Julia Fahl was sworn in as mayor of Lambertville on Tuesday, Jan. 1, before a large crowd at the Phillip L. Pittore Justice Center on South Union Street.
Among the distinguished guests attending the ceremony were State Assemblywoman Verlina Reynolds-Jackson, Assemblyman Andrew Zwicker of the 16th legislative district, former State Assemblyman and current Trenton Mayor Reed Gusciora, and former U.S. congressional candidate and current mayor of Clinton, N.J., Janice Kovach.
Lambertville’s former state assemblywoman and current U.S. congresswoman, Rep. Bonnie Watson Coleman N.J.-12, performed the honors, with Fahl taking her oath on the U.S. Constitution.
“The enthusiasm with which you displayed your appreciation when it was announced you were elected is the enthusiasm that you are going to need as she meets the challenges of being a mayor of a great city,” Coleman said.
Mayor Fahl then read her State of the City Address, which concluded with:
We are able to celebrate a day like today because we are a community comprised of individuals willing to step onto a stranger’s porch and ask “how can I help?”… I am embarking on this new chapter of Lambertville’s leadership with that humble question in mind and leaving room for it to be answered. And I have a few answers to that question already.
I want the operations of our governing body to better serve our community. With regular mayor’s hours, open lines of communication between elected members, city employees, volunteers, and our citizenry. We are offering tax preparedness initiatives. And we are working with our legislative and congressional representatives for regular mobile constituent offices.
However, I am eager to hear new ways to answer that question throughout my term. How I can help today, may be different from how I can help a year from now. When we fully embody that question, both the desire to ask it and the courage to answer it, we fortify a robust and thriving community.
Councilwoman Beth Asaro was also sworn in as council president, and addressed the new mayor,
“We have a new mayor, a significant change for our city,” she said. “Change is a time to embrace new ideas and continue to be innovative and responsive to your needs and reflect those values that we hold dear.”
Mayor Fahl concluded the meeting by saying, “I want to thank everyone one more time. For taking the first day of the year to come to our reorganization. I appreciate all of your time and we look forward to working for you and the city of Lambertville for the next three years.”
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