Niagara Falls

Site Search


	City Government Mayor City Administrator City Council City Departments Assessor Billing and Collection Building Inspections City Clerk's Office Community Development City Controller's Office Niagara Falls City Council Engineering Department Niagara Falls Fire Department Human Resource Department Law Department Management Information Services Planning and Environmental Niagara Falls Police Department Public Works and Parks Streets Maintenance Parking Neighborhood Services Parks Golf Course Purchasing Risk Management Department Niagara Falls Water Board

Announcements

Strategic Master Plan

Mayor Dyster Video - What it means to be a "Green City"

Summer Recreation Flyer

Entrepreneurial Training Program

2008 Adopted Budget

2008 Proposed Budget

Appointment Speech

Niagara Falls Developers Newspaper Article

Buffalo News Q&A - Mayor Paul Dyster

Surplus Equipment Auction

Niagara River Greenway Vision & Project Proposals

Memorial Park Neighborhood

Civil Service Test Announcements

Human Rights Commission

Permit for Private Forestry Work

Veteran's Office Location Information

The 99-h Tribal-state compact revenue account law

City Hall

745 Main Street P.O. Box 69 - Niagara Falls, NY 14302-0069

Mayor Dyster's Inaugural Address

I want to welcome each and every one of you who has taken the time to come here today and share in this great day. For government to function effectively, there has to be trust, communication and basic courtesy among the leaders at the top. That's why I made certain to sit down with each of the members of the incoming City Council over the last several weeks to talk about their perspectives on the issues facing our city. I found a dedicated group of individuals with a lot of skills to bring to the table. I want to thank Bob, Sam, Chris, Charles and Steve for making the transition a smooth and productive one so far. During the campaign, you the people sent a message that you wanted to change the tone of our political discourse, and bring to City Hall a new brand of consensus-based leadership. You said you wanted a leader at the top who listens to people, inspires them, and gains their trust. I know that's easier said than done, but for me it's not just a campaign slogan–it's the strategy I intend to bring to my job every day.

I promise to make sure we're always on the lookout for better, cheaper, greener ways of doing things. I promise to surround myself with people who have the qualifications, vision and integrity to get the job done. I can and will govern in the interests of all the people. I know we need strong partnerships with both the state and federal governments to move forward. I've started building those partnerships, and I think we can look forward to a new era in our relationship with Albany and Washington.

Our city faces a number of daunting challenges, and I know that you are impatient to see things change. I already know that at times things aren't going to be moving far enough or fast enough. Things didn't get this way overnight, and they won't be fixed overnight either. I promise you that from this day forward, at least we will be moving in the right direction.

Machiavelli, the famous political philosopher, wrote that, "There is nothing more difficult to take in hand, more perilous to conduct, or more uncertain in its success than to take the lead in the introduction of a new order of things." Robert Kennedy, the freshman Senator from New York, used that quote in a famous speech he gave in Cape Town, South Africa in 1966. Kennedy's audience was the anti-Apartheid National Union of South African Students. He had a rare opportunity for an outsider to offer commentary on the task that lay ahead for that turbulent country. He identified four sources of danger for the eager young activists who were there to hear him speak.

The first he called the danger of futility: "the belief there is nothing one man or one woman can do against the enormous array of the world's ills." Kennedy told his audience that together, their collective efforts could change the world: "Few will have the greatness to bend history; but each of us can work to change a small portion of the events, and in the total of all these acts will be written the history of this generation."

Our foremost objective in local government should always be to provide the best possible quality of life for every one of our citizens. Sometimes that requires big investments in key projects, but it also means doing the little things right over the long haul. From fixing potholes to better policing our streets to restoring homes and businesses, little things done consistently right will eventually add up to a brighter future, and the efforts of every one of us can and will make a difference.The second danger Kennedy called the danger of expediency: the idea that "hopes and beliefs must bend before immediate necessities." We all know that we have to take account of practical realities if we want to get anything done. But we also know that all endeavors are most successful when they combine rational and practical efforts to solve problems with idealism, moral conviction, and faith. The third danger is the danger of timidity. Most of us go along to get along most of the time. It takes courage to stand up and say, "that's not right." RFK said moral courage was rarer than great courage in battle or great intelligence. It "is the one essential... quality for those who seek to change the world." Whether the issue is ethnic diversity or economic empowerment or environmental protection, I promise you I will always strive to tell it like it is.The fourth danger Kennedy called the danger of comfort: "the temptation to follow the easy and familiar path of personal ambition and financial success." That was not the path the Kennedy family chose. Rose Kennedy told her children public service was the highest calling. They listened. I look around this room, and see many people who have taken up the challenge of public service.

I am honored and humbled by the confidence you have shown in me by electing me as your mayor. I hope you will help me steer our city around the dangers as we set out on the path to a better future.

In that South African speech, Bobby Kennedy cited an old Chinese curse which says, "May he live in interesting times," and reminded his audience that, like it or not, they did indeed live in interesting times. Well, so do we. We face a lot of challenges. But without challenges, there are no opportunities. As we work together to create a cleaner, greener, more prosperous future for the city we all love, I will judge myself at the end of each day based on what contribution I have made that day to make our city a better place–one we can all be proud to call home. I challenge you to do the same.

I'd like to conclude with a prayer from that "other" Kennedy, President John F. Kennedy: "With a good conscience our only sure reward, with history the final judge of our deeds, let us go forth and lead the land we love, asking His blessing and His help, but knowing that here on earth God's work must truly be our own."

Thank you very much. God bless you, and pray for me.

E-GOVERNMENT

View Community Calendar

Comments / Complaints / Feedback