Buddy Dyer's Inaugural Speech
February 26, 2003
City Hall Plaza

Thank you.

First I want to say thank you to the citizens of Orlando for entrusting me with this job and to many of the people in the audience who worked to get me here. As I told you last night Karen and I will never forget you and the work you have done these past few weeks.

Today I want to briefly take a look at where we have been as a city before I tell you where I want to lead us in the future.
You know Orlando has always been looked to as a special city. We know Orlando as the City Beautiful, but in 1903 the citizens of Orlando called their city the “The Phenomenal City.” The movement to rename the city came under the watch of Mayor William H. Jewell, who began a program to beautify the community…his efforts were successful and following a contest to alter the motto of the city, The City Beautiful stuck.

As I have been knocking on doors in our neighborhoods, I can tell you that few of our citizens know that Orlando has always been a center for high-tech dating back to the 1950s when the Martin Company (later known as Martin Marietta and now Lockheed Martin) built a facility here. This planted the seed for other high technology businesses to follow. And the Martin Company also planted the seed for the Florida Technological University (now known as the University of Central Florida) to fill the need for engineering students.
My first career, prior to going to law school, was as a Civil Engineer and I can tell you the city has a long history of good planning and engineering, beginning with the first City plan in 1926. This plan described the city’s lakes as being “perhaps the principle attraction in the city.” And today we know our lakes to be just that.

Throughout the Orlando’s history we have been blessed with strong and bold leaders who have occupied the Mayor’s office. It was Mayor Bob Carr who removed the “colored” drinking fountain from City Hall. It was Mayor Carl Langford who brought professionalism to the fire and police departments, built bridges with the African-American community and established the Downtown Development Board and oversaw the beginning development of the Orlando International Airport. It was Mayor Bill Frederick who built City Hall and the Orlando Arena.

And it was Glenda Hood who shaped our neighborhoods into beautiful safe and unique enclaves of urban tranquility creating a quality of life in this city that can’t be matched anywhere else in Florida.

This is where we have been.

Where I want to lead us in the future will build on what has been done in the past. And my hope is the history books will reflect that the Dyer Administration asked citizens to imagine a great city and created just that.

To create that great city we must first diversify our economy. Too many of our neighbors are working two jobs without health insurance and are still considered the working poor. Working with the University of Central Florida and existing businesses and I want to build on our history of being a high-tech center in the past and shape a future for Orlando that includes being a high tech center for the future.
A place where entrepreneurs can come and start new businesses with new ideas and be able to tap the resources of our city and UCF. Our economic future rests not only on our ability to attract existing corporations to Orlando, but to grow new businesses and jobs by creating a start-up business environment that will rival the Silicon Valley and Austin, Texas.

Second, the city needs to ensure that each of our employees is being paid a living wage of at least $8.50 an hour. And I will urge businesses that have contracts with the city to pay a living wage to their employees, at least for the work that is being done on behalf of the city. Rather than legislate this change, I will try to mediate a change working with, rather than against, businesses.

Third, we need to revitalize our downtown. To that end, in the first 100 days of my administration we will work intensively to modify our plans for downtown and decide what we want our downtown to look like. I envision a downtown with restaurants, local and national retail stores, movie theaters where a family can take in a show and professional sports, including the Orlando Magic. But we need a solid strategic plan in order to make that dream a reality. Mayor Hood has done an outstanding job in bringing people back downtown to live. We need to build on what she has done.

Fourth, we need to restore Parramore. No neighborhood has been studied more than Parramore. The time to act is now. You can measure my success as Mayor of Orlando by my ability to rebuild this once proud neighborhood. My first priority will be to develop a plan that will increase home ownership in that neighborhood and provide funds for families to renovate homes they might already own.

Fifth, we need to muster that political will to fix our transportation problems. Many of our neighbors spend 50 minutes going to and coming home from work. And with the growth here in Central Florida, our traffic problems are going to get worse, not better. No company will relocate to a city where employees have that kind of commute. As we start this administration, I can tell you there will be no higher priority than providing voters with a workable solution to our transportation problems and to that end I will work with Chairman Crotty to do just that. But make no mistake, Orlando will be at the center and hub of any future transportation plan.

Sixth, we need to fix our budget problem and we need to do that without raising property taxes, cutting police and fire protection or touching the rainy day fund. On this issue, we will begin work today.

My campaign for Mayor was run door-to-door, neighbor-to-neighbor and my administration will run the same way. I will be a hands-on Mayor who will be in your neighborhoods, churches, synagogues and mosques and labor halls working with one central idea in mind…to make Orlando a great city.

A poet once said, “Happy are those who dream dreams and have the courage to make them come true.” My dream for Orlando is to make this a great city. I will work hard, but I need your help and a little bit of your courage to make that dream a reality. But together I know we can get it done.

God Bless America and God Bless Orlando. Thank you.
 

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