Read Lauren McLean’s full remarks as she spoke for the first time as Boise’s mayor
Mayor Lauren McLean was sworn in on Tuesday, Jan. 7, replacing Dave Bieter after his 16 years in office.
Thank you, everybody.
I’m going to go a little off-script and say, as someone who’s really short and often couldn’t see what everybody was saying, if there are any littles in the back, I know my family won’t mind if they’re sitting in front of them, and they’re more than welcome to come up if they want to be up to be able to see the rest of the swearing ins after I speak, now or whatever they’d like to do.
I thank you all so much for being here. I did the worst thing for me, which was write a speech, which means I’m going to feel constrained to use it and so I just decided I’m just going to talk from the heart this evening. And I just want to start first by saying that I am so humbled by the experience that I’ve had and trust that you all placed in me.
I want to thank Mayor Bieter for the 16 years of service and the incredibly gracious words that he left us with that will inspire me daily moving forward. Because I understand so clearly what he talks about in terms of being thankful. I’d like to thank my family. And of course, my husband Scott, who’s an incredible partner, incredible dad and parent and has been someone that I’ve known since I was 16. And I feel so grateful to have him in my life. Our daughter, Madeleine, who’s studying overseas, is here via FaceTime — thank you, Apple. Our son, Aiden, a sophomore at Boise High. I’m so proud of you both. They’ve both been so involved in the fray.
And I want to thank all of you because we are here tonight to mark a lot of changes for our community not just as mayor, but with the new council. And I thought I’d first start — and Mr. Taylor, thank you so much for your acknowledgment, the land acknowledgment. I appreciate you being here — with the story that many of you know, but that Boise story that so many of us share. And the reason that I’m here tonight and feel so blessed to be here tonight, is that Scott and I, like so many of us in this room, aren’t from here. This isn’t our hometown. None of us can really claim to be here but we are visitors passing through this place and that are blessed to be able to create a community in which to live.
But we were lucky enough to find this place at a young age, to take a chance and fully end up here. And through that, we’re able to build a home and create a life and be wrapped up in the arms of the people in this community so that this city and this community became our family.
I also want to recognize that in that, so many of us have that same story. And it’s that that we’re all trying to protect as we move through this moment of growth, that we recognize that our city has changed so much and that we want to protect what we love about this place. But we can only do it, we can only really do it by acknowledging where we’ve been, where we know we need to head and getting at what we believe is the essence of this place, which is that connection to the people in this room and throughout the city, to that wide open space and the urban places that we have, the river running through the heart of our community, the quiet places we find in the urban craziness and all the people that make this place what she is.
I also want to thank tonight Carolyn Terteling-Payne. Carolyn was the first female mayor of the city of Boise. And Carolyn filled in in a moment when we really needed someone whose presence of mind, strength of character and grace in fire was so important. And you’ve always inspired me from that time that I was young but watched what you did. And it really means a lot to me that you’re here tonight with us, so thank you. Because tonight, we really did make history. I’m the first elected female mayor, but Carolyn was the first female mayor of the city nearly 20 years ago, so thank you.
And on that, when we talk about making history, we have tonight a new council that will soon be swearing in, a new mayor of course, and we’re a new city with so many new challenges. And it’s so important that we recognize that they’re real, that we name them, that we are going to continue to grow, that we are going to continue in many ways to bemoan the changes that we’re experiencing, mourn the loss of what we think we had. But I believe that we can keep that and we can keep that by doing what we do best and recognizing, looking for the history that we’ve had, as a community, from the very beginning was Native People that love this place, that knew that their success was tied to the place in which we live, in protecting the environment with which we’ve been gifted, and creating a community that’s strong for connection to people.
We’re going to have to name the challenges that we have, recognize that the solutions lie in this room and in this city, and that’s what I think is so special about Boise. From the time many of us arrived here, and we rolled up our sleeves, we set to work, we took risks, we innovated, we failed, and we tried again. And that’s what is trying to do here. And we’re going to do that by opening the doors of City Hall, by coming up with new ways to communicate and connect people to people, so that we can continue to do what we’ve always done, which is still be a community through this difficult moment and big moment of change as we continue to be the fastest-growing city that we’ve experienced.
So I want to just say that I know that well, we have to be clear that we’re going to continue growing, that we can’t stop it. If we stay true to who we are and what we love about this place, I know that we can together, protect what we love, and become a city of the future.
And how incredible would it be to show that in the 21st-century city, in the 21st century, in a place like Boise, Idaho, we can create a community when we show that we roll up our sleeves, get back to the basics, work really hard, build community and trying new things, that we can be that shining city, that model city, where all of us come together, recognize, but most importantly, in our shared vision for the city. Working with City Council, the new members, with all of you, with leaders throughout this community, to make sure that as we continue to grow, that Boise is that place that we all know and love, and truly a place for everyone.
Thank you all so very much.
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