Rye guy and Westchester County Executive George Latimer was officially sworn in for his second term as County Executive. Latimer took the oath of office on Monday, alongside his Deputy County Executive Ken Jenkins, during a virtual inauguration ceremony at the Michaelian Office Building in White Plains.
It will also be Latimer’s final term as Latimer enacted term limits on himself and future office holders. The county executive position is now limited to two four year terms (it used to be three terms).
A variety of religious figures offered prayers, including Rabbi Leora Frankel, associate rabbi at Larchmont Temple. “It’s one of the things that’s most remarkable about George is he manages to be here, there and everywhere all at the same time,” said Frankel, who used to work at Community Synagogue in Rye. “And I will say on behalf of our Jewish community that we not only respect him as an outstanding public servant, but he is as we call in Yiddish a mensch.”
Latimer’s oath was administered by New York State Supreme Court Justice Thomas Quiñones, 9th Judicial District.
A parade of friendly political leaders from the federal and state level sent virtual congratulations, including Senator Chuck Schumer, who somehow managed to congratulate himself more than Latimer in his 90 seconds of airtime. It reminded this writer of the old joke – What’s the most dangerous place to stand in the State of New York?… Between Chuck Schumer and a TV camera.
“The first four years of our administration were all about fixing what was broken,” said Latimer. “We inherited a number of fiscal problems and first and foremost, we needed to get Westchester County back on solid financial ground. But more than that, we created a template that results matter to us. We did not accept that we couldn’t build a new family court in New Rochelle. We did not accept that the historic Elijah J. Miller House was going to collapse. We did not accept that Sprain Ridge Pool would not be open again for children and families to enjoy. We believe in results. We are doing everything we can to improve the lives of Westchester County’s residents, and that is exactly what we plan to do with the second term that is before us.”
Watch the ceremony:
