Highland Park 8th Grader to Administer Oath of Office to Garcetti

The article was written by City News Service.

What Eric Garcetti described as a "party in the park" will be held Sunday outside City Hall for his ceremonial swearing-in as Los Angeles' 42nd mayor.

The swearing-in portion of the inauguration is planned for 6-7 p.m. on City Hall's Spring Street steps. It will also include the ceremonial swearing- ins for Ron Galperin as controller, Mike Feuer as city attorney and eight members of the City Council, including six newcomers.

Kenia Castillo, an eighth-grader at Luther Burbank Magnet Middle School in Highland Park who lives in the Westlake district, will administer the oath of office to Garcetti. Kenia first met Garcetti was she was 4 years old and he attended an event in support of better working conditions for janitors like her mother.

Kenia and her mother were reunited with Garcetti during the mayoral campaign at an event he attended with janitors. Kenia came up to him and said that because he was there for her family when they needed help she would help him and became a campaign volunteer.

Garcetti is expected to speak for about 10 minutes.

The inauguration will begin with the electronic music artist Moby performing "We Are All Made of Stars." The Naval Operation Support Center Los Angeles Navy Color Guard will present the colors.

Garcetti is a lieutenant in the U.S. Navy Reserve.

The pledge of allegiance will be led by Lily Newman, a fifth-grader at Porter Ranch Community School, who met Garcetti when he visited her class to learn about the school's Science, Technology, Engineering and Math program.

Garcetti later visited Porter Ranch for a community meeting and was greeted by Lily, who was holding a jar of change she collected from her friends to support his campaign.

The invocation will be given by Rabbi Susan Goldberg of Wilshire Boulevard Temple. Garcetti is Los Angeles' first elected Jewish mayor.

Bernard Cohn, who as also Jewish, was appointed acting mayor in 1878 by his fellow members of what was then known as the Common Council following the death of Frederick A. MacDougal. Cohn was defeated by J.R. Toberman and was mayor for just 15 days.

Garcetti will be introduced by talk show host Jimmy Kimmel.

Garcetti's speech will be followed by the Canadian rhythm and blues recording artist Melanie Fiona performing "L-O-V-E."

The party portion is scheduled from 7-10 p.m. in the adjacent Grand Park. It will include food trucks, carnival-style games, information booths about city services and performances by the Lulu Washington Dance Ensemble, Buyepongo, Jungle Fire and the Moonlight Trio. Additional music will be provided by DJ Canyon.

The public is invited to both the inauguration and party portions. Admission is free.

"This inauguration won't be highlighted by a black-tie gala," said Garcetti, who defeated Controller Wendy Greuel May 21 in a runoff to decide the successor to Antonio Villaraigosa, who was barred from running for re-election because of term limits.

"We're having a party in the park. We want this day to be about celebrating Los Angeles."

Garcetti was formally sworn into office Friday by City Clerk June Lagmay. He will officially become mayor at midnight Sunday.

Villaraigosa has vowed that he will work until the last second Sunday. He said in a radio interview Friday that he plans to drink a glass of wine with Garcetti as the clock strikes midnight. An aide said he did not know Garcetti's late-night plans for Sunday.

Garcetti will spend part of Monday holding "office hours" to meet with people randomly selected from emails sent to his transition team specifically requesting an audience with him, spokesman Yusef Robb said.

Garcetti has remained coy about major initiatives he hopes to undertake as mayor. He has said he will put more emphasis on job creation, focus on making City Hall more accessible to a wider swath of residents and improve city government's "customer service" for the public.

A number of issues wait in the wings for Garcetti, including a projected budget deficit for the 2013-2014 fiscal year, which begins Monday, the privatization and potential upgrades to the Los Angeles Convention Center and at least two large development projects at so-called "transit hubs" adjacent to light rail and subway stations.

Garcetti will also be faced with resolving a standoff between the city and Ontario over ownership of LA/Ontario International Airport—which Los Angeles owns—and overseeing the final phases of renovations at Los Angeles International Airport, including a hotly contested runway widening in the north airfield.

Because of his 12 years on the City Council, Garcetti will "have the advantage of a head start" when he assumes office Monday, as well as the added benefit of "direct authority" over city departments, Robb said.

Unlike previous mayors, Garcetti plans to take a serious look at the people who head city departments and agencies, having required all general managers and chiefs to re-apply for their jobs, Robb said.

Garcetti has appointed just one member of his administration, Ana Guerrero, who will be his chief of staff, the same role she had when Garcetti was a councilman.

A couple thousand applications have been received for staff and city commission positions, Robb said. Garcetti does not want to rush the hiring process, which may include some nationwide searches.