He took the oath of office during First Night Hartford's New Year's Eve celebrations as part of a symbolic ceremony. Large crowds were gathered around the new city leader as a magnificent fireworks display lit the night skies.
His campaign noted previously that he would take the oath at midnight so he could begin work immediately the next day, and Friday morning he went into his new office in City Hall.
Mayor Bronin shared with FOX61 what he believes needs to be done first for Hartford. "I think the biggest challenge we're going to have throughout the year is the budget, we've got a huge budget deficit, it's a structural budget deficit and we're going to have to get our arms around it pretty quickly," Bronin said. "Beyond that there obviously have been some difficulties with the ballpark and the clock is ticking on that."
Mayor Bronin also addressed Hartford's first homicide of 2016, happening just 20-minutes into the new year and into his term.
He said a priority is to bring up the number of city police officers and to step up efforts with youth employment and youth engagement.
