Photo by wallyg

The crop of D.C. councilmembers that won their respective contests in November were sworn in today at the Washington Convention Center, marking the beginning of the council’s 20th period. During today’s ceremony, Jack Evans (D-Ward 2), Muriel Bowser (D-Ward 4), Yvette Alexander (D-Ward 7), Marion Barry (D-Ward 8), Vincent Orange (D-At Large), and David Grosso (I-At Large) all took the oath of office while friends, family and future colleagues watched. Here’s some of what you missed.

Your Newest D.C. Councilmember: Grosso formally takes office today after having defeated former Councilmember Michael Brown in November. It might not be long until they serve together, though.

Best (and Slightly Shameless) RGIII Name-Drop: Props are due to Orange, who included the ‘Skins’ star quarterback in his recitation of all the things going right for D.C. (RGIII could just as well be claimed by Prince George’s County and Loudoun County, where he plays and lives, respectively.) “We had no quarterback, now we have RGIII!”, said Orange to loud applause.

Most Uses of “Yes We Can” in Speech: Orange, who used the Obama ’08 campaign phrase some 10 times in his acceptance speech.

Only Mentions of Ethics in Their Speeches: Grosso and Bowser, both of whom addressed the crisis of ethics that has plagued the city’s legislature over the past two years. “Residents demand that we set new standard for ethics in public life, not just respond to the latest crisis. They want us to establish an ethical framework for conducting the people’s business now and into the future,” said Grosso. “With a lot of progress certainly for us to be proud of, we can’t pretend today that we haven’t let our people down. In some big ways, in some small ways as an elected leadership, we’ve all failed in some cases to lead with urgency, disappointing D.C. residents who expect big visions and swift action to solve the big problems that face our city,” noted Bowser.

Best (Test) Mayoral Stump Speech: Bowser, by a long shot. In a speech after taking the oath of office, Bowser seamlessly mixed the personal and the political; not only did she tell the audience some of her favorite bands (Jay-Z, the B-52s and Nirvana, included) and what she paid for her Riggs Park home ($125,000 five years ago, and she got a $5,000 home buyer tax credit for it), but she sold Ward 4 as being most representative of D.C. “In Ward 4, we are a perfect microcosm of the city. We are black and white and Latino. We are Christian and Jews, we are straight and gay, we are east of the park and west of the park. We’ve lived in D.C. for five decades and we’ve lived here for five minutes. We’re Democrats and Republicans. We are dreamers,” she said. And to top it all off, she closed with a Wayne Gretzky quote. Honorable mention goes to Evans, who has similarly been cited as a possible mayoral contender.

Best Imitation of El Bloombito: Bowser, who briefly pulled a Michael Bloomberg by introducing herself in Spanish. Felicitaciones, Consejal Bowser!

Slight Biographic Hyberbole: Barry, who had this included in his program bio: “Barry is principally responsible for the revitalization of downtown, the development of Georgetown, the east and west end, the resurgence of U Street, the rebirth of H Street, and the renaissance of the Anacostia community.” He echoed the theme in his speech: “I’ve done so many things…that it’s hard for anybody who lives in the District or who is visiting Washington to not be touched by my leadership.”

Smallest On-Stage Entourage: Grosso, who was only accompanied by his wife as he took the oath of office.