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Council Chairman Kwame Brown
Inauguration Speech
 
January 2, 2011

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Inauguration speech Press release
January 2, 2011 

Inauguration Speech 
Chairman Kwame R. Brown 

To Mayor Gray, Mayor Fenty, my Council colleagues, Congresswoman Norton, distinguished guests, and those who are gathered here -- good morning.

Thank you very much to my good friend Attorney General Eric Holder. I am deeply honored that you have administered the oath of office to me as the seventh chairman of the Council of the District of Columbia.

I am also deeply humbled by your trust as I assume the duties of this office. I follow a noble line of predecessors -- Sterling Tucker, Arrington Dixon, Dave Clarke, John Wilson, Linda Cropp and Vincent Gray — all who blazed new trails, saw wrong and fought to right it, and labored to create a society based on the rule of law and care of the public purse.

I stand today as the beneficiary of their wisdom and walk in the example that says to all: The District of Columbia should aspire to be nothing but the very best — a world class city.

I would like to first thank my loving family: My mother who taught me the sense of integrity and prayer. My father who always taught me to stand for the people. My wife of 17 years Marcia and wonderful children Lauren and Kwame II, who have allowed me to share myself with so many of you day after day, weekend after weekend.

To my sisters, brother, and cousins who worked tirelessly on my campaign. To my uncle who taught me so much.

And the great people of this city who stood up and said they believed in my vision. I humbly say thank you and pledge that I will not let you down.
To my colleagues and their dedicated staffs who helped me achieve the Chairmanship, I say thank you. I look forward to working with you to continue the success and right the wrongs of this great city.

I pledge to you that I will not rest until you are provided with the resources and support you need to serve the citizens you represent.

That being said, we start 2011 in the midst of challenges unlike any we have seen in a long time — challenges that have only deepened over the last few years.

Some feel that we have lost opportunities and prosperity because of our fiscal challenges.

But, we can restore opportunity and prosperity because our education reform has been the envy of this country.

We are still home to the most brilliant minds, the most generous philanthropists, and the strongest and most creative local entrepreneurs.

Our city is growing with nearly 30 thousand new residents. And, we are still, according to the Wall Street Journal, the hippest city in America.

We have remarkable opportunities before us. But we also have daunting challenges.

My vision is simple: To help Washington become a world class city that works for all of our citizens by providing the opportunity for everyone to realize their dreams, fall in love and maybe start a family, and earn the pride and sense of security that comes with meaningful employment.

You see, in our hands rests the final success or failure of our course.

Thomas Jefferson believed that to preserve the very foundations of our nation, we would need dramatic change from time to time. Well, my fellow citizens, this is our time. Let us embrace it.

We must do what no generation has done before. We must invest more in our own people — and yet spend less. This challenge means that not everyone will be happy with what is to come.

Indeed, in this era of double-speak, empty rhetoric and grand promises that cannot be kept, I pledge to speak to you with candor, clarity and frank honesty concerning the issues we face.

This is the first time in our city’s history that a Council chair has risen to the Mayor’s office. And we are blessed that Vincent Gray has made this journey.

It is best said simply: He is a good man. A decent man. A hardworking man. He carries with him the respect of his former colleagues.

Over the last four years, both branches of government seemed to spend too much time talking at each other or not talking at all.

Like Mayor Gray, I am committed to changing this. We will work together for the good of our city.

You see, success is something that multiplies when you share it.

But I must be clear, the Council will do its part by continuing robust oversight of government functions under the Mayor and independent agencies.
We will examine the budget closely . . . and scrub it. And we will work closely with our CFO, Dr. Gandhi, relying on his office’s analysis and numbers and -- when appropriate -- we will challenge them.

First things first, we must get our fiscal house back in order.

We must get our residents either back to work or ready for work.

And we must continue to move education reform forward with a focus on creating world-class middle schools.

As a native Washingtonian, a graduate of DCPS, ---- and now as a proud parent of two kids in DCPS, I believe that educating our young people is the most important challenge facing our nation and this very city.

For the past 5 years my wife and I have been involved in every aspect of my children’s educational experience. We attend LSRT meetings and school functions and parent –teacher conferences.

You see, we have the same hopes and fears for our children as do parents in Shepherd Park or across the Anacostia River.

One thing is common: the more parental involvement in life of the student, the better their academic outcomes will be.

We must embrace the thought that accountability begins at home and not just with the teachers and principals in our schools.

We can no longer tolerate the lack of parental involvement and accountability in the lives of their children.

Education reform may have started with our school modernization bill, but it was never a four-year experiment.

We should and shall move forward with more energy and desire than ever before in creating a world-class school system by any means necessary.

So, let me be clear. Under my leadership the Council will hasten the pace of educational reform.

We will ensure that education reform is an inclusive effort that is bold and holds adults accountable for what happens to our children. Education reform is something done ―with you‖, not ―to you.

This is why I have kept education in the Committee of the Whole because educating our children remains the number one priority.

In addition to focusing on the cost drivers, such as special education spending and federal funding, I want to rebuild our middle schools -- not just through dialogue -- but through action.

Never again should we allow the hopes of getting accepted to UDC, Georgetown, or Howard be stolen from DCPS students before they reach the 9th grade because we allowed middle schools to fail them and steal their potential.

This is unacceptable and no longer should or will be tolerated. Because we can do better.

And so I say to all of us here, let us resolve our politics-- let us put aside personal advantage for collective growth so that we can help our struggling students see the promise of the future.

Real reform should have one goal and one outcome: to prepare our children to occupy their place on the world stage -- prepared and second to none!

To this end, the whole village must cease finger pointing and join hands to raise the child. In addition to education reform, we must focus on job creation.

You see, Washington is presently a tale of two cities: Steady jobs and high earnings for some and disgracefully historic unemployment for too many!

Government alone cannot solve the shameful blight of unemployment among our residents. There must be new partnerships with business and the private sector!

In order to grow businesses and create more jobs, our Government must become more business friendly.

We must extend tax incentives that really produce jobs for DC residents.

We must streamline our regulations and eliminate the obstacles for permits, licenses, zoning, inspections and certifications.

No sound business or job opportunity should be lost because of government red tape!

Our current employment laws must be enforced. And, we must amend the law regarding incentives and hiring requirements from a percentage of new hires to a percentage of all hires.

We must continue to address the special needs of small businesses and ensure that women, minority, and veteran-owned businesses have opportunities to compete in the marketplace.

I will continue the fight to ensure that Phelps, Cardozo, Hospitality High School, and Carlos Rosario are open on nights, weekends, and in the summer to provide the training needed for jobs that exist today.

I will lead the fight to eliminate funding for training programs that do not create real job opportunities for DC residents.

To be clear, I have no illusions, we live in perilous and historic times of financial and human challenges. Governments on every level must face the cold, hard truth: we must do more with less!

But it is also the time to break the bad habit of expecting something for nothing, from our government or from each other.

Let us all take more responsibility, not only for ourselves and our families but for this city. Our best intentions must be tempered with the reality of our municipal checkbook.

We’ve spent our healthy budget reserves down to minimum levels. Our current circumstances bear this out. It is a method of accounting that is unsustainable.

I wish I could assure you that the necessary adjustments to our budget will be painless. That they will be temporary. But that’s not the case.

While we may not always agree on the same path, we must agree on several principles to guide us:

First, we can never abandon our citizens who rely on public services to achieve the basic elements of dignity and equal opportunity.

Second, we must embrace the fact that government cannot – and should not – undertake every worthwhile endeavor it might conceive.

Through no fault of our own, our tax base is limited.

Our residents and businesses pay already high taxes and fees in some areas. We must be wary of the consequences of adding to this burden.

Third, we must see that the taxes owed to us are paid and that federal funds available to us are claimed.

Without these principles, our future dreams will never be realized!

Having crisscrossed this city three times in the last six years seeking your support, I know that you understand this situation and will support an approach that, while difficult in the short-term, will yield us long-term security.

To have a solid recovery our residents and businesses must be confident that we’re getting our fiscal house in order.

That’s why we should not create a slew of new government programs. Instead this Council should focus on getting rid of the programs that aren’t producing and expand those that do.

Now, when today’s celebration ends, tomorrow brings daunting challenges.

I know that we will meet these challenges together. And District of Columbia will be successful.

In the weeks ahead, I will begin to unveil some bold change in the Council’s technology services.

We will strengthen our Budget Office and begin to upgrade the Council’s internal processes so they help us legislate better and effectively.

I will work with my colleagues to create an Ethics Committee for the Council.

Taken together, this will allow us to be more transparent and make it easier for public to engage in our work.

So, as I close today, let me leave you with a story about the woman who had a near death experience but was given a second chance to live!

Before being sent back to life, an escort showed the woman a large and beautiful banquet hall.

The table was appointed with the richest and most delicious food, yet each of the guests were gaunt and skeletal in appearance.

The air was pierced by the sounds of their sad moans and tortured pain!

Looking closely, the woman could see that each of the guests had spoons with long handles... longer than their arms, too long to feed themselves. The woman thought this is hell!

She was taken to another great hall just like the first. There she heard laughter and all the guests at table were happy.

This was because each person took the spoon with the long handle to serve and feed each other! This was heaven.

My fellow citizens, though we face record unemployment, declining resources and increasing need, I have no doubt that our city will be heaven -- not hell -- if we all commit to take our long handled spoons -- to serve and feed each other rather than starve trying to feed just ourselves!

Let us be guided by the words of Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr.: ― Cowardice asks -- is it safe?

Expediency asks -- is it politic?

Vanity asks -- is it popular?

But conscience asks -- is it right?

As long as the whole community is committed to do what's right — right for our poor -- right for our children -- right for our seniors -- right for our businesses and employees -- right for Anacostia -- right for the Palisades -- right for Barry Farm and for Foggy Bottom -- though the way will be difficult, our victory is assured.

Since we all live in one place and share in one banquet hall called Washington, D.C., let us leave this room and commit to use our long handled spoons to serve and feed each other.

Let us focus on what we can do together! I am confident that this Council will stand together to continue the things that move us forward and overcome the things that have held us back.

We have heard the trumpets. We have changed the guard. And now, each in our way, and with God's help, we must answer the call.

Our best days and better angels are before us. I challenge you to grab your spoon and do your part to make a difference together!

Thank you and God bless you, and God bless the District of Columbia.


PRESS RELEASE

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
January 2, 2011 

CONTACT:  Traci Hughes (202) 595-4834

CHAIRMAN KWAME R. BROWN SWORN IN AS THE SEVENTH CHAIRMAN OF THE COUNCIL OF THE DISTRICT OF COLUMBIA 

Chairman-Kwame R. Brown has been sworn in as the seventh Chairman of the Council of the District of Columbia. 

In a speech delivered to hundreds gathered at the Washington Convention Center, Chairman Brown promised a more transparent and efficient Council of the District of Columbia; a Council that will clear the way for job growth and economic development; and a Council that will work with Mayor Gray to improve the city’s financial health.

“First things first, we must get our fiscal house back in order.  Our best intentions must be tempered with the reality of our municipal checkbook,” said Brown.  “We can never abandon our citizens who rely on public services to achieve the basic elements of dignity and equal opportunity.  And we must see that the taxes owed to us are paid and that federal funds available to us are claimed.”   

For the full text of the speech, please visit www.dccouncilchair.com.

The first legislative session of District of Columbia Council period 19 will be held on January 4, 2011.

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