City Council members, friends, distinguished guests, citizens and all of you in the TV audience, welcome. And a special welcome to my parents, Jack and Dorothy Beutler, to my wife Judy, to her parents, Nye and Garnett Bond, and to other family members who are here today to share this occasion.

First, and very importantly, let me begin by conveying my heartfelt thanks and appreciation to Mayor Coleen Seng for her lifetime of extraordinary and unparalleled service to the City of Lincoln and its people. She has sacrificed much and given her all. On behalf of all of us, thank you, Mayor Seng.

I want to take a few moments with you to share a part of my vision for my administration and Lincoln’s future.

Throughout my campaign, I found one thing to be true everywhere I went – one thing I found we all have in common – a widespread and deep affection for our City.

“I love Lincoln.” And you love Lincoln. And I believe I am going to love being your Mayor because of this wonderful spirit we share.

Everyone I’ve met believes that Lincoln is a good place ... a good place to live, work and raise a family. That’s not all – we all share a vision of the even better world-class City that Lincoln can become. Lincoln is ready for Mayoral leadership and City Council leadership that will make our vision become our reality.

Lincoln voters voted for change. They want progress, now. And they want all of us, the Council, the Mayor and everyone who works for the City, to get to work and get the job done. The voters are going to hold all of us accountable ... and let me assure you, I will hold myself, my staff, my directors and my departments accountable.

I will make sure that we meet our infrastructure needs. Lincoln needs new roads, the research corridor and other innovative, forward-thinking projects. These are the economic engines that will enable Lincoln to grow the right way.

It’s time – working with the Council – to solve the budget problem and fix the budget’s structural defects. I want to let all citizens know right now that this will be a difficult, difficult process. The scale of the deficit is huge. But we must persevere so that our house is at last in order.

Finally, we will make Lincoln an easier place to do business – so that we can expand homegrown businesses, bring in new businesses and create the good, high-paying jobs that are the hallmark of a world-class City. I will not rest until we streamline procedures to make one-stop permitting a reality. In the brief two-week period of transition preceding today, I have already held dozens of meetings focusing mainly upon possible changes in personnel and on the City budget – the two most pressing problems. On Wednesday of this week, we will make the first of several announcements on personnel.

By Friday of this week, we will have set the schedule for early, meaningful City Council collaboration on the new budget. Change is not just in the wind. It is imminent.

The voters told us they wanted another kind of change too. They want to change the way we talk about the City. They’re tired of the negativity and the “Down on Lincoln” rhetoric. They voted against partisanship and divisive politics. They want us – all of us – to stop bickering, roll up our sleeves, solve Lincoln’s problems and move our City forward.

I respect the voters and the message that they gave us. Today, I am asking that: “the era of partisanship in Lincoln end. Let it be over!”

Let me state that goal again: Today, the era of partisanship in Lincoln is over.

As your Mayor, I will set the tone. And I am inviting everyone, every organization and every institution to join in being part of this change. I will work with the City Council and all citizens who want to achieve a higher level of dialogue for Lincoln. The atmosphere of trust so conducive to moving forward cannot be nurtured amidst a cacophony of exaggerated and distorted claims and counter-claims.

Let’s all start by agreeing to change how we think and talk about Lincoln. We need to think about Lincoln as the great world-class City we can make it. And we need to talk about how we are working every day to make it better.

I hope you will help me in making the end of partisanship a reality. Together, we can build a new can-do spirit where everyone knows that it is their responsibility to work for what is good for all of Lincoln. I know I can’t do it alone. I know the Mayor or even all of City Government can’t accomplish this. It takes all of us – all citizens – working together – to realize our vision for Lincoln’s future.

I ask you to join me.

Together, we will make Lincoln our world-class City.

Thank you.