Democrat Wendell Hughes kicked off his mayoral campaign in February. Eleven months later he was sworn in as Plattsburgh’s 30th mayor at noon today.
Shortly after noon Hughes was sworn in to a four-year term as mayor of Plattsburgh by City Court Judge Matthew Favro.
“I do solemnly swear that I will support the Constitution of the United States and the Constitution of the state of New York and that I will faithfully discharge the duties of mayor of the city of Plattsburgh according to the best of my abilities,” vowed Hughes.
Judge Favro offers “Congratulations” as the crowd applauds.
Mayor Hughes spoke briefly to the standing room only crowd before inviting them to enjoy refreshments.
“I’m just humbled by everything. I swear to you I will work as hard as I can. In four years hopefully we can look back and say wow look what we did,” Hughes pledged.
Hughes had been serving as a Clinton County legislator for an area that covers parts of the town and city. He decided to run for the city’s top seat less than a week after then-Mayor Chris Rosenquest announced he would not seek a second four-year term.
Hughes won a primary against Clinton County Assistant District Attorney Dan Lennon and in the general election beat former Republican Mayor Don Kasprzak. He told reporters who crowded around him that being mayor is surreal.
“It’s just still, it’s just overwhelming. I mean just really overwhelming. I mean it’s just amazing to see the folks that showed up today. My brother drove up from New York City unexpectedly. So it’s pretty cool,” Hughes said. “It’s just still surreal and an amazing to come into work this morning and you know I’m the mayor of the city of Plattsburgh. So. I’m excited too. So excited. I think we can do a lot of great things. Priorities haven’t changed. They have not changed. I mean the police department is still the police department. Bringing growth to the city of Plattsburgh and making sure people know the city of Plattsburgh is open for business. We want to make sure we’re viewed more positively.”
Hughes noted that he has been reaching out to the town to discuss recreation and other potential partnerships. Town of Plattsburgh Supervisor Michael Cashman noted Hughes will be the fourth mayor he has interacted with and they are discussing opportunities that intersect.
“One of the things that really is of great benefit to both the town and the city at this point is that Wendell was a county legislator that represented a significant portion of the Town of Plattsburgh. He understands a lot of the issues and the needs and where it intersects with the city already,” Cashman said. “We had been in constant conversation when he was serving as county legislator and we’ve spoken every day this new year since. So, yeah, we’re going to continue to move forward. But the value statement that he demonstrated during the campaign of communication, collaboration and compromise are the same values that I hold to be true and really looking forward to using a model that will be positive for both of our municipalities.”
Newly elected Ward 6 Common Councilor Amy Collin, a Democrat, was also sworn in during the brief ceremony.
