Derrick McDowell addressed the public as Youngstown's Mayor for the first time Thursday and he left quite the impression on the community.

"I truly believe like he loves the city and his remarks were funny, that's the way Derrick, or Mayor McDowell is so I think I'm excited for him," Lisa Mudryk of Struthers said.

McDowell spoke on neighboring communities being more like siblings and working together with them like a family.

"We're coming for family because we don't watch one another struggle in a family," McDowell said.

These remarks excited both the community and other elected officials.

"I think he's going to make some changes that is going to add to the depth of what could be in Youngstown, so I'm very happy and excited," Dorothy Collins of Youngstown said.

"I'm excited, I've known of Derrick and and I've spoken to him a few times. I love his vision, I love the way he talks about the city and the area as a whole and that's what we need," Geno DiFabio, Mahoning County Commissioner said. "We're Mahoning County, we're a region and Youngstown is the county seat. Like the mayor says, when people talk about Youngstown, they may have a bad impression. We have to sell what the good is in Youngstown and we have to make it better and I wanna do that, and I wanna do that with Derrick and his team," he said.

Ultimately, people are hopeful for the future.

"I appreciate his collaborative spirit with the people that he indicated he appointed. He was selecting them with a purpose and so I'm really energized about that," Rosalyn Donaldson of Youngstown said.

The new Youngstown Police Chief, Sharon Cole and Fire Chief Courtney Kelly were sworn in Thursday as well.