Notes For Remarks
Mayor Daryl Bennett
Inaugural Address
Monday December 1, 2014
Mister Clerk,
Members of Council past and present,
The Reverend Dr. Brown,
The Monkman Family;
Honoured Guests,
Ladies and Gentlemen:
I want to extend a warm welcome to each of you,
And my personal thanks for being with us today.
Your attendance gives both value and meaning
To the inauguration of our new City Council.
As you know,
This event is one of the most significant on the municipal agenda…
Symbolizing as it does the commencement of a new term of City Council…
And a new chapter in the evolving story of our great City.
***
As we look forward,
It is also important to look back
On our time-honoured democratic principles and practices,
And the blessings of the traditions that sustain us all.
In that regard,
I want to congratulate all of those
Who courageously declared their candidacy for elected office in the recent election…
Both those who were successful…
And those who were not.
We would not be who we are without your contributions,
And we are better for them.
In particular, I wish to thank former Councillors Jack Doris, Bob Hall, Len Vass and Bill Juby
For their years of highly valued service and dedication to our City, and to its people.
***
We come together today to learn from the past
And prepare for the future.
The election campaign of 2014
And the community conversations that arose from it
Served as a dialogue of discovery…
Exploring our common interests…
And clarifying our collective purpose.
***
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The people of Peterborough
Have invested in us
An expression of their hopes and their dreams for a better tomorrow…
And I thank them for that.
During the election campaign, I set out a number of proposals on their behalf.
I will be presenting these to Council and the community in the days ahead,
And I want to highlight them for you now.
***
First, the economic, cultural and social well being of the downtown…
Including its business people, residents and visitors…
Will be a focus of the term, as it should be.
I will be recommending a multi-year program for downtown revitalization
That includes the rebuilding of our major streets…
An improvement in downtown cleanliness and maintenance…
And enhancements to the perception and the reality of personal safety and security.
In order to give these plans the attention they deserve,
I will be recommending to Council that I sit as your representative on the DBIA.
***
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Second, economic development will continue to be a mainstay of our work.
I will be recommending to both City and County Councils
A reorganization of Peterborough Economic Development Corporation,
With the intention of
More directly integrating the activities of the Corporation with its funding governments…
Improving its accountability to those governments and our taxpayers…
More tightly focusing its mission and operations…
And making more efficient use of its resources.
My intention is to signal to investors
That we are rededicating ourselves
To the retention and attraction of jobs
As a primary commitment of this Council.
***
Third, the election brought about a tangible expression of community interest
In the manner in which we engage our constituents.
It is plain that we are only as respected and relevant as the people believe us to be…
And that their expectations must be our expectations.
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It was on this basis that I put forward a variety of proposals in October.
I include here the provision of new resources to permit Councillors to hold more community
meetings…
Assistance to communities who wish to form local associations in their own interest…
A new protocol for notifying communities of major public works…
And an online resource to improve information about those works…
An increased number of public meetings for road projects that are the subject of an
environmental assessment…
And improved public engagement through the live streaming of Committee and Council
meetings.
We have heard the call for actions like these.
And we have listened.
***
On this December day,
As the calendar signals an ending,
We signal a new beginning in the life of our City.
As we gather in its celebration,
We do so with a genuine humility
Matched only by an enthusiasm for our new prospects and possibilities.
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I am grateful for the trust that has been given to me,
And I will do my best to honour it.
I am appreciative of the support of my fellow Councillors and City staff,
And I will do my best to continue to earn it.
I am mindful of the expectations placed upon me, and upon all of us,
And I will do my best to meet them
And to assist the new Council to be the very best that it can be.
Thank you.
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