'Striving Toward A Better Tomorrow': New Salem Mayor Dominick Pangallo

SALEM, MA — Dominick Pangallo spoke of bringing Salem together and building off its historic past to make a better future for all residents during his inauguration as the city's 52nd mayor Saturday afternoon at the Bentley Innovation School.

Pangallo touched on themes of battling climate change, respecting teachers, public safety and municipal employees, expanding the city's tax base, creating more affordable housing, continuing the improvement in its public schools and the need for an inclusion of both the city's newest residents and those who may have become disaffected amid the changes in Salem in recent years.

"We need to recognize: Salem is thriving, but far too many feel excluded from that success," he said. "Whether they're new residents — even new arrivals to our nation — disconnected from the place around them, or lifelong residents who don't see themselves in the changes Salem has experienced over the past decades, or the poorest of our neighbors — working or unable to work — who aren't given the same opportunities to engage because of systemic barriers impeding them, or older residents already grappling with isolation only to have the pandemic further force them apart from their community.

"They're all, just like all of us, looking for connection. They're hoping to be heard. They’re seeking a seat at the table, to take part in the important work of making Salem even better tomorrow than it was yesterday."

(More on Patch: Salem Mayor-Elect Dominick Pangallo Faces Immediate Challenges In City)

He said that by listening to the needs and opinions of all residents, Salem can become "the kind of place I want Salem to be. The kind of place I know we can be."

"Because the way forward, to the Salem that we know we can be — it's a challenging road at times, and there are no shortcuts. But that is the path ahead of us, toward what's possible, and it's the one we're traveling on together."

Pangallo recognized his special election opponent, former Mayor Neil Harrington, whom he defeated by less than 500 votes in an election that drew 29 percent of voters to the polls, and thanked Harrington for his unifying message following the campaign.

(More on Patch: Dominick Pangallo Steps To Forefront As Salem's Next Mayor)

He said the future of the city is bright as the home to "home to one of the nation's — even the planet's — leading offshore wind terminals" as well as a new high school and a 400-year anniversary celebration.

"A history with infamous legacies that shaped American jurisprudence and our own spirit of inclusion to this very day, but also a history of entrepreneurship and innovation, of charity and compassion in the wake of great fires and terrible pandemics, of a city always striving toward a better tomorrow," he said. "That's the Salem that's ahead of us: one that recognizes our past and is optimistic about our future.

"A city that finds inspiration in our history, and motivation in our possibility."

(Scott Souza is a Patch field editor covering Beverly, Danvers, Marblehead, Peabody, Salem and Swampscott. He can be reached at Scott.Souza@Patch.com. Twitter: @Scott_Souza.)