Mayor Karl Dean, 2011 Inaugural Speech
September 23, 2011
Council, members of the General Assembly, members of the judiciary, other elected officials, distinguished guests, Anne, Frances and Wallen … Thank you for being here today. But most importantly, thank you for giving me the opportunity to be here today. It is a privilege to serve as the mayor of this great city. And after four years, I am honored to be given the responsibility of leading our city for a second term.
When I stood here in 2007, none of us could have imagined the challenges our city, and our country, would face. A great recession. A historic flood. The next four years will bring its own set of challenges, such as our city’s budget and the need to grow our local economy.
And while these challenges are not unique to Nashville, we as a city are unique. We are a city that despite facing difficult economic times and a major natural disaster, has managed to progress. We are a city on the rise. We are not a city standing still.
I promised four years ago that I would spend my time in office focused on three things: Education, public safety and economic development. Not many major cities can claim accomplishments in even one of these areas in this current economic environment, but we can claim all three!
Dropout rates and truancy rates in our schools are down.
We have more police protecting our streets, and major crime, including homicide, is down.
And in the area of economic development, we are positioned to grow our tourism industry – our No. 2 private employer – when the Music City Center opens in 2013. More visitors will be coming to our city and spending their out-of-town money in our restaurants, hotels and entertainment venues.
Those of us elected to represent our citizens have the responsibility of ensuring our city continues to progress for the next four years. And to set the stage for Nashville to succeed in the decades to come.
Certainly our city would not be where it is today without the leaders that came before us. Mayor Fulton, Mayor Purcell we are honored that you were able to be here today.
For those of us who took the Oath of Office today … now is our time. We have a new Metro Council. One that is more diverse and even better represents the diversity of our city … with the guidance of a proven leader in Vice Mayor Diane Neighbors.
It has been a long, hot summer for some – many of you fought hard to secure your seat. While today’s ceremony marks the end of the campaign season, I must say that the hard work has only begun. Now it is time for us to lead. To come together in a spirit of cooperation. To be about the people who put us here, what is best for them, and what is best for our city as a whole.
Nashville is on course to be one of the great American cities of the 21st century. In the coming months and years, we will be faced with decisions that will either ensure that we continue to move forward as a city, or force us to stand still … or even worse, fall behind. We must be bold about embracing our destiny.
Starting today, this second term is going to be about what we as a city have to do to be successful. And for me, we have to be focused on making our city healthy.
I’m going to take this opportunity to ask everyone here – when you get back home or back to your office today – to pull out a calendar and circle November 13th. And plan on coming back here to our Public Square to walk or run a 5K with me that day.
We want as many Nashvillians as possible to join us. It’s a walk or run. It’s on a Sunday. The Titans are playing out of town that day. So there’s no excuse why you can’t be here. It’s for everyone. It’s free. Let me stress that – it’s free.
And if you want, you can participate in a free nine-week training program that we’re offering as part of this health challenge. Professional trainers are holding sessions at 13 community center and seven YMCA locations all over the city. You can go to MayorsChallenge5K.com to learn more.
Tennessee has the second highest obesity rate of any state in the country. Getting active is critical for our health and for our children’s health. This is something we have been focused on in my office for a while now, and we’re going to continue aggressively working on it this second term.
Being healthy as a city is not just about being physically healthy. We need to be healthy in every sense of the word. That means having a healthy economy. Healthy schools. Healthy neighborhoods.
The ultimate success of a city depends on one main ingredient … its people. Buildings are nice, but buildings mean nothing without people. We need to invest in community centers. We need to invest in libraries. We need to invest in fire stations, police stations, schools, sidewalks and mass transit.
We need to invest in these things because we are a growing city and these public services are essential to keeping and attracting the very people who make our city vibrant and strong … and who will drive our city to the next level of success. Creative, smart, hard-working people. People who will innovate, who will start businesses and spur new jobs. People who will buy homes, have families, and invest in our communities.
Of the services our government provides, the most critical to this equation is education. Having high quality public schools is not only important for the future of our children, it is a powerful economic tool. Young families flock to neighborhoods with good schools … increasing property values. And businesses look at public school systems when they’re deciding where to locate and grow.
In addition, the level of education our students achieve has a direct effect on our city’s future economic growth. When a city’s population of college graduates goes up, both income and gross metropolitan product goes up as well.
Just yesterday, an article in the Wall Street Journal noted that: “Through the first part of the 20th century, jobs and wealth clustered around places like Detroit and Cleveland that had large concentrations of capital and industry. Today, a city’s overall education level and supply of higher-skilled labor are the big drivers of its economic success.”
With these realities of today in mind, we need to set a new goal: It’s no longer just about getting our students to graduate from high school. It’s about getting them to graduate ready to go onto to college. And then getting our students to graduate from college, whether it’s with a two-year or four-year degree.
I’m setting a marker on this today: Our city needs to double our number of college graduates. The experts say this should take 10 years. I see no reason why we should not try to do it in five. There is nothing we as a city can accomplish that will have a greater or longer-lasting impact. Education is the answer to growing our economy. It’s the answer to reducing poverty. It’s the answer to making our city safer.
Now to do all of this in our current economic environment will be challenging. Our budget constraints are real. And for the foreseeable future, our Metro departments are going to have to remain extremely prudent. Tough decisions lay ahead.
Some may try to cast doubt and say “these are difficult times, now is not the time to be ambitious.” My answer to that is – now is the time to strengthen our resolve.
To quote Ronald Reagan: “We in government should learn to look at our country through the eyes of the entrepreneur, seeing possibilities where others see only problems.”
If we are not timid. If we work together. Nashville has the opportunity to become a beacon of culture and economic development. We have everything going for us:
We have a community that has rallied behind our public schools. We have a vibrant music industry that is attracting talented artists and business professionals from all over the world. We have a tourism industry that is growing and creating new jobs to support it. We have the healthcare industry, our great universities. We have the hardest-working public servants. … And citizens who love this city, who want to see it grow, and who know that Nashville is the best city in which to live.
I have – and we should all have – an immense sense of optimism about our city’s future. We should be thinking and dreaming big. We can be a city that reminds other cities what makes America great … Our people.
And because of our people, we are a city on the rise.
Thank you for the great honor of serving as your mayor.