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[Music] [Applause] Glory Glory Glory Glory Glory Glory Glory thank you thank you all right all right so let me just uh do this so thank you and and thank everyone so much um I feel a lot of love in this room as I felt every step of the way on this journey uh I've called Brandon Johnson and Paul valis uh to congratulate them on their victories

and advancing uh to the runoffs we were Fierce competitors and these last few months um but I will be rooting and praying for our next mayor to deliver U for the people of the city for years to come thank [Applause] you four years a four years ago I looked into the camera and spoke directly to young people of color who look like me and to every

kid who felt like I did um when I grew up and I'm going going to do that again tonight I told you back then that anything is possible with hard work and I want you to know that no matter what happens along the way you should always believe that because it's true believe that you can bring about change believe that uh you matter and believe that

you can love who you want to love and do what you want to do and be who you want to be you will not be defined by how um you fall you will be defined by how hard you work and how much you do good for other [Applause] people obviously we didn't win the election today but I stand here with my head held high and a

Heart full of gratitude I am grateful to the millions of Chicagoans who came together as we made tough decisions saw the struggles of our Frontline workers and beat back a deadly pandemic I'm grateful that we work together to remove a record number of guns off our streets reduce homicides and started making real progress on Public Safety I'm grateful that we were able to connect youth to

uh Mental Health Services housing education job training and legal [Music] services extraordinarily proud that we made investments in communities that have been neglected for decades with invest [Applause] Southwest and putting over $2.2 billion do into communities um in our neighborhoods that commitment simply must [Applause] continue and I'm proud of the fact that we um have will deliver on the city's largest ever Investments and affordable housing

yes and to achieve record investments in our Public Schools adding School social workers nurses and special education case managers and you better believe I am grateful that we took on the machine and entrench forces that held this city back for far too long and regardless of tonight's outcome we fought the right fights and we put this city on a better path no doubt about it now

as we all know in life in the end you don't always win every battle but you never regret taking on the powerful and bringing in the light to my friends across the country and my fellow Mayors never fear being Brave and Bold [Music] I have always believed that when a door closes another one opens and so it will be for me and Amy and Vib thank

you to my family for inspiring me my love of our wife my wife our daughter and the rest of my family grows and grows and they have always stood by me um through through this through thick and thin and tonight is no different thank you [Applause] honey thank you to our campaign team the best in the business no doubt and I want to SP say a

special thanks to our incredible volunte yeah who did tremendous work who did tremendous work connecting us with voters and making the case for me every day all over this city we love you and to my friends in organized labor thanks for your commitments and [Applause] support and being with me and being together on the battles that we fought on behalf of working Chicagoans that work must

continue I have been I am honored to have been a partner in the work which as I said must continue I'm internally grateful to everyone who gave us their time support and money and prayers thank you to the from the bottom of my heart God bless you God bless this incredible City it's been the honor of a lifetime to be mayor there's more work to do

um and I just want to say thank you all deeply deeply from the bottom of my heart thank you thank you [Applause] all thank you I would now like to introduce mayor of the city of Chicago mayor Lori e lighfoot [Applause] uh good morning everyone ladies and gentlemen I want to thank and congratulate you for joining and advancing the ranks of Chicago's Finest today the best

police department in the nation far [Applause] none it's always a great honor for me to be here to celebrate uh this exciting day with you and looking out on this audience it's got to be one of the largest graduating classes that I have seen in my tenure as mayor which I think is a testament to the spirit but also the incredible um sense of service uh

and honest and honor that this class and classes bring to the job of joining the ranks of Chicago Police Department let me Begin by thanking the family friends and loved ones who are here today to celebrate our great graduates and promoted officers on their Journey as these officers embark on their mission to protect the lives and rights of our residents and serve our communities they will

need your continued support they may need to come home after a long shift and heal within the loving arms of family and friends as they take on a noble but difficult profession so thank you in advance for continuing to be that support but really uh policing isn't just a profession it's a calling our graduates and officers are here today to answer their calling to serve and

protect our residents it's an honor to do so and I hope none of you ever forget the honor that you should always have in your heart and in your mind every single day that you wear that badge and that you wear that uniform especially an honor to Serve and Protect the residents who live in communities plagued by violence and who need the support of the police

the most every single day not everyone can respond to be um respond to and be there for victims of violence in a time of need but you can and you will not everyone has the courage to run into danger for the sake of our city but you can and you will and you are here today because youve spent countless hours training and preparing for this moment

being mentored by some of the greatest teachers and leaders that our department has to offer and because you have the heart and compassion to do the difficult work of protecting and supporting our residents often on their worse days most of all you are here I hope because you love our great City and want to see it succeed and I'm reminded of the words of your class

speaker officer Sabo who said he chose his job because it was difficult and he wanted to serve I hope that you serve in that same Spirit here there are 77 neighborhoods that you will serve each one unique in its history culture and people I urge you to get to know the communities for the essence of who and unique is of each of them and not just

through crime stats get out of your cars walk the block and give the neighbors a friendly hello every time I'm out in community What I Hear over and over again is they want to get to know the officers who are in their in their neighborhoods policing they want to honor and support you and build authentic relationships take the first step extend that hand of friendship and

get to know the people that you are sworn to Serve and Protect taking the vibrancy of these communities realize that the residents and families who live there want the same exact thing that you do they want to live in peace and prosperity they want to have a good relationship with the members of the Chicago Police Department I always tell um individual officers individual residents when they

ask me what can we do to support our officers I begin by saying say thank you thank you for their sacrifice thank you for um what they're doing every single day for your safety thank them for leaving their homes and their families every day understanding the risk and thank them for wanting to serve to keep you safe as I said our residents want to get to

know you and have confidence in you they want to know that you're not just a badge and a gun and a uniform but a fellow chicagoan a resident of their neighborhoods a son a daughter of Chicago who here to help in every way that they can the connections you form with residents I guarantee you will be your most powerful tool and service to our city more

powerful than your gun and your vag because establishing that relationship of community being legitimate in the eyes of the residents that you serve will help you be successful in your mission no matter what the future holds I urge you to bear that in mind and as we celebrate your Milestones today of course there's a somber feeling in the air as we think of Officer Andres Vasquez

lasso you know that last week tragedy befell him and took his life in the service of our city Officer Vasquez lasso did what we asked all of our police officers to do he responded to danger in order to protect alive and protect our city and unfortunately for him and his family and our city he paid the ultimate price our hearts of course are broken as we

mourn this loss along with the officer family friends and loved ones and colleagues I recall when I went to the hospital last week to respond and to be there with the Department with the leadership the number of officers who are gathered there to show their support and respect that that should tell you something about the heart and character of this great department so please continue to

lift up um offer Vasquez lass's family in prayers and with Comfort but also pray every day for yourself and your fellow colleagues in the Chicago Police Department and to the officers who grieve for Officer Vasquez lasso I urge you to Avail yourself the resources that the department has to offer whether it's EAP whether it's peer support whether it's the chaplain service we are here to help

support you in this time of great grief by joining an Department of 13,000 strong you are joining a new family with 13,000 family members who want to see you succeed in times of tragedy and a Triumph your brother and sister officers will be there for you I also want to talk about the importance of self-care there's no denying the challenges of this job and there's certainly

no shame in any and all of us saying I need help I need extra support lean into your peers mentors and leaders together we'll continue the righteous work of making Chicago the safest city in the nation but recognize every single day you're going to be experiencing stress and Trauma and that burden you need not carry alone it's a daunting task but it's entirely within all of

our power to help you be well and succeed in your mission to Serve and Protect let your resilient fighting spirit guide your work day in and day out and never forget who you are fighting for before I close let me also take this opportunity to thank superintendent David Brown for everything he has done for Chicago superintendent Brown came to us almost three years ago from Dallas

Texas after a long and distinguished career with the Dallas Police Department the last stop of which was the chief of that department he came to our city in the middle of a pandemic and shortly thereafter had to deal with not only the issues of learning a new department and leading in a time of a consentire but following the murder of George Floyd the Civic unrest the

rise in crime and all the other things that seem to coales in the moment of a covid time in Chicago in 2020 he stepped into what may be one of the hardest police jobs in the country because he had a vision and determination in a commitment to make our city safer and he succeeded in that work in his tenure CPD set record for illegal gun recoveries

for two consecutive years larger than New York or La combined and we're on track to set another record this year he led double digit reductions and violent crime in 2022 and that record of success continues into this year and he took significant steps to reform our department so that it can better serve our communities our progress that we've made on our consent decree which is important

and of impacts every part of Department operations um has been steady and productive and we will continue to do so I also want to lift up the fact that superintendent Brown promoted more women to the senior ranks of leadership in this department than ever before in history and as superintendent Brown led the effort to make historic investments in officer well Wellness that will serve all of

you for the rest of your careers so thanks superintendent Brown for making the journey to our city and providing exemplary service we wish him well as he makes his transition I hope and pray for all of you and your service I want to also say to the supervisors who we are also honoring today these young men and women are entrusted to your care serve them well

give them the support and resources they need to be successful hold them accountable when necessary but also recognize the difference between honest mistakes and intentional misconduct they look to you for leadership they look to you to model the behavior that they should follow do not let them down make sure that you lead by example and follow the exemplary leadership of the other exempts um who are

leading this department from the bottom of my heart I want to thank you and congratulate you for embarking barking on this important mission of service there's none other like it in our city you should be proud hold your heads up high and be honored to be a member of the greatest Police Department in the country the Chicago Police Department God bless you all and best of

luck on your journey thank [Applause] you thank [Applause] youe thank you [Applause] everyone thank you please uh take your seats we are here my dear friends and colleagues for a moment of Triumph and celebration a time of reflection to be sure but also a time to Revel in the present and look to the Future just over the horizon the Mandate that I was given four years

ago was to break up the status quo that failed our residents for far too long and to CH A New Path a new compact between the government and the Govern and that's what we did we did it despite facing epic challenges of historic budget deficits a global pandemic the likes of which we had not seen in a 100 years a massive economic meltdown Civic unrest and

escalating violence following the murder of George Floyd I sincerely mean what I said looking back we have a lot to celebrate to be clear all of these challenges many many of them coming within a few months of each other which resonated deeply profoundly tested us and tested me personally in Monumental ways we all know the phrase attributed to the German philosopher nit what doesn't break you

makes you stronger we all could likely write a thesis on the many ways in which that observation has proven true especially over these last four years there were certainly times when the sheer number of challenges mounted on top of each other brought me to my knees you see when you literally look death in the eye as I had to and realize that the decisions that you

make in the midst of a crisis will impact who lives who dies what businesses survive which fail and who has income and who doesn't all of which were served up on my plate over over and over again these challenges push me closer to my faith and through it all I believe made me a better leader a battle tested leader to be sure but I also hope

and believe that it made me a better person I wrapped myself up in resiliency the resiliency that I saw over and over again all across Chicago resiliency and people facing incredible tragedy like victims and survivors of gun violence resiliency in people who face a lifetime of roadblocks and Rog turns like people living in neighborhoods that have been deprived of needed resources for as long as people

have memory resiliency in the face of many Chicagoans to this day and certainly through our darkest moments who thank me for my service my heart swells every every time I hear it and it propels me forward I resolved that if these Chicagoans had faith and hope for a better tomorrow I would draw my inspiration from them how could I not lots in time and energy and

ink has been spilt by the pundits and the media obsessing about what four-letter word the mean can't get along with anyone mayor allegedly said and let me tell you my friends the four- leather word that propelled me forward every single day of this incredible journey one that I inone every time that I needed to rise above the noise and [Applause] despair that four-letter word was spelled

h o p [Applause] e hope I saw it and importantly I felt it in this city in every neighborhood in the eyes of children our elders of workers our people who were touched by the work that we did the details that we sweated the resources we invested for the betterment of our entire city our whole city not just the downtown not just the north side our

whole city and unapologetically so my Administration has been victorious in our efforts to plant seeds of equity and and serve the city we all love so much and the real story of this this Administration is told to the lives of the people that we served coming into office I knew generations of Chicagoans particularly black and Latino communities were hungry for resources and support from City Hall

a city hall that needed to see the entire city my primary mandate was to put our residents first and to do the hard work to serve them and so we got to it and we did that by operationalizing equity in concrete tangible ways and let me remind everyone Equity is about enabling everyone to attain universally held standards for a good quality of life when we work

to achieve Equity what we really mean is we are looking at our history and the Deep scars of systemic racism machine politics and disinvestment has left on our neighborhoods and our residents our City's history of neglect on the South and West sides has created barriers for our residents impacting their access to education good health wealth and so much more more than anything these barriers have created

a deep seated Despair and sense of hopelessness and too many of our communities that hopelessness and despair fuels the cycle of poverty our challenges weren't created overnight and the solutions to solve them won't come overnight but our Administration created real change and planted seeds for transformation of our city to write these historic wrongs now you know that I cannot stand up here in front of you

and particularly with a a group of Pastors in the house and not take you to church for a minute so indulge me what we face in this city takes me to The Story of Lazarus found in the New Testament John 13 chapter 11 excuse me and now we know the Story of Lazarus Lazarus had been dead for several days when Jesus learned of his passing when

Jesus arrived with his disciples in the town of Bethany he encountered Lazarus sister Martha and we know from verse 23 that Jesus told Martha your brother will rise again but Martha like others was doubtful the Bible tells us that Lazarus had been dead for 4 days his body had started to decompose and emit the smell of death Lazarus was dead all those around him and the

surviving family had convinced themselves that nothing could be done but Jesus of course knew better he went to the cave commanded that the stone be rolled back and called upon Lazarus to rise from the dead and what is a lesson for us through the power of faith and Collective action we can move the heavy stones and yes we can breathe new life into the people and

places that have been left for dead we have shown business and philanthropy that our neighborhoods cannot and should not be left for dead that there are customers with buying power and importantly people of good will all around whove been toiling block by block for decades but need some extra support no matter how hopeless we may feel at times or how seemingly steep the mountain of challenges

appears using our Collective power and our faith in the possible we can work miracles and we can give our Comm community's new life these are not just words we prove that over and over again these last four years let's start with the pandemic this once in a-lifetime global Public Health crisis absolutely humbled us and forced us to look Humanity squarely in the eyes I still remember

the surreal feeling of learning about the city's first covid case I will never forget yet the daily vigil of watching The Deadly contagion sweep across Asia to Europe and then to our Coast its presence here in Chicago was inevitable but that first case notification made time stand still for me just for a moment we faced unprecedented challenges over and over again that we exhausted our vocabulary

to describe the enormity of the moment the enor historical disparities laid bare by the pandemic were flashing like neon signs we had a lot of heartbreaking decisions to make throughout the pandemic that required selflessness and service from all leaders essential workers and really every single chicagoan we understood the gravity of shutting down and shifting our economy but we knew that our most important priority must always

be keeping people people safe with the wisdom and guidance of cdph commissioner Dr Allison arti who's with us here today stand [Applause] [Applause] up with Dr AR's wisdom and guidance and her incredible team at cdph our city was able to learn a whole new vocabulary social distancing and PPE variance and strains and all of us in city government um tried to become Junior epidemiologists urging people

to stay home and save lives and when we saw the disperate impact on black folks in terms of mortality and Latinos in terms of cases with Equity as our Northstar and standing with leaders from our most impacted communities we stood up the racial Equity rapid response team and unheard of collective and collaborative that put data and Community intelligence at the center of our problem solving and

solution development processes organizing the city around what our partners knew we needed to do helped us save real lives I also want to thank and recognize Candace Moore for her [Applause] [Music] [Applause] leadership I want to thank Candace Moore for her leaders sh of those efforts and for her tireless work as a city's first ever Chief Equity officer to change the way that the city does

business so that we can ensure that everyone achieves the highest and best outcomes we LED our city through the shelter and place order and when the time was right we became the first big city in the nation to open safely we had a solemn obligation and a dire urgency to save people's lives by getting to the root causes of inequity and we took on the seemingly

intractable Generations in the making problems that had Shackled and laid low too many generations of Chicagoans taking on these challenges even in a face of formidable odds made us all the better for it and I want to thank two other people whose names you probably don't associate with pandemic relief but that's Samir myar and Michael fno [Music] of course you know that both of these incredible

leaders are responsible for feeling our incredible economic recovery during covid Samir brought in the Best Consulting talent to help us understand the here and now and what the future would hold regarding this pandemic Samir is also instrumental in setting up the temporary Hospital at mccor place and I think slept overnight there many days while it was in formation so thank you Samir for your [Applause] service

and to Michael I am forever indebted for your very wise counsel and helping communicate with Chicagoans during the very scary times and making stay home save lives a cause to Rally behind thank you for your service and what else did we take on with unflinching resolve we put our fiscal house in order I have to thank the financial dream team of Jenny Susie and [Applause] rashma

oh stand up stand up come on because of their hard work we leave office with a budget surplus 13 rating upgrades prepaying our pensions even a job well done [Applause] ladies and they taught me this when we put our fiscal house in order we have the re resources we need to make powerful transformative Investments this Administration planted seeds for transformation in the form of concrete buildings

economic assistance and expanded services along with our partners in organized labor many of whom are here today we pass the minimum wage to $15 an hour the first municipality in the state to do so we pass pass the most expansive Fair scheduling ordinance in the country to make sure that particularly low-wage workers and many of whom were women of color had predictability and knew when they

were going to be able to manage their money and their child care needs and we reminded people that homes are also people's workplaces and that care workers like my mother deserve Fair wages and safe workplaces too and we began reforming the regressive fines and fees that kept working Chicagoans in a spiral of debt and that was just in the first year ladies and gentlemen we were

also able to increase the city's mental health budget by more than sfold from a mere $12 million when we started to 89 million providing Mental Health Services in every single one of our 77 neighborhoods thank you again to Dr Ary but a special thanks to Matt Richards and his team at [Applause] cdph and because of the leadership of Marissa Navaro and her team at the Department

of Housing we made the single largest investment in affordable housing at $1 billion in the city's [Applause] history [Applause] and because of the leadership of Angela Tovar and the environmental justice team we made the largest investment in environmental justice in the city's history at $188 [Applause] million and as if there was any doubt I will never stop telling the story of how we were able to

Marshall Public private and philanthropic dollars to the tune of $2.2 billion in commitments to our South and Westside [Applause] neighborhoods it's clear to see that we got a lot done over the last four years but that's not what this Administration story is all about as I said at the beginning our story is told through the people we served our story is told through residents like Valerie

from Auburn Gresham one of thousands of Chicagoans who struggled to pay her debts and particularly her water bill rather than cut off residents access to a resource as precious and vital as water through our Utility Billing relief program Valerie was one of 20,000 households under our Administration that receive relief totaling $33 million and Counting Valerie's water bill was reduced by 50% and she stand to have

her debt entirely forgiven ensuring that she can always have access to this crucial City service and resource while not spiraling into further debt our story is also told through developers like Leon Walker Cornelius Griggs guon Foreman AJ Patton Tory Barrett Louie Pig related Midwest and so many others whose high impact real estate developments on the south and the West sides have benefited from our invest Southwest

program and created thousands of jobs housing units and services for residents so they can achieve upward mobility in a thriving [Applause] neighborhood our story is told through local business owners like Cecilia cuff and Eric Williams the co-owners of the bronzville winery who received a 250,000 neighborhood Opportunity Grant to help launch the business and I also have to depart from my script and thank the folks at

bimo thank you Dave thank you Eric for making sure that they had that extra bit of cash to get the job done thank you after one year in business Brownsville Winery is flourishing not only offering bronzville a great dining option but also serving as a cultural incubator and bringing the community together Sicilia and Eric are a shining example of what is possible when we Empower residents

to open businesses wherever they are and whoever they are when they choose our commitment to holistically addressing Public Safety is demonstrated through city leaders like wette Benford who I appointed to be our first ever director of re-entry services and to [Applause] ensure and to ensure that uh Chicago is giving residents returning from incarceration a fair chance at a thriving life in our city blette herself is

a returning resident who has dedicated her life's work to supporting people like her and through this place of lived experience she helped Chicago make Chicago a national leader and supporting returning residents and you've heard me say this before you can't talk about Public Safety without creating a pathway for those who are coming home to have fulfilled legitimate lives in our society we can't continue to perpetuate

the permanent punishment cycle our story is told by residents like Aaron from Southshore who battled with depression and when he got to a point where he needed critical intervention and support the most cdph met him where he was and connected him with mental health care resources and now through cdp's mental health awareness campaign called unspoken Aaron and others like him can share their stories helping Chicagoans

not feel alone and know where to go when they need help our story can be told by the recipients of our climate infrastructure fund grant that went to organizations like plant Chicago helping them to renovate 115-year-old former Firehouse into a community Hub that will promote sustainability and efficiency in East Garfield Park sometimes we'd plant a seed and a Bountiful Harvest would grow you might not have

eaten from that Harvest but it fed and nourished so someone it might have fed someone who hadn't seen a harvest in a long long time and that's what this Administration has been about planting seeds of Hope for transforming our future when we empower the residents who have never had a voice or a seat at the table before and give them an opportunity to grow these are

the kind of amazing results we get this is the lasting impact of our Equitable policies and priorities we have created for our residents businesses and our neighborhoods they say that history is written by The Victors and I'm here to tell you ladies and gentlemen all of us individually and collectively are the victors each of us has persevered through adversity and we have given the full measure

of ourselves to bend the moral Arc of History toward Justice here and now in Chicago this is our Legacy and I think considering recent events Chicago is going to stay in this Lane of progress for a long time I'm more optimistic about our C City's future than ever I'm optimistic because of the work my Administration has done to make transformative investments in our neighborhoods and our

residents and I'm optimistic because over the last four years we did everything that we could to maintain and further Chicago's status as a global thriving and welcoming City but I'm also optimistic about the future of this great City because of you and Chicagoans like you there are daily threats to who we are and what we must become for our families and our children to thrive but

we have faced and vanquished those threats over and over again because that's what the moment demanded our residents have inspired me every day on a days when I was weary and my spirit was low meeting residents and learning about their hopes and dreams motivated me to keep my head up and to keep working time and again I've seen residents and neighbors contribute to their communities in

amazing ways and I'll say to the media tell those stories of Chicago they exist they're there tell them I've seen Community leaders who have been serving for Generations work with such determination and conviction to bring their Vision to life no matter how long the road ahead and to borrow a phrase from a friend these aren't Johnny come lat these are people who are deeply embedded in

their communities and love them through thick and thin I've seen Business Leaders and the private sector take huge bets on Chicago even when the public narrative told them not to Chicago's residents neighborhoods and businesses will always always work to uplift each other because that's just who we are when a great fire lays our city to ashes and Rubble we build a sturdier stronger City when the

brutal winners chill us to the Bone we put on another layer and we Forge ahead dreaming of spring and summer but never stopping even in the face of Nature's Tempest when city government and the private sector disinvest in our neighborhoods for decades we call upon leaders to step forward and steer the ship in another Direction every resident from every neighborhood wants the same things for our

city they want to feel safe in their homes and their communities they want to have every opportunity to lead happy prosperous lives and that they want those opportunities available at their fingertips and they want to see their beloved Hometown the third largest and number one greatest city in the country succeed regardless of who comes and goes on the fifth floor Chicago is going to continue working

together to achieve the city that we all want to work and live in my friends it's been the honor of a lifetime and a privilege to do this work with you these last four years just as it's impossible for me to list all achievements we've made together it's impossible for me to thank every single person and organization that I've had the pleasure of working with but

I'm going to try because you're all here with me to the partners from the city and region who are our critical collabor collaborators thank you for coming to the table and making a contribution to the fellow electeds that I've stood with and work with thank you for your councel and your partnership to the residents who engaged with us and informed us held us accountable and work

with us thank you for contributing your time and efforts to the betterment of your city and to the mayor's office staff the hardest working team ever to have the privilege of working on the fourth and fifth floor and to my gifted smart and hardworking cabinet led by the greatest Chief of Staff civil [Applause] Madison I just have to say thank you thank you thank you and

thank you to [Applause] Kelsey she's hiding in the corner thank you to Kelsey for everything and I also extend thanks to the city employees across our city I cannot thank you enough for your tireless commitment and hard work these last four years to leave an incredible indelible impact on our city the great poet James Wen Johnson pinned a poem that has now become known as the

black national anthem and this stanza always makes my heart swell with pride and I take it as a Clarion call I quote sing a song full of the faith that the dark past has taught us sing a song full of the hope that the present has brought us facing the Rising Sun our new day begun let us march on to Victory is one let us march

on because our Victory will be won until then we must persevere the work has not been in vain and indeed we have an obligation and responsibility to break through the noise ignore the people who count us out every day we must continue to carry the Baton forward to all of you do continue serving our city and working towards Equity inclusion safety fairness and vibrancy in every

neighborhood I will be here as private citizen Lightfoot continually rooting for you and every resident of our city my work is not done I will roll up my sleeves in another form and fashion but continue on thank you all so incredibly much for being with Amy and viven on this most extraord ordinary Journey God bless you and God bless our city thank you so what advice

do you have for Brandon Johnson office well I I I'm low to give uh any advice but you know I've said this to him privately and publicly be the mayor for the whole city be the mayor for the whole city he's going to be facing a number of challenges um immediately um we've done everything that we could to um set him up for Success um as

I mentioned him before and I'll say it here uh my door is always open for um any consultation that he wants and I won't even charge him um on the other side you know girls got to make money right and got to keep the family fed but in all seriousness um I just want him to be a successful mayor on behalf of the entire city and

if he does that um he'll have a great four years what is next I you mentioned you'll be private Cien you share of your plans after well I I I will share them when they are are ready but I'm not going to do that now um what I'm mostly going to do is I really focus on uh my family um by the way uh my daughter's

a 4 by um two um uh relay team is going to state so I'm going to go down and and watch her run next week I'm going to be a mom I'm going to be a wife um I'm going to be a daughter uh to my mom um and I'm just going to take care of some family business um that really needs uh my immediate attention

and when the time is right um I'll talk about what my next step uh plans are they in formation some of them some of them are set um but now it's not not the time for me to to talk about that but I will mayor I know you've been asked several times interviews you know any regrets any regrets about um the way that you govern um

I know that you've been criticized for of style over the last four years some say that has something to do with why you're not coming back but I mean I know I I I I'm not I don't spend a lot of time thinking about regret I try to make the best decisions I can in the moment um and when we have an opportunity to look back

I think about it and I examine it um but I I'm not going to and certainly not here in my final days as mayor um given to the narrative which I think is frankly uh pejorative and offensive uh that you know mayor life foot was mean and too tough nonsense and because we're uh uh family oriented I won't use the other word that almost came out

me my life is governed by my faith it's governed by my values my North Stars Are Real Clear um and I live my values every day and we got a lot a lot a lot done for the City and you know again check the record um you can't do what we did close the budget deficit we did um write our fiscal house um Infuse literally billions

of dollars um into um areas of the city that haven't seen a nickel of investment in decades uh deal with the pandemic deal with um Rising crime Civic unrest all of those things um and not be able to work in collaboration the collaboration is everywhere this building that we're in is a testament to that collaboration Sophia King ran against me and yet here we were not

that long ago groundbreaking cutting the ribbon because we do what needs to be done on behalf of the people of the city and we put all the nonsense that folks sometimes like to talk about like Junior High School we put all of that behind right I feel very very good about our record of accomplishment I am confident that it will live on in the lives of

the people that we have touch in the neighborhoods that we've breathed new life into and I'm very very very proud of what we've done and I'm extraordinarily proud of the team that we built of people who love the city who are experts in the work that they do and their legacy will live on thank you mayor that's I have everyone thank you everyone thank you thank

you spend some money in the Brownsville Winery Don't just run off thank you thanks [Music] everybody okay [Music] [Applause] [Music] [Applause] my [Applause] [Music] [Applause] [Music] [Applause] [Applause] [Music] [Applause] yeah [Music] [Music] [Applause] [Music] [Applause] w [Music] [Applause] [Applause] [Music] [Applause] [Music] w [Music] [Applause] w [Music] [Applause] oh [Applause] [Applause] w [Applause] [Applause] Glory [Applause] Glory Glory [Applause] you GL my GL [Applause] my [Music] thank

you so [Music] much [Music] [Applause] [Music] [Applause] [Music] w me leave me alone [Music] me I want hug me two me another H give [Applause] me [Applause] W yeah we going to miss you I oh yeah we love you uh-uh yeah [Applause] [Music] [Applause] [Music] get oh yeah [Music] yeah bye everybody it's fun with you we love [Music] [Applause] you [Music] [Applause] yeah yeah yeah Mr

Blake how you doing how you doing yeah y so I'm following them behind you guys behind you let