we must, above all, believe in ourselves. This theme will be cultivated in my administration alongside education, economic development and public safety. It is my firm belief that Fall River’s success depends as much upon our pride on who we are as a community as it does on the improved quality of our schools, the availability of better jobs, and the ability to free our streets of crime and violence.

“Pride City Wide” will be a source of strength and motivation that will lead to the new course we want to chart. Regardless of your background, or where you live in the city, be proud to be a Fall Riverite.     

We should not fear the future, nor should we be shackled by the mistakes of the past.  Join me in forging new initiatives. The next chapter in Fall River’s future is ours to envision and create. And create it we will. 

During my first term in office I will lay out the blueprint needed to rebuild the Spindle City and transform it. In the future, Fall River will be known as:

the city with the train stop to Boston;

the city that is the medical center of the entire SouthCoast region;

the city with the municipal marina that created jobs and revenue;

the city that breathes life into its downtown by creating a  Restaurant Row on South Main Street;

the city with the “Fall River Loop” that links our waterfront, historical, and cultural attractions;

the city where children and their parents both engage in lifetime learning at Community Learning Centers throughout the city; 

the city that cleaned its streets of gun-totting thugs;

the city where pride resonates city wide.

To make this possible, during my first 100 days in office, I will be making difficult but forceful decisions. In order to  build the sound foundation needed for the success of these initiatives, I will begin the comprehensive state audit of the city’s finances. I will implement a major reorganization of municipal government to improve the delivery of city services, such as beef up police presence throughout the city and strict enforcement of minimum housing standards for a cleaner, healthier city with responsible homeowners and tenants. I will make your City Hall more user-friendly. And I will appoint a committee of business leaders from the medical device/life science sectors to advise my administration of their needs and alert us to economic opportunities. 

I am aware of the high expectations I have set out for myself and those that you have of my office. I ask for your patience and understanding. In return, I will provide you with a strong Chief Executive who will work tirelessly to bring about change and to restore our pride.  We can move mountains. The best way to do that is one shovel at a time. We can do it. Working together we will do it.   With your help, we will move mountains and we will weave a new fabric of a future that all of us can be proud of.

My dear friends, thank you for sharing this day with me. Long after today’s festivities have ended, when my words have been forgotten, it is my  most sincere hope that all of us will view Fall River as the city that was rebuilt with “Pride City Wide.”

Thank you.

1875 Bay Street, Fall River, MA 02724

Alan Silvia Janice Arruda

President Secretary

774-526-1122

Ernest M. Edwards

Treasurer

508-675-1732

INAUGURAL EVENTS TO BRING

PRIDE CITY WIDE

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

Ecumenical Inaugural Mass, 10:00 AM

Inauguration of Municipal Officers, 10:00 AM