New Washington Mayor Ames Barnett (left) takes the oath of office from City Attorney Barry Fleming as his wife, Ashley, and son, Porter, look on last Monday night at the Washington City Council meeting. Washington’s city government entered a new era Monday night with the swearing in of a new mayor and two new councilmen.

Former Councilman Ames M. Barnett took the oath of office as Washington’s mayor as his wife, Ashley, held the Bible and son, Porter, looked on. City Attorney Barry Fleming also gave the oath of office to new councilmen Travis Armour and Mike Scarborough, who took the District 2 seats held by Barnett and by Edward Pope Jr.

Armour and Scarborough took their new seats at the table, and former Mayor Willie Burns rose to turn over the gavel to Mayor Barnett with a brief hug and smiles.

In his first act as mayor, Barnett reappointed Judge Edward M. Anderson as Municipal Judge.

Embraces and smiles were exchanged as Washington Mayor Willie Burns (right) turned the gavel over to new Mayor Ames Barnett. Once sworn in, Barnett addressed the people of Washington.

“I am very humbled to serve as the next mayor of Washington, Georgia,” he said. “Washington has been an amazing place since its beginning, and through those times many citizens have worked hard to pave the way for us. I want to thank the ones who served before us that allowed us to serve tonight, and ask that we all work together so that the next generation may share this. So it is a great honor for me to take this position. During these tough economic times, I cannot think of a better time for this community to come together as one to help move us forward.”

Barnett then addressed the citizens of Washington. “To the citizens, I’ve heard and seen your many struggles through this campaign, and it is my intention to provide the following: one, an open and honest government; two, to use my strong business skills throughout the operation of the city government; three, to work with our state and federal officials; four, to develop an economic development plan that will carry us forward working with the county; and five, working on the city’s cost of living for all citizens through taxes, water and sewer rates, and electric rates.

Addressing the council, Barnett said, “I can’t do this alone. Council, I need you, and as a council, we’ll need the citizens, and I urge everyone to get involved. Whether it is in a civic organization, or the schools, or a club, it takes everyone getting involved, and now is a great time for everyone to do it.”

Barnett thanked city employees for their hard work and dedication, and said, “We need to constantly see how we can improve the efficiency of the city, always remembering we work for the citizens of the city.”

Speaking to members of the council, the new mayor said, “We’ll run our meetings in a businesslike manner. A Japanese proverb says, ‘a reputation of a thousand years can be ruined and determined by the conduct of one hour.’ So council, I ask you to work with me now, during these tough times of high unemployment, to work hard and wisely to give our citizens opportunities for success. As the mayor, I pledge honesty, openness, fairness, and hard work from the mayor’s office. We need to come here in February with our goals of what we want to achieve in 2012.”

The meeting ended with one piece of city business, the transfer of signature authority on city bank accounts from the former mayor to the present.

After the meeting adjourned, members of the Pope Center audience were guests at a small privately funded reception honoring the new mayor, the re-election of Councilman Nathaniel Cullars and new councilmen Armour and Scarborough.