The Greater Philadelphia First Corporation was right when it called better schools "a moral and economic imperative for our city." Every child in Philadelphia must have the opportunity for the education needed to succeed. The 21st century is upon us. This is an information and technology age. The demands on our children for knowledge will be unprecedented. Our city's future economic success will depend, in large measure, on our ability to supply a skilled, trained workforce. Still, too many of our school children today attend overcrowded classes in rundown buildings with outmoded equipment and under-trained and underpaid teachers. (Applause.)
And too many of our school children have no opportunity to receive quality preschool, after-school, and summer school help that would give them the fighting chance they deserve to receive the quality of education they need. (Applause.)
Yes, we have made some progress, as reflected in the rising test scores and higher graduation rates, but we must demand more, more in the way of accountability for our students, teachers, administrators, and parents. And make no mistake, our financially strapped School District needs more money. (Applause.)
At a time when demands for quality education are growing, the Philadelphia School District is hurdling toward a fiscal catastrophe. Despite years of crosscutting, this chronically underfunded school system struggles to survive. Philadelphia simply cannot succeed if our school system fails. We cannot retain and attract businesses, we cannot retain and attract families. And in a larger sense, any community that fails its children can never call itself a success. To that end -(Applause.)
Thank you. To that end, we have designated the year 2000 as "The Year of the Child." (Applause.)
And we will focus attention in all areas of government on our commitment to the most vulnerable among us -our children. (Applause.)
Thank you. So today, I respectfully invite Governor Ridge and the leaders of the legislature to join me in a face-to-face summit at their earliest opportunity to explore possible solutions to our local and statewide education funding crisis. Although we may not yet agree on how to achieve such solutions, we must start in good faith by acknowledging the problem and searching for answers we can all embrace. The most important challenge for our city's political leadership is making sure that all views will be heard, respected, and fully considered, even if it's a minority or a controversial view. In a democracy, the majority will always have its way, but the minority must always have its say. I have long held the view that every person in every neighborhood is important. From South Philadelphia and West Philadelphia, to the Great Northeast, from North Philadelphia, from Fishtown to West Mt. Airy, your voice will be heard. (Applause.)
Thank you. Over twenty years ago, I stood in a small cafe at 29th and Ridge and first announced my candidacy for public office. I had no money and no visible political support. I did, however, have a fundamental determination to make a difference in the lives of people in this city. But even in my wildest dreams, I could not have imagined that I would be standing here today as your mayor. (Applause.)
Thank you. I am truly humbled by the opportunity afforded me this day and excited about this great challenge. Now that you have given me the awesome responsibility to lead, I ask in return for your ideas, I ask for your cooperation and prayers so that Philadelphia, in this new century, will continue to grow and thrive and fulfill its destiny as a world-class city, a place of hope and opportunity for all our people, a better Philadelphia. Thank you very much. Thank you. (Standing ovation.)
Again, congratulations, Mr. Mayor. Joining us today to celebrate the inauguration of Mayor John F. Street is the Ebenezer Seventh Day Adventist Choir. They're from Mayor Street's church. In honor of Mayor Street, the choir shall sing "We Shall Behold Him." ("We Shall Behold Him" performed by Ebenezer Seventh Day Adventist Choir.) (Applause.)
How very, very beautiful. AUDIENCE MEMBER: Amen. Amen, amen, amen. Amen, amen, amen. (Applause.)
At this time, the Chair invites the newly elected officials to take the oath of office in the presence of Council, the Mayor and other dignitaries. The Chair invites the newly elected judges and retention judges of the Common Pleas Court Common Pleas to stand and take the oath of office. The Clerk will read the certificates of election for the retention and newly elected judges of the Court of Common Pleas.
Philadelphia, November the 2nd, 1999, office of the Judge of the Court of Common Pleas, Philadelphia: Norman Ackerman, Ida K. Chen, Gene D. Cohen, Mary D. Colins, Nicholas M. D'Alessandro, Pamela Pryor Dembe, James J. Fitzgerald, III, Jane Cutler Greenspan, Sheldon C. Jelin, Kathryn Streeter Lewis, Edward E. Russell, Petrese B. Tucker, You are duly retained in the Office of Judge of Court of Common Pleas of Philadelphia County for a ten-year term, commencing the first Monday of January, AD 2000. (Applause.)
At an election held November 2, 1999, you were duly elected Judge of the Court of Common Pleas of Philadelphia County for a ten-year term, commencing the first Monday of January, AD 2000. (Applause.)
Judge Bonavitacola will administer the oath of office. JUDGE BONAVITACOLA: Please take your Bibles in your left hand, raise your right hand, and please repeat after me. . . (Oath of office administered.) JUDGE BONAVITACOLA: Thank you. (Applause.)
The Chair now invites the newly elected judges and the retention judges of the Municipal Court of Philadelphia to stand and take the oath of office. The Clerk will please read the certificate of election for the newly elected judges and the retention judges of the Municipal Court of Philadelphia.
At an election held November 2, 1999, you were duly retained in the office of the Judge of the Court of Common Pleas. Sandy L.V. Byrd, Richard Gordon, Glenda C. Hill -
Linda F. Anderson, Thomas F. Gehret, Jimmie Moore, Frank Palumbo. (Applause.)
You were duly elected Judge of the Municipal Court of Philadelphia County for a six-year term, commencing the first Monday of January, AD 2000. (Applause.)
James M. DeLeon, Seamus T. McCaffery, William A. Meehan, Jr., Harvey W. Robbins, Alan K. Silberstein, Felice Rowley Stack, At an election held November 2, 1999, you were duly retained in the Office of the Judge of Municipal Court of Philadelphia County for a six-year term, commencing the first Monday of January, AD 2000. (Applause.)
President Judge of Municipal Court, the Honorable Louis J. Presenza, will administer the oath of office. JUDGE PRESENZA: Excuse my back. You want to place your left hand on the Bible, please. Raise your right hand, repeat after me. . . (Oath of office administered.) JUDGE PRESENZA: Congratulations.
The Chair now invites the newly elected Judge of Traffic Court, Bill Adams, to stand and take the oath of office. (Applause.)
The Clerk will please read the certificate of election for the Judge of Traffic Court.
At an election held November 2, 1999, Bill Adams, you were duly elected Judge of the Traffic Court of Philadelphia County for a six-year term, commencing the first Monday of January, AD 2000.
The oath of office will now be administered by the Honorable Frank J. Little, the President Judge of Traffic Court. (Applause.) JUDGE LITTLE: Bill Adams, repeat -your hand is on the Bible and you're right hand is on -- you've had that for about a week now, haven't you? (Laughter.) (Oath of office administered.) JUDGE LITTLE: Good luck to you, Judge. JUDGE ADAMS: Thank you. (Applause.)
The Chair now invites the City Commissioners to stand as their names are called. They are: Margaret Tartaglione -(Applause.)
Alexander Talmadge, and Joseph Duda. (Applause.)
The Chief Clerk will read the certificates of election for the City Commissioners.
Margaret Tartaglione, Alexander Z. Talmadge, Joseph J. Duda, at an election held November 2, 1999, you were duly elected City Commissioners for the City and County of Philadelphia County for a term of four years, commencing the first Monday of January, AD 2000.
Judge Bonavitacola will administer the oath of office. JUDGE BONAVITACOLA: Please raise your right hands and repeat after me. . . (Oath of office administered.) JUDGE BONAVITACOLA: Congratulations. (Applause.)
The Chair invites the Sheriff of Philadelphia of Philadelphia, John D. Green, to stand and take the oath of office. (Applause.)
The Clerk will please read the certificate of election for the City of Philadelphia.
At an election held November 2, 1999, you were duly elected Sheriff of the City and Count of Philadelphia County for a term of four years, commencing the first year of January, AD 2000.
The Honorable Gwendolyn Bright, Judge of the Court of the Court Common Pleas, will administer the oath of office. (Applause.) JUDGE BRIGHT: Sheriff John D. Green, repeat after me. . . (Oath of office administered.) JUDGE BRIGHT: Congratulations, Judge. (Applause.)
The Chair now invites Ronald R. Donatucci, Register of Wills, to stand to take his oath of office. (Applause.)
The Clerk will read the certificate of election for the Register of Wills.
At an election held November 2, 1999, you were duly elected Register of Wills for the City and County of Philadelphia County for a term of four years, commencing the first Monday of January, AD 2000.
Judge Presenza will administer the oath of office and Judge Bonavitacola? We're getting two judges, huh? Okay.
They want to make sure I do the job right. JUDGE BONAVITACOLA: You have unimpeachable witnesses. (Laughter.) (Oath of office administered.) JUDGE BONAVITACOLA: Congratulations.
The Chair now invites Vivian T. Miller, Clerk of Quarter Sessions Court, to stand and take her oath of office. The Clerk will please read the certificate of election for the Clerk of the Court of Common Pleas.
Vivian T. Miller, at an election held November 2, 1999, you were duly elected Clerk of Quarter Sessions for Philadelphia County for a term of four years, commencing the first Monday of January, AD 2000.
Judge Louis J. Presenza will administer the oath of office. (Applause.) JUDGE PRESENZA: Place your right hand on the Bible. Indeed a pleasure. Just repeat after me. . . (Oath of office administered.) JUDGE PRESENZA: Congratulations. (Applause.)
For our final musical selection today, the GAMP Choir will sing "I Believe I Can Fly." (Applause.) ("I Believe I Can Fly" performed by the GAMP Choir.) (Applause.)
Really beautiful. As we conclude the ceremony, I want to thank the Chair, the Honorable Robert A. Brady, who served as the Honorary Committee Chairman, and all of -(Applause.)
And all of the members of the Inaugural Committee for their hard work for today's ceremony. I also want to thank our clergy members for being with us and offering their prayers for us and for our city. At this time, I would like you all to stand for a prayer to be delivered by Rabbi Solomon Isaacson. Following Rabbi Isaacson's remarks, I ask that you be seated for the conclusion of the session.
If all of you remember -- excuse me. If all of you remember the last election, I'd like to ask all of you to be seated for a moment. Thank you. (Mayor Street gives Rabbi Isaacson bouquet of flowers.) (Laughter.)
You know, this is the reason on Tuesday, the day of the primary, I flew back from Jerusalem, and I brought John -- I ran to Broad and Olney, where he was -
Taking a lot of pictures. And I brought him a string straight from the city of Jerusalem and the holy city of Bethlehem, a red string. And he was wearing it on election night, when he raised his hand with Bob Feldman, and the newspapers took a picture of it. And since then, I've had a demand on red string. So if there's anybody here who sells fabric or string, be prepared. (Laughter.)
For those of you that know me personally in City Council and the Mayor, I want to take the liberty of, number one, thanking Ed for everything that he's given us, to me as his rabbi, the most important, to me as a citizen, in this wonderful, great city of ours, the City of Philadelphia. He has put -(Applause.)
He has put the City of Philadelphia not only back on the map, but he has put it at the top of the map. (Applause.)
You know, till now, he was known as "The America's Mayor." Now he can only be known as "The Rabbi's Mayor." (Laughter.)
But as you all know, behind every successful man, and of course, is Midge, and I'd like to really thank her for allowing the City to have Ed for so many years, and we give him back -- only till the year 2001, when he begins to campaign for governor. (Applause.)
And proud as I am to have been known as "The District Attorney's Rabbi" and "The Mayor's Rabbi," I will be more proud to be known, with God's help, as "The Governor's Rabbi." (Applause.)
I told Naomi last night that I would speak about her. Probably the most difficult part of a mayor's wife's job would be the time that he has to campaign. There's very little time that he has for her because he's busy, out trying to get votes and to win. I'd like to thank her for allowing John the opportunity and now enabling him to be able to run our city for the next eight years. (Applause.)
God bless you, Naomi and all of you ladies. The theme of my prayer today comes with a story, a story of a gentleman who was sitting in his home when it began to rain like in the time of Noah. And the people, his neighbors, came to get him out, and he said, "Don't worry, I pray three times a day" -- he was an Orthodox Jew. "I pray three times a day, and God will not let me down, he will rescue me." And then, before you know it, the water rises to the top of his house. And a boat comes along, and he says, "Jump in." "Don't worry, God won't let me down." And then, before you know it, the water was over the house and now he's drowning in the water, and a helicopter comes. He says, "Don't worry, God won't let me down." And, of course, he dies. He goes up to heaven, runs over to the Almighty and says, "God, how could you do this to me?" God said, "I sent three different people to help you." (Laughter.)
Ladies and gentlemen. . . Ladies and gentlemen, the Almighty heard our prayers in our time of need in 1992, and he sent us Moses -- I mean Ed. (Laughter.)
And now, in the year 2000, Joshua, also known as "John F. Street" -(Applause.)
-- is now going to lead us into the Promised Land. But the Promised Land can only be because Joshua didn't go by himself; he went along with people who believed in him -(Applause.)
-- people who trusted him and people who supported him. I ask all of you now to rise. (All rise.)
We ask you, Almighty God, not to forget us. We promise to not only keep You in our hearts and in our minds, but also make You proud by our deeds. Almighty, we are Your children. O, Father in heaven, we ask You to bless us with the priestly blessing that God commanded Moses to command Aaron to bless his people, his children. May the Lord bless thee and keep thee. May the Lord make His continents to shine upon thee and be gracious unto thee. May the Lord lift up his continents upon thee and give thee peace. For a length of days and years of life and peace shall they add to thee. The Lord shall keep all of you from all evil, and He shall protect you forever. And at the end of the priestly blessing, it says that "You should put My name" -- and that means that if we use constantly God's name and we realize that there is a superior being above watching over us, we should always ask Him for His guidance and for His help. Amen. ALL: Amen.
Thank you very much, and I appreciate your tolerance. (Applause.)
Thank you very much, thank you. Kindly be seated, please. The Chair recognizes Councilwoman Blackwell.
Thank you, Madam President. I move that Council stand adjourned until Tuesday, January 25, 2000.
All in favor, let it be known by saying aye. Opposed, say nay. The ayes have it. This Council stands adjourned until Tuesday, January 25, 2000. Thank you all so very, very much. (Applause.) (Adjourned at 12:05 p.m.) C E R T I F I C A T E I HEREBY CERTIFY that the foregoing proceedings of the Council of the City of Philadelphia of Monday, January 3, 2000, were reported fully and accurately by me, and that this is a correct transcript of same. RE: INVESTITURE OF COUNCIL MEMBERS INAUGURATION OF THE MAYOR INVESTITURE OF OTHER CITY OFFICIALS __________________________________, JOSEPHINE CARDILLO, Registered Professional Reporter