New Mayor, City Council and Judge sworn in during inauguration ceremony

ST. JOSEPH, Mo (KQTV) -- St. Joseph City Hall held a ceremony that swore in the cities new mayor, city council members, and municipal judge.

Larry Miller won the Mayoral Election on Tuesday, April 7th, with 52% of the votes against the incumbent mayor John Josendale.

Josendale handed the Mayoral gavel over to Miller during the inauguration ceremony, signaling the beginning of Miller's term as Mayor of St. Joseph.

"I was nervous as can be. But when I got here, people were so nice," Miller said. "It made my day, and I cant wait to serve the people."

Before Miller was sworn in, Laura Chavez took first oath as Municipal Court Judge.

Followed by City Council members Madison Davis, District 1; Jason Eslinger, District 2; Andrew Trout, District 3; Russell Moore, District 4; and Collin Clibon, Marty Novak, Randy Schultz, and Gary Wilkinson, at large.

Shortly after the members were sworn in, the board nominated Wilkinson as the new Deputy Mayor of St. Joseph.

"First few weeks we're gonna get into the budget and what's been established so far," Wilkinson said. "Then we can start setting plans of what we want to do from here on out."

Mayor Miller is eager to put the residents of St. Joseph first during his time as mayor.

"I hope I can take up where they left off, for the people. That's the most important thing right now," Miller said. "They're the ones that elected me, they're the ones I'm gonna serve."

The first meeting under Mayor Miller is set for next Monday, April 27th, at 5:30 p.m. at City Hall.