CHARLESTON, W.Va. — Amy Shuler Goodwin was officially sworn in to a second term as mayor of Charleston during an investiture ceremony Tuesday at Charleston City Hall.
Goodwin, a Democrat, was re-elected in November. She said she’s looking forward to building on her past four years in office.
“What do you at the beginning of New Years Eve? You look back and say what happened during that time, but you also look forward and say what can I do and what can I do better,” Goodwin told reporters after the ceremony.
One of Goodwin’s top priorities will continue to be fiscal accountability.
“We came in with a Rainy Day Fund shy of $4 million. We’ve grown it to almost $20 million because at the end of the day, we must be good stewards of the taxpayer’s money,” she said.
There were several new appointments made at Tuesday’s ceremony. Miles Cary was sworn in as City Clerk. Matthew Smith took the oath as municipal judge and Ben Adams was sworn in as City Treasurer.
“It’s going to be certainly a continuation of what we’ve done already in the past four years, but we have a new vision. We have a lot of new leaders here in the city, so it’s going to look a little bit different and that’s never a bad thing,” Goodwin said.
Becky Ceperley was nominated Tuesday to continue serving as City Council President.
City Council members were sworn in by the mayor after she took the oath of office.
Goodwin said she knows homelessness continues to be a top issue among Charleston residents. She said the Charleston CARES Team will continue to serve a vital role in helping unhoused residents.
“It’s one of the things that I’m most proud of that we implemented just a few short years ago during a global pandemic by the way where we saw increases all over our country of mental health and children in crisis,” she said.
The mayor said while she’s excited for another Charleston Sternwheel Regatta return this summer, she’s also excited for other economic development opportunities within the city.
“We’re going to obviously still continue to work on safety, vibrancy, infrastructure and development,” she said.
Goodwin is scheduled to give her State of the City address at 7 p.m. at Charleston City Hall.