Beacon Mayor Lee Kyriacou Takes Oath of Office

BEACON – After serving on the Beacon City Council for 26 years, Lee Kyriacou was sworn in as mayor of Beacon on New Year’s Day.

The inauguration ceremony broke with tradition this year by being held in the Beacon War Memorial as opposed to City Hall but brought out a large number of locals.

Kyriacou made reference to the infamous inauguration “crowd size” comments made by former White House Press Secretary Sean Spicer while noting the turnout.

Immigration was a central theme in the new mayor’s speech. Kyriacou spoke proudly of coming from a Greek family and how it shaped who he is today.

“We’re all immigrants and hard work, education, respect, dignity, and community are all important words for everything,” he said, “and I think that they remain important today, especially as we enter 2020.”

Kyriacou looks forward to stepping into his role as mayor; that post is part-time while the city has a full-time administrator who handles the day-to-day operations. The new mayor will also continue in his full-time job in New York City.

He seeks to bring long-term growth to Beacon as its revitalization continues. “The key issue facing Beacon is, is that our successes almost come too fast and too furious,” he said. “It’s about managing things correctly, and then about planning for the repercussions of our success.”

The inauguration was a family affair, as Kyriacou’s daughter and wife were both in attendance.

His daughter, Anastasia, expressed elation for her father’s win and knows he will bring a lot to Beacon.

“I can’t believe that he is finally representing the city that he has spent over two decades trying to clean up and improve for the people moving here,” she said. “It’s amazing.”

In addition to the mayor, the Dutchess County Legislators for the 16th and 18th districts were sworn in along with city council members. Assemblyman Jonathan Jacobson administered each oath of office.

County Legislator Nick Page (D-18) noted how 2020 will potentially be a big year for both Beacon and the rest of the country, as the presidential election will take place this November.

“We’re in for an interesting 2020 across the board, especially at the national level,” he said, “and I feel very fortunate and happy and grateful that in Beacon, we have such a strong, committed and competent slate of local elected officials.”

Air Rhodes, council member for Ward 4 of Beacon, thanked her constituents and fellow city government officials for guiding Beacon in the right direction.