By Laura Gómez | Arizona Mirror
Phoenix officially has a new mayor. Mayor Kate Gallego took the oath of office Thursday morning at the Orpheum Theatre in the city’s downtown.
Mariachi Rubor, an all-women mariachi band, opened the ceremony on the stage of the historical theater. Gallego sat in the middle of the stage flanked by the city’s eight council members.
Six-year-old Anaik Singh Sachdev, a Sihk boy who advocated for state educational standards to reflect the history of his religion, gave the pledge of allegiance.
Rabbi John Linder, from Temple Solel in Paradise Valley, gave an invocation focused on celebrating and defending the city’s diversity.
“Mayor Gallego, your Phoenix will be a no-place-for-hate city,” Linder said. “Mayor Gallego, your Phoenix will be a city that honors the divine spark in every resident – from the unemployed, to the mentally ill, to the homeless, to the undocumented. You will raise the bar to restore people’s human dignity through a culture of compassion with the resources, services and rights they deserve.”
Linder added, “Your metrics of success, along with cutting-edge economic development, will measure how we treat the most vulnerable in our midst.”
