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STATE REPRESENTATIVE CARLO BASILE'S INAUGURAL THANK YOU SPEECH - State House, November 1, 2007, 12 noon. House Chamber.

Thank you! Mr. Speaker, Gov. Patrick, my fellow members of the Legislature, all of my friends, family and supporters who are here today – thank you very much.

As you can probably tell I am not going to wow you with my oratory skills or blow you away with my polish and charm. I am what I am. I stand before you - a son of East Boston. An immigrant’s child who simply wants to do more for the community he loves – and that’s exactly what I am going to do.

Months ago, I stood before friends and supporters and announced that I was a candidate for office. That night I said that a State Representative is the closest form of Government to the people. They are accountable and must be responsive to the people they serve. Now, as I stand here today you can be assured that will be the case. To all of you I swear again that my phone will always be on and my door will always be open.

I am grateful to God, my mother, my family and especially to my wife Crystal. You have stood by me, loved, supported and encouraged me throughout all of this. I am also grateful to my son who reminds me always of why we must serve, and of why we must all try to do better for ourselves and others every day.

Many of you know that my father died when I was young and my mother took it upon herself to raise our family as mother and father. She taught me that with hard work and dedication to family and community you can accomplish anything.

To her, I say thank you to the hardworking woman who raised her children with all of her love, energy and resources. We may have grown up with modest means, and my mother may never have had much money, but we were far from poor. We were rich in love, hope and ambition. So mama – Thank you.

So it is to all mothers in Massachusetts, especially those who struggle every day to get what they need, to raise their families, that I dedicate myself and my service. I will not let you down.

I view government service as just that, service. I dedicate myself to serving those most in need in our communities. All of you here from East Boston know me well enough to know that what I do best is help others. Helping people is not a Democratic ideal - not a Republican ideal. It’s just right.  And it is exactly what I was elected to do.

To all of my fellow members here today I look forward to the coming years with high hopes that we can all work together to build true communities across the Commonwealth. Communities that will make it easier for us to raise our children . Communities that will care for our elderly with compassion and love. Communities that work together to solve any problem that may arise. Communities we can be proud to call home. Communities like – East Boston.

We can’t all be lucky enough to live there – but I sure am. And now, today I am lucky enough to serve East Boston in the Massachusetts House of Representatives. Thank you all very much.