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-Okay, good morning, everybody.
What a good looking crowd here.
Nice and smiley. See what you did, Rob?
You brought out the best of us here.
So let's talk about the process.
Many of you have been in this kind of situation before.
I'll talk a little bit about Rob and his background
and his wonderful wife.
I'm going to call you babe because that was,
it says right here, Tracy's,
Rob's nickname for Tracy is Babe.
So I'm not going to do that.
That would be politically incorrect.
But thank all of you
for joining us for the official oath of office
for the city's newest Chief Technology Officer and Director
of the Seattle Information Technology, Mr. Rob Lloyd.
Thank you for being here.
You know, was it, boy, I get my days mixed up.
Was it this week or last week I spoke to the IT group?
Was that this week?
This week, see, I'll tell you, that's my schedule.
I didn't get in until pretty late last night.
I'll have to repeat some of the things that I said,
because I really meant that from the bottom of my heart.
That, you know, we've become sort of in our country,
in our city,
we sort of have an entitlement mentality
when it comes to computers.
We want them all the time.
They can't break down. We want our printers to work.
We expect Wi-Fi to be up 24/7.
We believe we are entitled to that kind of service,
and we are very demanding.
And IT, of course,
is our connective tissue between department to department
on how we talk to ourselves
and how we talk to the outside community, our constituents,
and we are demanding.
And when we went on a national search
that produced over 300 applications looking around
the country for the kind of talent that, quite frankly,
as your mayor that I wanted.
And I think I explained that for the 12 years
I served on City Council,
I chaired the Technology Committee
because it is a such an incredible tool.
It could be your most powerful tool, technology,
if you do it the right way, I think.
Or you can underperform and underutilize the technology.
So I was always very adamant on having the kind of leadership
that I think we found in you.
And so certainly you rose to the top
of the of the 300 applicants.
And I want to give a special shout out to your predecessor,
Jim Loader, who I think during some of the city's,
is he here by the way?
I don't see Jim.
Well, Jim, if you're going to watch this,
I'm going to talk right to you.
Jim and the staff at IT, the entire department,
through some of our toughest times,
really, really had that steady hand of leadership
and they were steady at the helm on getting us to where we are.
And for that, I will always be very, very appreciative.
Right now in our city we have to take note of the fact
that we have a new Mariners coach,
we have a new Seahawks coach, we have a new Kraken coach,
we have a new Husky football coach,
a new Husky basketball coach,
this is the time for new coaches.
And it's not that the old coaches were,
they were all at one point very, very good,
but sometimes you just need new ideas, new leadership,
new world experiences,
and you do that, and we all become better for that.
So I'm very proud
that you are taking over a very strong department,
one of our strongest departments.
Here's a few descriptions about you,
and congratulations on being confirmed by the City Council.
You are passionate about leveraging technology
to improve our community, they say.
Actually, that was what you said about yourself.
No, I'm just kidding. I'm just kidding.
These are comments that others have said about you.
Dedicated to promoting digital equity
and ensuring that each community member can benefit
from technological advancements.
You are truly committed to public service.
You are known nationally as an effective and thoughtful leader.
And so these are the kind of comments
we get when you start talking about Rob.
And indeed, I've found
that we've had mutual friends in other states
as I continue to meet other people from other states.
So I'm really thrilled
that you'll be bringing your innovative leadership
to the City of Seattle. And I will say, lastly,
a quality that I always look for in every leader.
It doesn't show on a resume.
It doesn't show in an educational background.
It's a simple word, and that's kindness.
Kindness.
We used to always tell our three children,
I said, Wake up and be kind. Be kind.
That doesn't mean you can't be tough and tenacious
and competitive, but it's very important to be kind.
So your leadership really exemplifies our
One Seattle spirit.
So, thank you for moving to Seattle
and bringing your family,
calling this place home,
and allowing us to be beneficiaries
of your strong leadership. And with that,
let's move to the oath of office
to be administered by our Deputy City Clerk, Jodee Schwinn.
And the ceremonial pin will be affixed by Babe,
also known as Tracy, Rob's wife. I'm sorry.
I see it on script sometimes here, Tracy.
So, here we go.
-We'll change places.
Okay.
We'll do it right here and then we'll sign.
Raise your right hand and repeat after me.
I, Rob Lloyd,
swear that I possess all of the qualifications.
-I, Rob Lloyd,
swear that I possess all of the qualifications
-Prescribed in the Seattle City Charter
and the Seattle Municipal Code.
-Prescribed in the Seattle City Charter
and the Seattle Municipal Code.
-For the position of Chief Technology Officer and Director
of the Seattle Information Technology Department.
-Could you say that again?
-We'll start over.
For the position of Chief Technology Officer.
-For the position of Chief Technology Officer.
-And Director
of the Seattle Information Technology Department.
-And Seattle Information Technology Department.
-Director.
-Great.
That I will support the Constitution
of the United States.
-That I will support the Constitution
of the United States.
-The Constitution of the State of Washington.
-And the Charter and Ordinances
of the City of Seattle.
-And the Charter and Ordinances
of the City of Seattle.
-And I will faithfully conduct myself.
-As Chief Technology Officer and Director.
-And as Chief Technology Officer and Director.
-Of the Seattle Information Technology Department.
-Very well. We'll sign this. -All right, thank you.
[ Applause ]
-Thank you.
-Do I say a few words?
In our family, we actually have a lot
of educators and doctors and researchers.
And one of the things in our family lore
is that you never search for money or status,
but you actually search for the ability to make a difference
and be kind,
and to try to actually make a dent in the universe.
And, at least as our grandfather taught it,
is that you actually try to seek those positions that are gifts.
And this is absolutely a gift.
And so when I actually looked at the city of Seattle,
I was actually inspired by One Seattle.
I was inspired by the mayor's story.
I was inspired by our leaders and our directors.
I was inspired by Jim.
I looked up actually the leadership team
of Seattle IT and the staff.
And throughout this experience,
everything has been kind, exactly as you've described.
The people, our neighbors, our kids have friends.
We see a lot of little heads trotting around our windows.
Everything has just been warm and gracious.
And if I can just commit two things,
we'll always act with integrity,
and our ambition will be that we want to unleash
everything about the brilliance of Seattle.
And that is all that I want to accomplish so that one day,
that we can all retire and we'll look back on the stories
and the things that we did,
and just say that we did great things
and the community is better for the next set of hands
that inherit it than we actually received it,
and is a more vibrant community.
So just grateful for the gift of the opportunity
that you've given me,
and looking forward to working with this amazing team
that you've given me. So thank you.
[ Applause ]
-We've got a pin.
-Okay, stay here for one sec.
And it's, Sophia and Olivia.
But you go by Livia?
Liv? -Livvy.
-Livvy!
Do you mind coming up here for a minute and stand?
Because, see, we have this on camera,
and when you watch this online, stand over here, sweetie.
When you come online, I want you to be able to see
not just the back of your heads here, you see.
And when you're in school, what grade are you in?
-12th. -12th, wow, this is your year.
And you are in the -- -Sixth grade.
-I didn't know these, I was, didn't make any,
why did you guys sit over here, not by mom and dad?
So I didn't know, I wasn't positive,
but I asked after the fact
that it's okay to make mistakes sometimes, right?
We learn from our mistakes.
The mayor made a mistake.
You know what the mayor didn't do?
I didn't even read his work history.
So we're going to do over,
we're going to do the whole thing over.
But you also have other department heads out here.
And I have to tell you that it really warms my heart
when I see you taking the time
to celebrate the success of a team, a teammate.
It's all about team.
It's all about team doing this work.
And did you know that before joining the city,
Director Lloyd served as a Deputy City Manager
at the City of San Jose,
and with oversight of transportation, aviation,
and technology services.
Did you know that previously he served as San Jose's
Chief Information Officer,
as well as bringing a diversity of experience
in having served in other chief-level roles
for governments in Arizona, Oregon, and Colorado.
Colorado.
Did you know, over the course of his career,
he has received a remarkable number
of professional recognitions.
Some of them include number one honors for the City of San Jose,
and the Center for Digital Governance,
Governments Digital Cities Awards in '20 and '21,
as well as Government and Technology Magazine Top
25 Doers, Dreamers, and Drivers.
Just had to clean that up a little bit.
And in all seriousness, I should have read that,
but I got a little hyped up
because I've gotten to know Brother Lloyd
over the last several months,
and I'm just delighted he's joined our family.
See?
And thank you for coming to Seattle.
Seattle's awesome.
All right, One Seattle, thank you very much.
We're going to take some pictures.
All right.
[ Applause ]