San Jose Mayor Matt Mahan’s office announced this week that his public inauguration will be Feb. 1, when he will most likely spell out his vision for leading the Bay Area’s largest city.
“The inauguration will be a celebration of all our city is, and all it can be,” Mahan wrote in an email blast to supporters. “It marks a renewed focus on common sense and accountability — and brings us together to imagine a better future.”
Now, you may wonder — has he not already been mayor for the past month? Indeed he has. Mahan was officially sworn into office in a private ceremony Dec. 29, 2022 and assumed his duties at midnight New Year’s Day, stepping immediately into one of the worst series of rainstorms San Jose had seen in six years.
This 6 p.m. event at the Center for the Performing Arts in downtown San Jose is a public celebration, which — if he follows his predecessors’ tradition — will include performances by local artists and acknowledgement of other elected officials.
Former Mayor Sam Liccardo held his first inauguration in the same 2,000-seat venue in January 2015, where he unveiled his “We Are San Jose” slogan between an opening Aztec dance performance and a closing Buddhist invocation. Mayor Chuck Reed, in line with his less flashy nature, opted for a much briefer morning ceremony at the San Jose City Hall Rotunda in January 2007 before an audience of about 900 people, including some seated outside the rotunda or in overflow rooms at City Hall.
The inauguration, which will be followed by a reception with food and drinks, is open to the public, but RSVPs are requested because of limited seating. You can reserve a spot at bit.ly/sjinauguration.
Source: www.mercurynews.com