Mayor Abramson's Inauguration speech took place at the Marriott Louisville Downtown ballroom at 5:30 p.m.
Thanks to all of you for coming today.
And thanks to the citizens of our community for extending me the honor of being your mayor for another 4 years.
I am excited to have the opportunity to serve.
Not only because we are at the eve of a New Year…
But because we are at the eve of a new era…for our community.
New Year’s is the time we all look in the mirror…take stock of where we are…and make resolutions about the future.
When I look…and see the reflection of our community…I see a new Louisville...with the opportunity to ask big questions…to think more boldly…more ambitiously…than ever before.
Four years after merger, the challenges of creating a new city of Louisville government…that once seemed so formidable…are behind us. They’re history.
The truth is…the face of Louisville…that we see in the mirror…is undergoing an unprecedented transformation.
Who would have believed...back on January 6, 2003…when our new city was created…that we’d be looking ahead…today…at so many dramatic changes over the next 5 years?
- Who would have believed that we’ll be cutting a ribbon in 2010 to open a new downtown riverfront arena?
- That a dramatic new skyscraper called Museum Plaza will be redrawing our city’s skyline?
- That downtown will see so many investments…all moving forward at one time: new hotels… restaurants… an expanding entertainment district… the Big 4 Bridge’s bike-and-pedestrian trail across the Ohio River, completing Waterfront development.
- And who would have believed that hundreds more people will be calling our downtown home – whether they live in affordable new apartments and lofts or gleaming-glass-tower condos?
The unbelievable progress is not confined to the heart of the city. In the next 5 years:
- Thousands of acres of spectacular new parkland will be taking shape along Floyds Fork. You’ll be able to canoe, bike, picnic and eventually see surrounding suburban neighborhoods transformed, just as historic parks like Cherokee, Shawnee and Iroquois have shaped our urban neighborhoods.
- Five years from now, an expanded Riverview Park will be a popular destination in the Southwest. And Louisville will be big … on the national roadmap … as a bicycle-friendly community, with miles of trails and bike lanes along our city streets.
The next 5 years will also bring…
- Three new regional libraries, new urban firehouses, and a new animal shelter.
- A state-of-the-art MetroSafe communications network will connect first-responders in a 13-county…2-state areaand shave critical seconds off emergency-response times.
- In 5 years, we’ll have completed Liberty Green, transforming the former Clarksdale housing project into a new mixed-income neighborhood. And…with our new Congress…comes the hope for new federal funding to turn other public housing facilities into vibrant mixed-income neighborhoods like Park DuValle and Liberty Green.
- Five years from now, our comprehensive smoking ban and air-quality initiatives will have improved the air we breathe – and enhanced our ability to recruit new residents and new businesses.
- Blue and gold will still be the city’s official colors 5 years from now. But over the next 5 years more green initiatives will unfold -- through our committed Partnership for a Green City with the public school system and U of L – including more energy-efficient city buildings, energy-efficient city vehicles, expanded purchase of recycled products and more.
- And…over the next 5 years…at the same time we work to retain the valued jobs we have today…we will see new jobs created... thanks to our investment in logistics, life sciences, health care, entrepreneurial ventures and programs to support our fastest-growing hometown businesses.
This is the new Louisville we’re bringing to life…through hard work…and community-wide team work.
I hope it makes you proud, because we need a little more pride in Louisville. Not arrogance, but confidence.
Too often we under-estimate ourselves…under-rate ourselves…under-sell ourselves. We describe our city in terms like “nice…comfortable…hospitable…easy-going.”
It’s nice to be nice…and comfortable…and hospitable…and easy-going.
But the dynamic changes taking shape around us reflect a bolder, more ambitious spirit.
That spirit must guide us as we step up to make resolutions for the new year ahead and wrestle with the most challenging questions that will define our future.
Questions like:
What does it mean to be a progressive 21st century city committed to offering opportunities to every resident? How can we plan more effectively across our region, whether the challenge is economic-development, land use or transportation? How can we work more productively with our fellow Kentuckians across the Commonwealth? How can we develop new financial resources…to move forward…on big needs that come with big price tags?
Some of the biggest challenges we face may look familiar:
Education…jobs…the continued revitalization of our downtown…regional planning…our bricks-and-mortar infrastructure like roads and bridges... the challenge of creating opportunities for the less fortunate to improve their lives…stronger civic leadership…greater citizen involvement.
But it’s time to ask new questions about how to address these challenges…to embrace new strategies…and to hit the “fast-forward” button…accelerating the pace of progress.
If we say: We must find new solutions to long-standing challenges when it comes to education, for example…then we need to ask questions like: What partnerships or bold new programs will it take to make sure every preschooler gets the positive experiences that prepare them to learn? How can we work together…community-wide…to support our public schools as they press forward on new reading…and math-and-science initiatives…and select their first new school superintendent in 13 years? How do we make sure every young person who wants to go to college has the chance? How do we help more folks who have started college… and cut short their quest for a degree…complete their degrees? And how can we support our local post-secondary schools with ambitious plans for improvement…knowing full well that world-class universities transform their cities in extremely positive ways?
As we commit ourselves to making the most of the momentum downtown, we need to ask big questions: What will be the impact of major projects on the drawing boards today -- our new arena…Museum Plaza…our new bridges and the reconstruction of Spaghetti Junction -- and how do we plan boldly for those changes?
Some of you who live in our suburbs and work in our suburbs might be asking yourselves why you should care about making the most of the momentum downtown. You should care because what happens in downtown Louisville…does not just stay in downtown Louisville. Study after study…in city after city…show that strong downtowns change the chemistry of their communities. They pay off community-wide…in greater prosperity…innovation…better quality of life.
There are other questions to consider…when it comes to bricks-and-mortar needs…the infrastructure in our community…from roads and sidewalks to sewers and water lines. How can we plan more effectively across our region? How do we achieve balanced, quality growth… sustaining older city neighborhoods at the same time we develop new suburbs? How can we plan across government for changes that will come with the aging of our population? And as we consider future transportation needs, what improvements in public transportation should we consider along with roads and bridges?
And let’s not forget the human needs in our community: How can government work in powerful partnership with nonprofit agencies and faith-based organizations to strengthen families? We must continue to confront and address racial disparities in health…income…educational achievement…crime…and homeownership. And we must help our growing international population put down strong roots here – to ensure these new Louisvillians enrich our community’s future.
As we enter a new era in Louisville, we are hopeful that a new era is coming in Washington. As our new Congress begins its work next month, I hope to see a renewal…a rekindling...of a city-federal government partnership for the first time in a decade…a partnership that recognizes the challenges faced by metropolitan areas throughout the United States...that understands that the health of our cities is the key to prosperity for our states and our nation. The boost in the minimum wage …which seems likely for the first time in 10 years...may be just the beginning of initiatives to bring greater stability to America’s working families.
A few minutes ago, I said: Who would have believed…who would have believed…all the ways we have moved forward as a community...all the changes put in motion…that are transforming the face of our hometown…and the opportunities for our residents.
The truth is…we believed. I believed. You believed. And together we made a dramatic difference in just a few short years.
If we are to achieve greatness as a community, we must continue to believe.
Our future can be as ambitious…and dynamic…as we choose.
We write our own history. And we write it together.
One of my personal heroes…Senator Robert Kennedy…once said this:
“The future is not a gift: it is an achievement. Every generation helps make its own future.”
I look forward to the next 4 years…to working with the elected officials being sworn in today…and to working with each and every one of you, the citizens of our community...to achieve the future we dream of…for Louisville.
If we do this right…if we truly commit ourselves to this effort…when we look in the mirror 5 years from today…and take stock of our city…
I believe we will see a community transformed in new ways … by bold vision...courage and creativity…commitment and a collaborative spirit.
I believe WE can do it. I know WE can do it. Working together we can make a positive difference in the future of our hometown.
Thank you.