Shortly after being sworn in Monday along with her council, Castlegar’s new mayor made a single pledge in her inaugural address.
“I promise to the community, to those who sit around this table, to our staff at all levels, to listen,” said Maria McFaddin.
“To truly try and understand your concerns, your perspectives, and allow them to inform my decisions. I do not promise to vote the way you want me to, I do not promise to always agree, because we won’t.
“But I do promise to try and understand where you’re coming from and let that inform every decision I make around this table.”
McFaddin said achieving unity does not mean everyone thinks alike, but rather that they everyone knows they are working toward the same goal.
McFaddin added the five-vote margin by which she defeated former mayor Lawrence Chernoff means “there are many citizens I have to earn the respect of. I have to earn the right to be able to speak for you, and I hope I can do that.”
McFaddin thanked all of those who ran for office, the outgoing mayor and council, and her family for supporting her run for mayor.
She also singled out former mayor Bruno Tassone for encouraging her to run both for councillor and for mayor.
“He is the reason I am sitting here,” she said. “He saw things in me that I didn’t see in myself and chose to call them out.”
McFaddin was also named the city’s regional district representative on Monday, replacing Dan Rye, who did not seek re-election to council.
