'A Remarkable Ride': Rilling Sworn In For Sixth Term As Norwalk Mayor

NORWALK, CT — Mayor Harry Rilling was sworn in for his sixth term as the city's chief elected official during a brief ceremony held Tuesday morning at City Hall.

Rilling took to the oath of office from Sen. Majority Leader Bob Duff in front of a number of local and state officials, including State Rep. Lucy Dathan, Fire Chief Gino Gatto, Police Chief James Walsh and others.

Following his swearing in, Rilling thanked his family in attendance, especially his wife, Lucia, for all her support.

"I couldn't do it without you," Rilling said as he held back tears. "You're the reason I love going home at night."

Rilling also thanked the residents of Norwalk for continuing to put their faith and confidence in him and his team as they work to make Norwalk as great as it can be.

"This is an amazing city," Rilling said. "The people in it make it what it is. The diversity, the different communities that we have are absolutely remarkable. I'm born and raised here, and I couldn't think of any other place I'd rather live."

Looking back on the beginning of his mayoral journey, Rilling noted he had no idea what to expect when he was first elected to the position back in 2013, only that he knew it was not going to be easy, but ultimately it has become the greatest honor of his life.

"It's been a remarkable ride, a remarkable honor," Rilling said. "I look forward to the next two years to continue doing the good work that our team is doing."

Duff said it was natural for elected officials to get emotional when they get sworn in or win elections due to what it says about democracy.

"It speaks to how important voting is and how important this process is," Duff said, "and today culminates that part of our democracy when you put aside politics and you put aside heavy campaigning and you get into the process of governing now, and taking that oath of office is emotional because it talks about [what] the voters have done, which is they've put their confidence in you to lead the city, and I think that is really powerful."

Duff noted how the city has changed over the past decade from being a place where people settle to becoming a destination, which he attributed to factors such as Norwalk's diversity, great schools and police and fire departments and having "a small town feel" despite being a city.

"I have to say that change over decades has been accelerated over the last 10 years by Mayor Rilling and his leadership," Duff said, "by the council, by the board of education and by those who he's appointed to various boards and commissions. That's not by accident that people come to the city of Norwalk as a destination today; it's because of a lot of hard work from many of the people in this room, but under the leadership of Mayor Rilling."

Town Clerk Richard McQuaid, who also took the oath of office Tuesday following his reelection, got choked up as he thanked everyone in attendance for their trust and support.

"It's always humble to be up here amongst all of you," McQuaid said, "representing the city of Norwalk and the residents here...on behalf of myself and my family, we thank Mayor Rilling and the residents again."

He also thanked his staff at City Hall for all their hard work and support during his time serving as the city's town clerk.

"They're the ones that are down there actually working right now," McQuaid said. "They make me want to go into work everyday, want to serve the public everyday and just enjoy being the town clerk."