POUGHKEEPSIE – Hundreds of residents, officials and well-wishers packed the Grandview ballroom on Poughkeepsie’s waterfront, to observe the inauguration of the mayor and city council.

Mayor John Tkazyik begins a second term following a close reelection last November. As a Republican, he faces the next two years with a strong Democratic majority on the common council. Bipartisanship was stressed in his inaugural speech.

The mayor said city officials may have “our partisan difference and disagreements” on how to allocate the scarce resources of a city that faces cutbacks in state and federal aid.

“But today, let us acknowledge there is nothing partisan of safe streets and clean parks, nothing partisan about ridding this city of drugs and gang violence, nothing partisan about creating a climate conducive to job growth, or creating a ladder of opportunity where people can climb as far and as fast as they would like,” he said.

Tkazyik said the diversity of the city’s population should not divide Poughkeepsie, but serve as a source of strength.

The mayor noted past achievements. “We have made progress in making this city a safer place to live, an emerging hub of economic activity. We have managed to keep a budget in balance and a tax levy under control, by working together for the common good,” Tkazyik said.