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A Springfield Inauguration

by Bill Dusty

Domenic Sarno’s tenure as Mayor of Springfield kicked off with his swearing-in at Symphony Hall on Monday, January 7th, 2008. The City Council and School Committee were also sworn-in during the ceremony.

When I arrived at Symphony Hall at about 9:40am, school kids were lined up along the front steps awaiting their turn to go inside (the general public could just walk in) and we were all greeted at the Hall doors by Junior ROTC cadets.

The seats inside were quickly filled as family members, school children, friends, and other city residents streamed into the Hall.

The event began with Springfield Fire and Police Department color guards marching up to the stage. They were followed on stage by the members of the City Council, School Committee, outgoing-mayor Charlie Ryan and soon-to-be Mayor Sarno, Acting Springfield Police Commissioner William Fitchet, plus visiting state representatives, state senators Gale Candaras and Stephen Buoniconti, U.S. Representative Richard Neal, and a host of other local officials.

The National Anthem was then sung by Vanessa Ford, followed by a recitation of the Pledge of Allegiance by Mayor Sarno’s two daughters, Cassandra and Chiarina.

Hampden County Sheriff Michael Ashe called the event to order, and was followed by the City Clerk Wayman Lee, who performed the roll call. The Rabbi David Edelman gave the Invocation, then, before the Mistress of Ceremonies, Sarno Administration Chief of Staff Denise Jordan, took over the hosting duties.

First up was the Oath of Office for the Springfield City Council, followed directly by the swearing-in of the School Committee.

Joseph S. Broadnax (above, on right) then sang the song “You Raise Me Up” for the audience before giving way to the event’s first speaker, U.S. Representative Richard Neal.

Following Neal’s speech, the Edward J. Boland School Chorus, directed by music teacher Diane M. Rodriguez, sang two songs: “Springfield Song” and “God Bless America”.

Reverend Pedro Osorio then gave the Blessing, and was followed by speeches by State Rep. Thomas Petrolati and State Senator Buoniconti.

Finally, Domenic Sarno was given the Oath of Office. To see most of Mayor Domenic Sarno’s address, check out the two videos, below.

Sarno’s Address – Part One

Sarno’s Address – Part Two

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In an amusing exchange, immediately after Sarno was sworn in, Denise Jordan introduced the Reverend Robert S. White to give the Benediction before being reminded that the new Mayor had yet to give his inaugural address. “You’re not on the program,” she replied with a laugh. (Which was technically true: the program schedule went straight from “Oath of Office” to “Benediction”.)

The below video includes clips from various portions of the Inauguration….

THE INAUGURATION

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Posted by Bill Dusty on Jan 8th, 2008 and filed under Cities & Towns, City Hall, Elections, Feature Stories, Politics. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0. Both comments and pings are currently closed.