Albany's new mayor, Kathy Sheehan, has taken the oath of office in downtown Albany.
It was standing room only at Kiernan Plaza for Kathy Sheehan's swearing-in ceremony. New York's Lt. Governor Bob Duffy was the keynote speaker at the event. "This is the beginning of a new era today. This is Mayor Sheehan's era, a new day, it starts today."
Sheehan says she wants to be sure that equity and social justice guide her economic decisions. "I also know that I didn't shatter this glass ceiling by myself. It was chiseled away at, by women who came before me, and by those who believe that diversity in government leads to better government."
Observers, like former New York State Assemblyman and Albany Historian Jack McEneny say Albany's first female mayor is bringing a new face to city government. "Kathy Sheehan is the fifth mayor in 88 years. People forgot Thacher in there. You know Albany has a long tradition of very visible, very hard-working mayors who have influence throughout the region, the state and some cases in the Nation, and are looked to for guidance and for leadership, so I think she's going to do a wonderful job. I think ger background is unique in that it's in law, it's in business, it's in government, not an outsider coming in, and in finance specifically. I think she's got the tools and she certainly has the heart."
Sheehan said her first challenge as the new mayor of Albany, is coping with a predicted snow event of up to 12 inches. "I used to say when I was on my stump, part of my stump speech was 'if January first you're gonna get 20 inches of snow in the next 36 hours what do you do? Well... (applause)... I'm gonna be starting tonight at the command center down at the DGS... (more applause)...' " Sheehan spoke at her reception at the Downtown Hilton which followed the swearing-in ceremonies.
