get it i mean you know so no good afternoon it is an honor to be here and i'm happy because of the work he's done in boulder in chicago and san francisco but not just because of the work he's done but how he's accomplished what he has done and i think it's really going to be helpful to us in seattle he believes in our vision of the new office and he does what he does though he can accomplish what do you see competition by cordoning planning with housing and job centers and open space and transportation he's known for breaking down barriers integrating land use design and environmental sustainability we have an amazing opportunity as the city grows and as a change incentives we meet our commitments to open space to transit into affordable housing to do it right to work with communities noddy's separate twenty eight separate city departments  offices but is a coordinated city that reaches out to communities and they can reach out to us understanding that we will coordinate among ourselves our interaction with them i so look forward to him heading up an effort that will involve so many departments as we reinvent in rian vision how we plan and how we do community does the development issues before us are going to be tough  but i know he can do those issues and i want to congratulate sam and i want to think of jill for her willingness to join us here as part of the seattle family congratulations and with that  here in support of sam's confirmation about a big smile on my face all day and it's in no small part because we finally come to this day that i've been hoping for for months and months now as a city that is dealing with big significant issues like  gentrification like displacement like managing new growth to have someone with sam's technical skills and expertise but also his incredible bedside manner leading this department that is in charge of managing all these thorny technical and important community issues i can think of so no one better fit to lead the city in this department and then sam as if i'm just very excited to be a part of the team sam for those of you who may not know the full the bachelor's in architecture but also a master's in urban planning from m council member and thank you mayor i think first i want to express my thanks to the mayor and mary and members of the city council for offering me this incredible opportunity to lea also for its innovative spirit and ongoing commitment to city planning and social justice i feel very fortunate to now call seattle my home and to play a part in building thriving communities through an integrated and equitable  so in the past few weeks i've met with many of you and i've had the opportunity to meet with my stuff other department heads and members of council in doing so i've come to better understand the planning challenges we all face today today as one of the country's fastest growing cit seattle faces complex challenges as it plans for the future climate change global economy migration and immigration can often create and expect that impacts t thinking about city planning this challenges are not unique to seattle but what is unique is the way seattle has tried to address the issues and has taken a very proactive approach to innovative design and planning policies and address the challenges through planning that i think is worthy of the city's spectacular city as well as its very rich history i'm very i'm very much looking forward to working with the mayor of the city council and other city departments as well as the diverse communities of seattle and including the business community three other guys a great vision of a vibrant equitable and sustainable city again and really very orner interest for this exciting opportunity i'm also very grateful to the many individuals and organizations of the seattle community for their support and well wishers over the past few weeks i'm going to make a special thanks to those who are here today and most of them include some there so it's very special for me because of those reasons as well finally i'd like to thank my family and friends for their support and my wife jill not only for his support but also for how quickly accompany me as my career took us to the fantastic cities of boston san francisco chicago boulder and now seattle she told me that seattle is an exciting new chapter and perhaps the best city we've lived in so far because it has everything we loved in those other great cities all in one place and have been culture diverse neighborhoods incredible natural beauty thriving arts and business communities and most important the population committed to positive social change i couldn't agree with her more thank you