Well, it's official. Mayor Sam Adams took his oath of office with Judge Kerr Maurer, just after noon today at Parkrose High School and Community Center:
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Read more about it, after the jump.

There were few surprises in Adams' speech, which was, in fact, the same speech he gave this morning in North Portland, with a few minor tweaks. Blah blah jobs blah blah education blah sustainability. You get the idea. (I've scanned the text of the speech and placed it at the end of this entry as a jpg file, in case you're interested in delving deeper). The choir was bigger, however, to sing the national anthem:

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And Adams gave bouquets of flowers to his mother, grandmother (here, in the red outfit), and even former mayor, Vera Katz. Although no flowers for his boyfriend Peter, sadly. I expect there'll be hell to pay later...

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The ceremony came complete with a Joe the Plumber moment, when Adams invited Matt Todd, who is a city maintenance worker, but also, finds time in his off hours to tend the grounds at Jefferson High School, to acknowledge the crowd's applause:

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And at the end, a somewhat surreal closing prayer, by Reverend William Lupfer. "We thank you, Lord, for Sam, and all those whole will help keep Sam real as he helps us to lead..."

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The next line was something about "closing our mouths and opening our ears and our hearts," so I guess that's all you'll be hearing from me on the subject. Thank the lord.

Next stop, Murphy Beds Northwest, in St.Johns, for a "business walkabout," 2pm. Meanwhile, here's that speech again. Apologies for the haphazard scanning. This crack habit's playing havoc with my motor skills:

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