Swearing In Speaches

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The Speech 
Judge Seabury swears in mayor laguardia After His Commission Pushed Out Jimmy Walker
"Now We Have A Real Mayor" Judge Seabury 1934

Inaugurations, Through the Decades

From Henry Stern's Newsletter:y
A twelve year period of relative tranquility is ending and a newly elected administration is starting in. Ideologically, from what they say, the Bill de Blasio administration wants to make a sharp turn to the left, viewing Bloomberg as a creature of the old regime. Certainly the substantial vote by which he was elected gives the new mayor a popular mandate. It is not clear, however, exactly what that mandate is for.  Is it for reducing expenditures or embarking on new programs like all day kindergarten? Is it for stricter law enforcement or against some police practices? The principal unsolved problem is education. Are our children being trained to hold the increasingly complex jobs which are now required of the workforce? Despite the billions of additional dollars that have been thrown at the problem, the results have not been inspiring. Inaugurations, Through the Decades(NYT)* --Jan. 2, 1934: “LAGUARDIA MOVES TO CLEAN UP CITY; STARTS HUNT FOR GRAFT IN BUREAUS; TAMMANY ORGANIZES THE ALDERMEN”
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Mayoral Inaugurations Are Time Capsules

Mayoral inaugurations are political milestones throughout the modern history of New York City. Incoming mayors can use them to signal a change in direction, or to maintain the course of those who went before. The ceremonies and speeches often reflect characteristics both of the mayor, and of the era. Here are some reports from inaugurations back to Fiorello H. La Guardia in 1934.At New York's Mayoral Inaugurations, Ask Not for a Great Speech (NYT 2006) At noon on Jan. 1, 1898, Robert A. Van Wyck was unceremoniously inaugurated as the first mayor of the consolidated city of Greater New York. He did not deliver an inaugural address. Instead, after inspecting several floral displays in the mayor's private office, Mr. Van Wyck accepted the congratulations of the departing mayor, William L. Strong - who observed that the voters had decided that Mr. Van Wyck should "descend from your position as judge and assume the position of magistrate" - and then replied tartly: "Mr. Mayor, the people have chosen me to be mayor. I shall say whatever I have to say to them." Mr. Van Wyck's retort may go down as the least gracious of inaugural remarks, but, the fact is, not many of his successors who delivered formal speeches after they were sworn in said much of anything that was any more memorable. Asked to recall one memorable phrase from a mayoral inaugural, Henry J. Stern, a former councilman, commissioner and a student of city government replied, "I certainly can't think of any."


Bloomberg 2001-2013
Terrorists Attack Recovery 

In his 2002 inaugural address Mayor Bloomberg talked about rebuilding the city after the September 11 terrorist attacks on the World Trade Center, cutting the size of city government, and called on businesses to retain their commitment to the city New York City Mayor Inauguration - C-SPAN Video Library--Jan. 2, 2002, “BLOOMBERG OFFERS EXAMPLE WITH VOW TO CUT STAFF 20% -- GOAL: ‘DO MORE WITH LESS’ -- At Inauguration, Mayor Asks New Yorkers to Recognize Limits of Government,” by Jennifer Steinhauer

2nd Term: Ambitions Housing Program, Illegal Guns and Improve the Schools
 Mayor Bloomberg's 2nd Inauguration Speech 2006 Seizing on his electoral mandate in a second inaugural address that projected unabashed optimism, Mayor Michael R. Bloomberg promised yesterday to pursue the most ambitious housing program in New York City's history, to begin a national campaign against illegal guns, and to "lock in and extend" his program to improve the schools

3rd Term: Term Limits
Bloomberg secured a controversial third term after successfully persuading legislators to overturn the city’s two-term limit for elected officials. That, combined with growing unease at the widening gap between rich and poor provided the springboard for his successor, Bill de Blasio, to campaign on a slogan that it was time to end what he termed the “tale of two cities.”


Giuliani  1994-2001
Safe Streets

New York Mayoral Inauguration - C-SPAN Video Library In his 1994 inauguration speech, Mayor Giuliani talked about the changes he plans that will once again make New York City the capital of the world. He emphasized the bipartisan government that now characterizes the New York system and hoped that solutions to many of the city’s problems will be found through them. * RUDY GIULIANI'S FIRST INAUGURATION - KID'S ANTICS! - YouTube * Second Inaugural Address, January 1998, available via Real Player, and also as text. --Jan. 2, 1994: “Giuliani May Model Fiscal Plan on Innovations Tried Elsewhere,” by Alison Mitchell

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Dinkins 1990-1993
New York the Gorgeous Mosaic

Michael Bloomberg - Third Mayoral Inaugural Address Bloomberg delivered his third inaugural address to the City of New York, emphasizing the important role innovative government can play in improving people's lives and the need for New Yorkers to come together to get through the challenging times ahead. Recognizing the central role that immigrants and small businesses have always played in creating a dynamic and prosperous city, the Mayor today signaled that both areas would become major focuses during the upcoming term. * Dinkins Vows to Fight Crime, Help Children : Politics: He pledges to be the mayor of all the people of New York. His inaugural speech tempers his vision of the future with the fiscal reality of a huge deficit.--Jan. 2, 1990, “Dinkins Sworn In; Stresses Aid to Youth: He Pledges to be ‘Mayor of All the People,’” by Todd S. Purdum

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Koch 1978-1989
Making New York Work Again

TEXT OF ADDRESS DELIVERED BY MAYOR KOCH AT HIS THIRD INAUGURATION For 10 years, we've been haunted by the phantom of fiscal failure, for 10 years we've been shadowed by fears that the calamity we overcame will somehow come back and attack us again. On the first day of 1986, it is time to put aside uncertainty and give ourselves the credit we deserve. New Yorkers are not going to let their city slide backward. We won't abandon our sense of fiscal responsibility any more than we'll abandon our sense of social responsibility. We worked long and hard to balance our budget without balancing it on the backs of the poor. This has been the secret of our success. It's a secret the Federal Government would be well advised to learn.  Some people may wonder if it's wise to pat ourselves on the back when so much remains yet to be done. What about the housing crisis? Since 1978, the city has helped to build or rehabilitate 170,000 units, reversing decades of loss. But isn't the homeless rate increasing? And should we really be proud of our public school system? Test scores have gone up in reading and math but the dropout problem is still severe, and a number of schools are not performing as they should.* KOCH PLEDGES AID FOR THE HOMELESS, SCHOOLS AND POOR - NYTimes.com --Jan. 2, 1978: “KOCH, IN INAUGURAL, ASKS THAT ‘PIONEERS’ ‘COME EAST’ TO CITY: KEY OFFICIALS ALSO SWORN IN – Mayor Acknowledges ‘Hard Times’ but Places New York ‘Above Any Other City in the World,’” by Lee Dembart *

Beame 1974-1977
Fiscal Crisis

Abe Beame for mayor 1965 and the Bosses  
Abraham D. Beame, a former city comptroller, inherited a spendthrift city that was already on the road to fiscal crisis, until finally banks became unwilling to lend. His administration was scandal-free, but he was unable to win over critics, who accused him of timidity and indecision. He served only one term.  --Jan. 2, 1974, “Beame Inaugurated, Vows Integrity and Efficiency: Mayor Looks to Reborn ‘Faith in Our City,’” by Murray Schumach (Sidebar: “From Beach 131^st Street [Queens] to City Hall,” by Maurice Carroll)

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Lindsay 1966-1973
Reinventing New York City

John Lindsay first inaugural address, 1966 (excerpts) / John ... - VimeoA confrontation with a powerful municipal union was brewing even before Lindsay became mayor on January 1, 1966. The Transport Workers Union, which represented subway workers and bus drivers, was threatening to go on strike for higher wages. Lindsay, who had no experience with labor negotiations and lacked his predecessor’s close relationships with the city’s union leaders, had vowed to hold down city costs. He denounced Wagner’s private, albeit effective, negotiations with unions as a form of unsavory backroom dealing, and, although he himself met with the leadership secretly several times, he publicly refused to cut a deal with the union. TWU president Mike Quill retaliated by vocally taunting the mayor-elect. Well before inauguration day, Lindsay and Quill were adversaries, rather than partners, in negotiation.* News: Mayor Lindsay Inauguration - WNYC * America's Mayor: John V. Lindsay and the Reinvention of New York ...* CUNY TV Special: America's Mayor: John V. Lindsay and the Reinve --Jan. 2, 1966, “SUBWAYS AND BUSES HALTED BY STRIKE; LINDSAY APPEALS FOR A CURB ON TRAVEL; INAUGURAL ASKS FIGHT FOR A BETTER CITY,” by Homer Bigart

Wagner 1954-1965
3rd Term End of Tammany Hall

Swearing-In Ceremony of Mayor Robert F. Wagner - YouTube

Former New York City Mayor Robert F. Wagner on public housing 

Health and Housing: La Guardia Radio Programs