Last night, I officially began my term as your new Mayor.
I and my fellow councilmembers Burkman, Harris and Stewart were sworn in, and as a council we selected Larry Smith as Mayor Pro Tem.
We're beginning a new chapter in Vancouver's history, in the midst of great optimism mixed with great anxiety. Our community faces numerous and critical challenges, but we have weathered storms like this before and we will persevere.
The new year brings with it a renewed sense of faith, a conviction in our collective ability to succeed, and a celebration of new beginnings.
I am both humbled by the enormity of the task at hand, and honored to be selected by our citizens to lead the City Council and our community. Your City Council is composed of fellow citizens, compassionate and dutiful individuals who understand that the people's perspective is best represented with respectful, candid, and constructive discourse.
As Henry Ford said, "Coming together is a beginning, staying together is progress, and working together is success."
I am pleased to be working with these colleagues as we face very serious decisions about the direction of our community.
We have a lot of work ahead of us, and I look forward to rolling up my sleeves and doing that work with each and every one of you.
3 comments:
Mayor Leavitt, congratulations on assuming your new post. Best wishes to you in the coming new year and in your first term. As we begin the year news from Portland is that they are moving forward with rennovation of PGE Park. What has become of the discussions to entertain the move of the Portland Beavers to Vancouver? Given the economic situation it would be nice to see a project like that take shape in our community. Perhaps the vacant Evergreen Airfield would be a good location for a ball park!
Thank you for your interest in this issue.
At this time, discussions are on the 'backburner' about AAA baseball coming to the City of Vancouver.
I agree with you in the feeling that such a project could reap both economic and social benefits for our community.
Unfortunately, the required level of public investment/public $$$ to the project is in the tens of millions.
While this issue remains in the background, the Vancouver City Council has more pressing matters to deal with -- decisions about how to address some $6 million in revenue shortfall for the coming year.
I'll continue to work on it … but it won't happen in the near future, unless the need for significant public $$$ is minimized.
best,
tim
Mayor Leavitt,
Our family was so please when you were elected. I am the wife of the police officer in Vancouver & we are now struggling with the thought of him losing his job. As a wife I hear about what our officers do everyday, yet they do it for the safety of others, and are proud to serve. As a mother I am concerned about keeping our community safe, & as a citizen I am concerned with the loss of more jobs & public safety. We can not lose our police officers at such a vital time. They are to important to our community, & there has to be other ways to trim spending without losing those who serve & protect Vancouver.
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