In front of a fairly packed house at City Hall, Vanessa Fleisch took her oath of office, becoming the first woman mayor in Peachtree City and Fayette County history.

A good chunk of the crowd was also there to support new Peachtree City Councilman Terry Ernst, including a strong contingent of his fellow police officers. Ernst had a lengthy post-military career with the Peachtree City Police Department, working his way up to captain before his position was eliminated along with two other captains’ positions last year.

Fleisch and re-elected councilwoman Kim Learnard were sworn in by Georgia Appeals Court Judge Carla McMillian, a Tyrone resident and the former judge of Fayette County State Court.
Learnard was also selected by unanimous vote to be the city’s mayor pro tem.

After she and Ernst were sworn in, Fleisch told the crowd that “Peachtree City is on solid footing for the next four years.”

At right, joined by her sons John and Christian, along with her husband Michael, new Peachtree City Mayor Vanessa Fleisch takes the oath of office Thursday as she was sworn in by Georgia Appeals Court Judge Carla McMillian (R). Photo/John Munford.

“Tremendous strides have been made in both our finances and our infrastructure, and those initiatives will continue,” Fleisch said. “And we will keep moving forward, at the same time  never forgetting about the community and the quality of life that brought us all here.”

Ernst got a good bit of cheer too following his swearing-in ceremony.

Below, with his son Tony and wife Joan looking on, new Peachtree City Councilman Terry Ernst took his oath of office Thursday night at the Peachtree City Council meeting. Ernst was sworn in by Peachtree City Municipal Court Judge Stephen Ott (R). Photo/John Munford.

“I just want to thank everybody for coming out, and I want to let you know we’re going to have one good 2014,” Ernst said. “We are so looking forward to moving this city forward. Thank you all very much.”

Learnard said she is looking forward to the next four years in office.

“We are going to continue to do the long list of things that Peachtree City does better than anybody else,” Learnard said. “Thank you so much.”

After the formalities ended, Fleisch yielded the floor to Al Yougel, who has spearheaded the Keep Peachtree City Beautiful campaign. Yougel presented ceremonial “trash grabbers” to each councilmember and reminded them to recycle their Christmas trees Saturday.

Following that presentation, the meeting was adjourned. While there was no formal business on the agenda from a policymaking perspective, council had already accomplished one of its main objectives of the new year: a fresh start.