Tkazyik sworn in for second term as Poughkeepsie’s mayor
Hundreds of residents, officials and well-wishers packed the Grandview ballroom on Poughkeepsie’s waterfront, to observe the inauguration of the mayor and city council.
Mayor John C. Tkazyik begins a second term following a close re-election last November. As a Republican, he faces the next two years with a strong Democratic majority on the common council. Bipartisanship was stressed in his inaugural speech.
“We may have our partisan difference and disagreements,” said Tkazyik, “about who gets what, or how to allocate the scarce resources of a city that faces cutbacks in state and federal aid.”
“But today,” Tkazyik indicated, “let us acknowledge there is nothing partisan of safe streets and clean parks. Nothing partisan about ridding this city of drugs and gang violence,” to the approval of the audience.
“There is nothing partisan about creating a climate conducive to job growth, or creating a ladder of opportunity where people can climb as far and as fast as they would like.”
The mayor declared, “We are a diverse people, we live in a diverse city. Let us today renew our vow to embrace our diversity. Let us vow never allow our diversity to divide, but instead serve as a source of strength.”
Tkazyik noted past achievements. “We have made progress in making this city a safer place to live, an emerging hub of economic activity. We have managed to keep a budget in balance and a tax levy under control, by working together for the common good,” he said.
“Let us be proud of the progress that we’ve made — but acknowledge that our work is not yet done. For there are too many in this city who are without work, not yet reached the full measure of their potential, who still live in fear of crime, still living in the shadow of the American dream.”
The mayor said that his greatest satisfaction comes from “seeing others realize success, achievement, the opportunity to better themselves, and enrich their lives and those of others.”