‘What are you doing to help us rebuild?’: Youngstown Mayor Brown sworn in for second term
City Mayor Jamael Tito Brown was sworn in to his second term during a Wednesday evening church service.
Brown received 60% of the vote in the 2021 general election, among a field of nine candidates. On Wednesday he pledged to help the city residents overcome the COVID-19 pandemic, prepare themselves for “21st century jobs” in advanced manufacturing and renewable energy and improve relationships with the city police department.
“Youngstown, I’ve learned, is not unique to anywhere else across the nation,” the mayor said. “I’ve talked to my colleagues across the state, across the nation — we have the same issues as other communities. But some people tend to believe that we’re unique.
“But I’ve learned no matter how big or small — everyone’s issues are important. When people call City Hall, they want to talk to me and they want me to resolve the issue — whether it’s a barking dog or trash that didn’t get picked up.
“Or, they want to know, can I get them front row tickets to Disney on Ice at the Covelli Centre?” Brown said, drawing laughs from a masked and distanced audience at Union Baptist Church along Lincoln Street.
As an allegory for Youngstown’s redevelopment, Brown invoked the Biblical story of Nehemiah — a Persian official who rebuilt Jerusalem’s walls in 52 days — and called on the community for help.
“‘Mayor, you talked about what you want to do. How can I help you rebuild our city?’ I’ll be very frank with you — we need some ‘Nehemiahs’ for our Jerusalem called Youngstown,” Brown said.
“Are you a Nehemiah of Youngstown? Nehemiah had a good government job in Persia. Easily, Nehemiah could have been concerned about Jerusalem from afar and remained in Persia. How many of you are OK with your current job or situation and thought, ‘That is not my problem in Youngstown?’
“You hear from people who live elsewhere on what needs to happen in Youngstown. Everyone tells us what’s wrong in Youngstown. My question is: ‘What are you doing to help us rebuild our city?’”
Youngstown Municipal Court Judge Carla J. Baldwin delivered brief remarks before leading Brown in the oath of office.
“We inherit things that come before us. It’s not always the immediate predecessor and it’s not all about blame,” Judge Baldwin said. “But it’s about carrying the charge for the decisions you didn’t get the opportunity to make.
“We are a city built from steel. But we’re not that same city anymore, so our thinking cannot be the same. Our game plan cannot be the same. Because that thinking — old thinking — won’t sustain the new vision.”
City Police Chief Carl Davis also sang a soulful rendition of Richard Smallwood’s “The Center of My Joy” before Union Baptist Pastor Michael Harrison Sr. delivered the closing remarks, urging residents to mask up if they’re not vaccinated against COVID-19.
“This pandemic is killing me. I know what it’s doing to the mayor,” Harrison said. “I have so many members who have it. I got text messages today — more people are catching it.
“This pandemic hampers our economic growth, it hampers the mental stability of our citizens and keeps us from being the kind of people I believe God has called us to be,” Harrison continued. “But I believe that because of the Nehemiah in this building, we can make it through this.
“I believe because we walk by faith and not by sight.”
Watch the full ceremony below, streamed on the Union Baptist Church Facebook page:
