Above:
Rendell giving
his inagural
speech after
being sworn
in. Right:
Festivities
were held in
front of the
Capitol
Budding
Above: Rendell being sworn in before over 3,000 specta
tors, The temperature that day hovered in te.?Os,
photos by Douglas Coolbaugh/ The Fou
RENDELL
SWORN IN
by Ted Sawchuck
of The Fourth Estate
Pennsylvania welcomed a
new governor on Tuesday with the
inauguration of Ed Rendell and his
lieutenant governor Catherine Baker
Knoll. Bitter cold and gustling wind
didn't keep most of the Pennsylvania
House of Representatives from attend
ing, along with over 3,000 citizens.
The two main points of inter
est were Governor Rendell's speech
and Lieutenant Governor Catherine
Baker Knoll's speech, both of which
highlighted their goals for the coming
term.
Lieutenant Governor Knoll
spoke first, having been sworn in in the
state Senate chamber. At 10:30 her
speech began. She wants
Pennsylvanians to "come together" to
form a "Team Pennsylvania" and "stop
asking 'What's in it for me' .7 She
would.also like to get rid of labels like
"the poor," "the homeless," and "the
abused." Knoll ended by urging the
crowd, "Let's reach for the clay togeth
er."
An hour or so later, the festiv
ities began outside with a high school
marching band and a benediction. After
that Governor Rendell delivered a sur
prisingly somber speech, addressing
the need to rectify the state budget
deficit, rebuild the economy, stop brain
drain, improve public education, fix the
property tax system, and solve the
medical malpractice problem. He's got
a lot of work, and admitted that he'll be
taking inspiration from the platforms of
Bob Casey Jr. and Mike Fisher to tack
le it.
The Governor summed it up
best in one of the last lines in his
speech. "The next four years promise
to be a challenging and exciting time
for Pennsylvania."