[0:14] >> good afternoon, thank you for being here, this is a momentous

[0:19] occasion for the council of columbia.

[0:23] I will note the swearing in is taking place today and not

[0:27] earlier because we have to wait until the board of

[0:30] formally certifies the results for the june 16 election, which

[0:34] they did today. It is under the home rule act we

[0:41] are required, or we are supposed to swear in the winner of the

[0:43] election on the same day. So here we are, would have been

[0:52] a few weeks earlier if the votes could be tallied more quickly.

[0:56] I mean no shade to the board of elections, they did the process,

[0:59] that is why we are here today in the middle of july.

[1:04] I want to congratulate alyssa silverman for her victory.

[1:09] with rain choice voting, everyone said before june 16 how

[1:13] many candidates would have to go through the ranking and how long

[1:17] it would take. She commanded enough votes that

[1:22] she won her first ballot, so congratulations.

[1:33] I will note there is always someone newly elected.

[1:45] I know the newly elected folks have to figure out where the

[1:48] bathrooms are, as they say, and the processes.

[1:54] we know she has experienced, so she will be able to hit the

[1:57] ground running. This is a consequential time,

[2:05] and I will proceed to ask the councilmember elect to come

[2:09] forward. I think you want some family to

[2:11] come forward, then we will administer the oath of office.

[2:31] [applause] [applause]

[2:53] >> over on that side. You can stand between me and the

[3:07] councilmember -- if you would raise your right

[3:11] hand. Repeat after me.

[3:22] >> I alyssa silverman >> do solemnly swear.

[3:25] >> that I will faithfully execute the laws of the united

[3:28] states of america. >> that I will faithfully

[3:31] execute the laws of the united states of america.

[3:33] >> end of the district of columbia.

[3:37] >> and will to the best of my ability.

[3:39] >> and will to the best of my ability.

[3:42] >> preserve, protect, and defend.

[3:45] >> preserve, protect, and defend.

[3:48] >> the constitution of the united states.

[3:50] >> the constitution of the united states.

[3:53] >> and the district of columbia home rule act.

[3:55] >> and the district of columbia home rule act.

[3:58] >> and will faithfully discharge the duties.

[4:00] >> and will faithfully discharge the duties.

[4:02] >> of the office of member. >> of the office of member.

[4:07] >> of the office of the council of district columbia.

[4:10] >> on which I'm about to enter. >> on which I'm about to enter.

[4:13] >> congratulations. >> thank you.

[4:17] [applause]

[4:41] >> and I think we will get some remarks.

[4:46] >> very brief. >> as long as you want.

[5:02] >> while we are waiting, I want to acknowledge -- council matt

[5:08] fruman, anita bonds, chad white are here.

[5:13] because the date was unclear, other members could not be here.

[5:18] but I want to acknowledge them for being here.

[5:23] >> thank you for being here. >> my fellow washingtonians, it

[5:41] is exhilarating. To be in a room full of people

[5:45] dedicated to making our home the nation's capital, a better d.c.

[5:52] for all. This is not my first time

[5:57] reciting the oath of office, it is not my first time standing

[6:05] before you vowing to uphold the constitution, to defend bc home

[6:11] rule and to do everything in my power to improve the lives of

[6:17] washingtonians. There are many wise people I

[6:24] could quote about the power of resilience.

[6:28] from harriet tubman to nelson mandela, to rocky balboa.

[6:37] but we are here in the wilson building, and the most

[6:42] appropriate person to quote is the man known as the mayor for

[6:49] life, marian and barry junior. His endorsement of me in the

[6:57] 2014 at large dc council race took many people by surprise.

[7:02] and it catapulted me to my first electoral victory.

[7:08] he also made a big political comeback.

[7:14] the mayor is known for saying, it is not how you get knocked

[7:18] down, it is how you get back up. I think it went further on to

[7:26] say when you knock it down, he advised to get knocked down on

[7:30] your back, that way you can look up.

[7:38] and he always said, if you can look up, you can get up.

[7:46] so I have a few thoughts to add given my experiences.

[7:53] in the first thing is you cannot get up alone.

[7:58] you can do it by yourself, you need others to help lift you up.

[8:06] because when you are knocked down, whether losing a job you

[8:13] love, or losing a person you love, or navigating illnesses,

[8:20] or facing a bully, it is disorienting.

[8:22] you lose your's sense of direction and identity.

[8:29] and you need others to remind you of your strengths, of your

[8:34] integrity, of your promise, and of your hopes for the future.

[8:41] the people who surrounded me are the core of those people who

[8:50] helped me, and I look around this room and I see the people

[8:59] who lifted me up. I'm thinking of others who

[9:02] helped me from near and from afar who can't be here today.

[9:06] it was in acts that were very big and small.

[9:13] helping me put one foot in front of the other.

[9:17] and in this very public setting, I want to say thank you.

[9:23] thank you guys so much. I would not be standing here

[9:26] without you. I will never forget the lunches

[9:32] and the dinners, the trips, the check in phone calls, the

[9:39] emails, the movies we went to, the bike rides, the dinners, the

[9:44] tennis games, and all the love you express to me.

[9:50] thank you so much. And in some ways as a city over

[9:57] the last few years, we have been knocked down.

[10:03] whether by a worldwide pandemic, or by a reckless president, and

[10:10] a congress that has lost its moral compass and backbone.

[10:16] for some washingtonians, this is not a new feeling, it is a

[10:21] generational struggle. It has been a challenge for more

[10:25] than a few years. Having the feeling that they can

[10:30] no longer live here. That they wonder whether there

[10:34] is a place for him here, a home for them here.

[10:41] for others, it has been recent. I'm thinking of a woman that I

[10:47] met at a movie night, the movie was hamilton, I was not there to

[10:51] watch the movie, pretty much all I do is collect signatures and

[10:57] hand out campaign literature for the past six months.

[11:01] in all seriousness, she intentionally came up to me and

[11:05] told me she lost her job with usaid.

[11:09] it has been more than a year of trying to get back on her feet.

[11:16] hundreds of job applications she has filled out that just seem to

[11:21] go out into a black hole. Difficulty collecting bc

[11:26] unemployment, I know something about that.

[11:29] she lost her turn-based health insurance and access to health

[11:32] care. And she worries every day about

[11:38] how she can pay her bills and whether it really makes sense.

[11:44] I know how terrifying and isolating that feels.

[11:50] I have been there. For days.

[11:54] and weeks. And I have to say years.

[12:01] what I want to say to my fellow washingtonians is I'm here.

[12:05] if you think no one else is here, I'm here to lift you up.

[12:11] and I see it in my role that we somewhat jokingly call alyssa

[12:17] 2.0, to make sure that d.c. Government works well, works

[12:25] efficiently, works effectively, works competently to help you

[12:29] get back up if you need that help, to get back on track.

[12:36] we need d.c. Government to get our city back up, our city back

[12:39] on track, to be that place of great opportunity for all, the

[12:45] light of the world in that shining city on a hill.

[12:51] it is time to get back up. I'm here to remind you we are a

[12:58] city of very talented residents, unique and incredible local

[13:03] businesses, creative entrepreneurs, public policy

[13:08] experts, even a few lawyers, of compassionate and caring people

[13:13] who know that our strength is in our growing diversity.

[13:19] in our mix of people who grew up in this city, like mayor bowser,

[13:24] like our likely future mayor, janeese lewis george, and people

[13:28] sitting here today. Two in the front row.

[13:34] and then there are others like me, like marion barry, who came

[13:39] to the city because of its promise like president douglas,

[13:43] jose andres, like many of you as well.

[13:49] we cannot do this work alone. We need to do it together.

[13:56] and when we disagree, we need to find common ground to move

[14:01] forward together. To all those d.c. Voters, many

[14:06] of whom are in this room, who helped me get to this moment,

[14:11] who voted for me in all eight wards, and to the organizations

[14:16] and unions who supported me and endorsed me.

[14:18] thank you. I will work as hard as I can for

[14:25] you. And to those who did not vote

[14:27] for me, to those groups that did not endorse me, I represent you

[14:33] as well. I will never forget that I will

[14:39] work equally hard for you as well.

[14:43] I had the chance to thank councilmember doni crawford for

[14:46] her service to the city, we met tuesday morning before the last

[14:56] legislative meeting and we had a very good conversation.

[14:58] I look forward to continuing to work with her.

[15:03] I also had the opportunity to sit down with the state board of

[15:07] education president, sean patterson.

[15:11] we talked about how we can partner with the ward 7 and ward

[15:15] eight council members on getting our kids back in school and

[15:20] bringing more and better economic development to our

[15:24] communities east of the anacostia river.

[15:28] I look forward to working with -- as well.

[15:32] we have many challenges ahead, some are in our control, some

[15:37] are not. What is important, I have

[15:41] learned, is how we respond. That we keep our integrity of

[15:48] making this government by the people and for the people, that

[15:51] we maintain our morality, that all residents should live in

[15:58] dignity, and that we do not give into political beliefs and

[16:02] understand that power should be used to uplift the many, not

[16:08] just the chosen few based on what we look like or how much

[16:13] money they have, or who they know.

[16:16] it is time to get back up, d.c., time to get to work.

[16:22] and I'm here to do the heavy lifting.

[16:25] thank you. And I hope you will join me

[16:30] downstairs, my new counsel office for happy hour

[16:36] celebration will fuel us to start this important work ahead.

[16:41] see you downstairs, thank you chairman mendelson for

[16:47] administering the host, thank you for my colleagues, for being

[16:52] here, and everyone coming today to be a part of this moment.

[16:58] I think I have to sign a few papers apparently and make this

[17:01] all official. So thank you again.

[17:09] it is truly my honor to represent you and represent this

[17:13] city. Thank you so much.

[17:37] >> thank you very much, that is the end of this event.

[17:42] congratulations, councilmember alyssa silverman.

[17:54] the --

Swearing-In Ceremony of Councilmember At-Large (Elect) Elissa Silverman

Agenda

Transcript