Text Of Fairfield First Selectman Bill Gerber's Oath Of Office Speech

FAIRFIELD, CT — On Monday, Fairfield First Selectman Bill Gerber and other officials were sworn into office during a ceremony with Gov. Ned Lamont. Below is the text of his speech to the residents of Fairfield, as he begins his four-year term in office:

I am so honored to be speaking, but tonight is about all of us, all of us here who were elected to office. … And everyone in this town who will benefit from us doing a great job in office.

We are blessed to have the opportunity to serve and lead Fairfield, the Town we love. And I feel blessed to be serving with all of you, together. Thank you all for stepping up, and congratulations to all of you!

Running for office can be fun, but it can also be difficult. You get out there full of enthusiasm, ready to knock doors and engage in meaningful conversations. But very quickly you realize that you’re interrupting people during their day- while they’re watching a game on TV, playing with their kids, or working from home. And people don’t always appreciate that.

It takes a certain toughness and dedication to democracy to move on to the next door after a few negative interactions. But just when you’re starting to feel discouraged, someone opens up about an issue of great importance to them. The personal connection that ensues, the insight you gain, is what drives you forward.

For me, it was:

• The widow in her late eighties who told me she was having trouble maintaining her property. She wanted to move to senior housing, but there are few to no options available to her in Fairfield.
• The parents of young adults with intellectual disabilities who have aged out of public-school programs. They too have few to no options, for either housing or employment.
• The hundreds of people who voiced concerns about walking or riding bikes, due to dangerous traffic, and traffic congestion.
• The homeowners on streets that flood regularly.
• And the members of minority groups who said they sometimes feel like second class citizens in Fairfield.

These are but a handful of the issues I discussed at the doors of our Town’s residents. As we tackle these, and other issues, let’s not just accept that the way we’ve always done things in Fairfield is necessarily the best way. It’s a big world out there. There’s a lot we can learn from other towns and cities. Let’s hold ourselves accountable, do thoughtful analysis and, wherever we can, advocate for making Fairfield a better place to live, for everyone.

Just as running for office can be difficult, so can serving in office. If you put yourself out there, to work for positive change, you often open yourself up to criticism… but sometimes you must be resolute.

For those who did not win your seats, thank you for participating in the democratic process and keeping it strong in Fairfield.

To all of the departing elected officials and RTM members who have dedicated your time to serving the Town, we are grateful.

Thanks to Brenda Kupchick for her service as First Selectwoman over the past 4 years.

A special shoutout to our departing Selectmen Nancy Lefkowitz and Tom Flynn. Nancy Lefkowitz arranged and coordinated tonight’s wonderful ceremony. Thank you Nancy.

I would like to acknowledge several others. My incredible running mate and now fellow board-of-selectman, Christine Vitale. Christine’s wonderful family is here tonight. They have been incredibly supportive of her. And last but not least, my family is here to support me as they always do. They are incredible.

We – all of us here tonight – will set the tone for the entire town. What we say and do matters. Just as what we don’t say and don’t do matters.

Let us all serve with dignity, integrity, and empathy.

Thank you.