SOUTH PORTLAND – South Portland City Councilor Rosemarie De Angelis said she has big dreams for the world, but small goals as mayor of South Portland.

On Monday, De Angelis was sworn in as the mayor of South Portland following a 4-3 vote, with Councilors Maxine Beecher, Tom Blake, Alan Livingston opposed. At the Nov. 8 mayoral caucus, the three argued for Beecher as the better candidate for mayor.

Speaking before a council chamber packed with family, friends, guests and members of the community, De Angelis said her goals as mayor include bringing a farmers market to the city, eliminating synthetic pesticide use, facilitating the growth of community gardens and investigating increased collaboration between municipal officials and the Board of Education.

“None of these goals are possible without me partnering with my fellow councilors and all of you, the residents of South Portland,” De Angelis said. “None of us accomplishes anything on our own. It is teamwork that brings about great results.”

De Angelis, who replaces Councilor Tom Coward in the largely ceremonial position, told the crowd at the inauguration that she doesn’t feel the position gives her any more sway on the council.

“I believe the position of mayor is not, or should not, be a position of power or authority,” De Angelis said. “Each of us who serve on the council are elected by the same body and all of us have one vote.”

De Angelis has vowed to spend time riding along in a police cruiser, public works vehicle and fire truck and visiting the community center, City Hall and schools so she can better understand every facet of how the city works.

De Angelis said she also would like to introduce to the City Council agenda a monthly recognition of accomplishments, in which outstanding businesses, hard-working city employees or do-gooders in the community are recognized for their work.

“I want to represent you in a way that brings only dignity to the city,” she said.

The inauguration ceremony, which also officially swore in Blake and Livingston to their three-year terms as at-large city councilors, started with a multilingual invocation from 10 members of Color of Community, a group from Southern Maine Community College that works to fight prejudice.

The speakers, who represented countries across the world, including Vietnam, Ethiopia, Iran, Rwanda, Taiwan, Somalia, Cambodia and the Democratic Republic of Congo, first read sections of the invocation in their native tongue and then in English.

“[These students] are a gift to the city,” said De Angelis, who teaches English to foreign-born students at SMCC. “And I am honored to have them here on my behalf.”

She said with all the students have faced in their short lives, from seeing their religious expression stymied to family and friends killed before their eyes, they serve as an inspiration to her, something she will rely on during her time as mayor.

“If you can endure all that, I can certainly survive a less than unanimous vote from my fellow councilors,” De Angelis said.

Prior to De Angelis’ inauguration, Coward honored Linda Boudreau, a long-serving councilor who stepped down due to term limits. Livingston replaced her on the council.

“You, many years ago, set my feet on the path of public service and for that I am indebted,” Coward said in recognizing Boudreau’s years of service to the city.

“I would like, after all these 18 years, to say thank you to all the people of South Portland,” Boudreau said. “I know often times we have agreed, but sometimes we have not agreed, on the path I have taken on issues.”

As De Angelis begins her role as mayor and leader of the City Council, Ralph Baxter Jr. steps up as the chairman of the South Portland Board of Education, replacing Rick Carter, who will serve in 2011 as vice chairman.

“We have a huge body of work before us,” said Baxter. “There is a lot of work for us to do and I’ll need your support in doing it.”

Baxter thanked Carter for his year of leadership and vowed to create a better working relationship between his board and the City Council.

“I think it is important for us to meet on a regular basis, perhaps monthly,” he said, “so we are not meeting when there is a crisis, but in a way where we can sit down and have a discussion in a calm situation.”

Baxter said during his time as chairman he intends to focus on introducing a pre-kindergarten program into the city to better prepare children for school, re-examining the needs of Kaler Elementary School and preparing for the looming renovation of South Portland High School, something he called “a huge commitment of the city and the school committee.”

Outgoing South Portland Mayor Tom Coward presents his gavel to his newly elected replacement, Rosemarie De Angelis. “Teamwork brings about great results,” she said at her inaugural speech Monday. (Photo by Rich Obrey)