New term ‘reset’ for council: Mayor
Diodati, eight councillors sworn into office in ceremony at Gale Centre
Mayor Jim Diodati says the start of a new term and the coming new year is like hitting the reset button for city council.
It's a reset for his own life, too. The crowd at Gale Centre Monday night witnessing the new council being sworn in to office knew it, too.
They gave Diodati a standing ovation — their thanks for emerging strong from a difficult year that saw him battling cancer while fending off a challenge to win reelection to a third term as mayor.
“As I was forced to step back, all these great people stepped forward,” Diodati said, motioning to the city councillors seated nearby.
“And I know that we’re going to work really well as a council and as a team for all of you.
“I believe part of the reason I was elected is because I tried to stay above all of the negative banter and tried to focus on where we're going … clearly, that's what the people of Niagara Falls want and that’s what you deserve.”
Diodati, 53, stressed three goals for the start of the new council: fresh start, new perspective, strong mandate.
About 125 people attended the 45-minute ceremony that saw the new council piped in, with Giancarlo Feltrin singing O Canada and Rev. Chris Kulig of the Mount Carmel Spiritual Centre offering a prayer of invocation.
The councillors — Carolynn Ioannoni, Mike Strange, Vince Kerrio, Victor Pietrangelo, Wayne Thomson, Wayne Campbell and newcomers Lori Lococo and Chris Dabrowski — were sworn in by justice of the peace Bruce Phillips, who had the same task last week for Niagara regional council.
Diodati was diagnosed with Hodgkin’s lymphoma in August and immediately started on a chemotherapy regimen. Treatments weakened his immune system and he lost more than 30 pounds.
The chemo severely limited his ability to campaign and forced him to avoid contact with people, especially crowds.
In mid-October his doctors told him he was cancer-free, but he had to complete his treatment plan.
He had his chemo schedule adjusted so he could attend the Region inauguration last week, city council's swearing-in Monday and the first council meeting Tuesday evening. He has three more sessions to go before his final treatment in mid-January.
After Monday’s ceremony, he said he was “overwhelmed with joy, gratitude” for the support he’s received. He said he had about 25 family members there.
The inauguration ceremony marked a change for councillor Mike Strange, too — he’s not the team rookie any more.
The first time he ran, in 2014, he received the second-most votes behind council veteran Kim Craitor. This time around, Strange topped the polls.
His advice to Lococo and Dabrowski: Don't be afraid to ask other councillors for advice.
“There are a lot of people here with a lot of experience — not myself, but there are guys like Victor Pietrangelo and Wayne Thomson. Don’t be afraid to pick up that phone … and vote with your heart all the time, you can’t go wrong.”
Dabrowski said the calls from constituents started coming in right after he was elected.
“But while I was campaigning I was speaking to a lot of residents,” he said. “I knocked on over 10,000 doors, so I had a pretty good grasp of what the residents were saying.
“Basically, right after the election people started emailing me with questions and concerns. I've been working closely with city staff since then.”