KIRKWOOD — With the swearing-in of the new mayor and City Council Thursday night, the city took another step forward while taking care to pay respects to its recent tragic past.

Art McDonnell took over from Mike Swoboda, the two-term mayor who survived two shots to his head in the Kirkwood City Hall shootings. Swoboda was not at Thursday's ceremony.

Deputy Mayor Tim Griffin told the packed gathering in City Hall's council chambers that before Feb. 7 — when five of Kirkwood's public servants and the man who killed them were gunned down — no one would have envisioned the swearing-in as anything other than a happy occasion. "But so much has happened in between," he said.

Griffin and others spoke fondly of those who'd been killed and talked of continuing on.

"It's a night that we do move forward," he said. "We do go on."

Paul Ward, who stepped in as a temporary council member after the shootings, gave an emotional speech in which he stressed the need for open dialogue in Kirkwood and to "develop and strengthen and maintain a partnership with those residents who feel disenfranchised." He suggested town hall meetings as an option to gain better understanding of residents' concerns.

"We all can benefit from a refresher course in the art of conversation," Ward said.

The gunman, longtime Kirkwood resident Charles "Cookie" Thornton, had clashed with the council and city officials several times in recent years before storming the chambers Feb. 7.

Fighting back tears, Ward told the new mayor and council, "You have been given a great opportunity — the mantle to provide a brighter future. Do us proud and do so with the knowledge that you have the support of this community."

The city's attorney, John Hessel, said Swoboda was unable to attend the ceremony but that the city would honor his years of public service sometime in the future.

The new mayor, McDonnell, told Thursday night of how each day he thinks of those who died in the rampage.

"They're standing next to God and being honored for what they've done for our community," he said.

Later during the ceremony McDonnell offered a message similar to Ward's. He talked of boosting efforts to listen to residents and said he wants to have gatherings with no agendas and no formalities, in which residents can come and talk to the mayor.

"It is time to turn the page and move forward with dedication and purpose and feeling," he said.

McDonnell won the mayor's seat over three write-in candidates. Only he and slain council member Connie Karr had filed to run for the position. Swoboda could not seek re-election due to term limits.

In addition to the swearings-in of McDonnell and Griffin, both of whom were in the chambers but escaped injury the night of the shootings, Gerry Biedenstein and Gina Jaksetic were sworn in as council members.

eholland@post-dispatch.com | 314-340-8259