Eric Garcetti is sworn in as 42nd mayor of Los Angeles

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Mayor Eric Garcetti and his wife, Amy Wakeland, are introduced during his inauguration ceremony on the steps of City Hall in downtown Los Angeles. (Christina House / For The Times)

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Eric Garcetti and his wife, Amy Wakeland, walk down the steps of City Hall moments before his swearing in. (Lawrence K. Ho / Los Angeles Times)

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Kenia Castillo, left, an eighth-grader at Luther Burbank Middle School in Highland Park, swears in Mayor Eric Garcetti as his wife, Amy Wakeland, watches. (Christina House / For the Times)

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Cameras record the moment as Eric Garcetti is sworn in as the 42nd mayor of Los Angeles. (Lawrence K. Ho / Los Angeles Times)

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Los Angeles Mayor Eric Garcetti makes his inaugural address on Sunday. (Christina House / For The Times)

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Los Angeles City Clerk June Lagmay swears in City Council members Mike Bonin, Paul Koretz, Gil Cedillo and Bob Blumenfield in downtown Los Angeles. (Genaro Molina / Los Angeles Times)

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Politicians gather for the inauguration of Eric Garcetti as mayor of Los Angeles. He vowed to focus relentlessly on guiding the city’s economic recovery, slashing business taxes, keeping film production from fleeing L.A. and spurring high-tech jobs on the Westside. (Genaro Molina / Los Angeles Times)

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Eric Garcetti’s parents, Gil Garcetti and Sukey Roth, are all smiles before their son is sworn-in. (Genaro Molina / Los Angeles Times)

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Eric Garcetti, left, enjoys a light moment with former Los Angeles Mayor Antonio Villaraigosa after being sworn in. Garcetti, 42, thanked his predecessor for leaving the city “safer, greener and stronger.” (Genaro Molina / Los Angeles Times)

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Eric Garcetti shoots video of proceedings seated next to his wife, Amy Wakeland, after being sworn-in. (Genaro Molina / Los Angeles Times)

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Eric Garcetti is greeted by supporters after being sworn in. “These times demand a back-to-basics mayor, focused above all else on our economy and jobs,” he said. (Genaro Molina / Los Angeles Times)

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Eric Garcetti receives a hug of support from former mayoral opponent and departing City Controller Wendy Greuel, who watched the inauguration from the audience but did not speak. (Genaro Molina / Los Angeles Times)

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Eric Garcetti chats with former L.A. Mayor James Hahn. “You are the mayor of a world-class city, and you are going to be on the world stage,” Hahn told him. “But I think the people who live here want somebody who’s going to take care of fixing the streets and making sure that the city is safe.” (Genaro Molina / Los Angeles Times)

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Eric Garcetti practices his speech a few hours before being sworn in as mayor. On Monday, he will set to work forming his administration. (Genaro Molina / Los Angeles Times)

By William Nottingham

June 30, 2013 7:35 PM PT

The party is on in Grand Park now that Eric Garcetti has taken the oath of office as the first elected Jewish mayor of Los Angeles. At 42, he is also the youngest in more than a century.

With musical groups about to perform on the park stage and food trucks lining the sidewalks, the free festivities will continue until 10 p.m.

In his speech, Garcetti called L.A. “a place where you can’t be pessimistic even if you want to be” and pledged to keep crime in check, boost education and meet with Fortune 500 executives to find new ways to create jobs. Garcetti also spoke of ending runaway production and making Los Angeles more attractive for the entertainment industry.

The oath of office was administered by Kenia Castillo, an eighth-grader at Luther Burbank Magnet Middle School. She said she was 4 when she encountered Garcetti outside City Hall at a Justice For Janitors rally. She attended that event with her mother, a janitor, and more recently volunteered for his mayoral campaign.

Hours before the swearing in, Garcetti signaled that he plans to give former rival Jan Perry a senior role in his administration.

Perry, whose 12 years on the City Council end Sunday, won nearly every precinct in South Los Angeles in the March mayoral primary but did not make it into the May runoff.

“Twelve years of elected service does not mean the end of her service, mark my words,” Garcetti told parishioners at First African Methodist Episcopal Church in South L.A., one of the city’s most prominent African American churches, on Sunday. “I’ve got plans for her.”

Perry, the only African American among the top contenders for mayor, declined to comment. She backed Garcetti in his runoff against Wendy Greuel, the city controller.

In his morning appearance, Garcetti cast himself as a champion of the underprivileged.

“I wanted this city to understand that I know the power comes from you, from the least among us, from the most humble, from the forgotten, from those voices and those faces who aren’t even in the pews today,” he said.

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Twitter: @LATimesCityGov

bill.nottingham@latimes.com