A new Halifax Regional Council has been officially sworn in, with a different face as mayor for the first time in 12 years and more women than ever.

A large crowd gathered Tuesday evening at the Paul O’Regan Room of the Central Library in downtown Halifax for the event, during which Nova Scotia Chief Justice Michael Wood administered the oath to 16 councilors and the mayor.

New Mayor Andy Fillmore thanked the outgoing Mike Savage for his service, and Savage draped the great gold chain of his office around his shoulders.

“The fact that about half of the faces around the table are new is a clear indication that we are in a time of change in human resource management,” Fillmore said in his first speech as mayor.

“We were all hired to improve where we live, how we get around and to ensure both are accessible to everyone.”

Besides Fillmore, seven of the 16 councilors are new to the council.

Fillmore said he was proud to be mayor of a majority-female council for the first time: nine of the 16 councilors are women. Advice achieving gender parity for the first time during the last elections.

“It’s amazing. I’m so happy because, you know, the more women, the better things go,” Virginia Hinch, a first-time councilor in the Halifax Peninsula North district, said with a laugh. after the event.

Hinch is the second black woman to be elected to the regional council, behind Iona Stoddard, winner in 2020 but lost in last month’s elections.

Another new councilor, John Young, from the Middle/Upper Sackville – Beaver Bank – Lucasville district, is the first African Nova Scotian to be elected in this region.

“I’m standing on the shoulders of the people who came before me, so it’s really nice,” Young told reporters.

Advice. Patty Cuttell of Spryfield – Sambro Loop – Prospect Road, who was elected to her second term, said it was great to talk and start planning with the new councilors as that didn’t happen last time .

The 2020 municipal election took place in the first year of the COVID-19 pandemic, and all early council meetings were held online.

“We haven’t had the opportunity to learn from each other, to have these discussions, to share these ideas or to ask these questions,” Cuttell said. “So I think it’s going to be a really different experience, and I’m really looking forward to it.”

Fillmore said it was clear the council would address issues of traffic congestion, public transit and affordability.

On housing and homelessness, Fillmore said in his speech that it is encouraging to see more affordable housing being built, provincial investments in temporary shelters and all three levels of government “focused on getting… ‘a compassionate end to the era of encampments here in HRM.’

Since he won the race for mayor in the municipal elections of October 19Fillmore told reporters he spoke with Premier Tim Houston and Municipal Affairs Minister John Lohr.

His conversation with Lohr was an opportunity to “reset the relationship” between the municipal and provincial governments, Fillmore said, adding that it is essential to address housing and other issues.

Fillmore also said he has spoken with NDP Leader Claudia Chender and Liberal Leader Zach Churchill in the past, and regardless of the outcome of the current provincial election, “I’m willing to work with anyone who wants to do good job.”

The first meeting of the Council will take place on Tuesday, November 12.