Princeton swears in Mayor Ray Mabry; welcomes back Neumann and Gomez

Monday’s Princeton City Council meeting featured a new face at the front of the room, as Mayor Ray Mabry was sworn in to take the seat vacated by two-term Mayor Joel Quiram.

During the meeting, councilmen Jerry Neumann and Hector Gomez also were welcomed back for another term on the council.

Mabry spoke to those on the council and those in attendance about how grateful he was to receive the support he has and about what he looks forward to working toward as mayor.

As he spoke from the public comment podium, Mabry gifted a Norman Rockwell print entitled “Freedom of Speech” from 1943. Mabry said it had been located in his office and he wanted it to be on display for visitors to City Hall.

The print displays a town hall meeting with a disheveled working man standing to speak in front of a crowd of wealthier businessmen. Mabry hung the print in the meeting room of the City Council.

“I think it’s important to remember that everyone has a voice,” Mabry said. “We’ve always done this in our community, but I just think it’s nice. When people come to speak, they can get a little nervous and I think this just reminds us that we are all on one team working together as a community.”

Mabry introduced a new section of City Council meetings that will be called “Positively Princeton.” He hopes this section will be used to highlight some of the positive things that are taking place around the city.

“We are going to be inviting businesses, individuals and service organizations to come and speak for a few minutes,” Mabry said. “It’s a way for us to learn about businesses and organizations and a way for them to tell us about them and what they are doing. It’s a way for us to say thank you.”

Mabry added he has been in contact with a number of business leaders about scheduling a meeting to visit and encourages members of the council to do the same moving forward.

As he wrapped up his opening speech, Mabry told the members of the council and city administrative team he looks forward to working alongside them.

“It’s a team effort,” Mabry said. “I just want to encourage the four council members as we work together, that we want to respect each other. We are going to have some differences, but we want to work together as a team and I look forward to working with each one of you. You all bring great talents to the table.”

Mabry said the mindset looking forward is “We not I” and that while working with the council, he feels members can keep Princeton moving in the right direction.