Williams Assumes D.C. Mayoral Duties

Local elected politics in the nation’s capital entered a new era Saturday, as Anthony A. Williams, a Harvard-educated lawyer credited with taking control of the city’s finances, was inaugurated as the District of Columbia’s fourth elected mayor.

“Our citizens deserve the best city in America,” Williams said. “Strong schools, safe streets, clean communities, affordable housing and reliable transportation” were among the goals he outlined in his 15-minute inaugural address.

Williams, 47, also appealed to residents for greater commitment to the district’s youth.

“We have watched the sons of the district die in pools of blood on their front porches,” Williams said, noting further that too many young people are winding up in prison or as young parents at a time when they still need parents themselves.

He also pledged to work for greater self-governance in the district.

Under the Constitution, Congress exercises legislative oversight of district affairs and can prohibit the use of district resources for controversial policies, such as needle exchange programs, abortions and a ballot referendum on the medical use of marijuana. The city also elects a nonvoting delegate to the House of Representatives.

“It’s time for all D.C. residents to give Mayor Tony Williams their full support,” said his predecessor, Marion S. Barry Jr.

Barry, who was elected to four terms, the last following his 1991 conviction and jail sentence on a misdemeanor drug charge, also offered a final thanks to residents “for your forgiveness of me from time to time when I mess up.”