From left, Donovan Bibb [the mayor's brother, with back to camera], Justin Bibb, Judge Michael Nelson and Ryan Puente listen as library branch manager Marina Márquez welcomes guests to the East 131st Branch of the Cleveland Public Library.
Justin Morris Bibb was sworn in as Cleveland's 58th mayor just after midnight this morning before a small group comprised of family and select political intimates at the Corlett Branch of the Cleveland Public Library, an old Carnegie-era structure where he spent a good portion of his free time as a kid growing up on the city's southeast side.
Justin Bibb being sworn in by Cleveland Municipal Court Judge Michael Nelson as his mother, Charlene Bibb, holds the family bible.
The venue for the low-key ceremony was a deep nod to the affinity for books that, along with the fierce admonitions of his grandmother, helped keep the future mayor on the straight and narrow path and was instrumental in his preparation for the gig he has wanted for most of his life, a job often described as the country’s second toughest: mayor of a large urban city.
In further testimony to his habit of deep study, the ceremony took place in front of what is now informally designated as the Mayor's Corner of the large reading room of his youth. Arrayed behind him was a display of seven or eight volumes that have contributed to his understanding of government, American history, and the challenges of urban politics. Bibb's campaign theme, Cleveland Can't Wait, derived its theme from the first book in the corner, Why We Can't Wait, by Martin Luther King Jr.
Top two rows in what is informally been dubbed the 'Mayor's Corner' hold books personally selected by Cleveland's new mayor.
Bibb's first official act after being sworn in by Cleveland Municipal Court Judge Michael Nelson was to swear in Mark Griffin as law director. The city charter designates the law director as next in line of succession in the mayor's absence. Other top appointees, including a few in attendance at the late night session, were expected to be sworn in at City Hall sometime today.
Above: In his first official act, Bibb swears in his Law Director, Mark Griffin. Below: Griffin's father, retired Common Pleas Court judge Burt W. Griffin applauds the action while library trustee Alice Butts looks on.
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