Mike Johnston is now the mayor of Denver.

Surrounded by his wife and three children, Johnston took the oath of office Monday morning at the Ellie Caulkins Opera House, marking the beginning of his administration as the city’s first new mayor in 12 years.

During the ceremony, Johnston spoke of creating a “new Denver.” Though he didn’t touch on specific policy plans or upcoming actions, he vowed to spend the next four years addressing the issues of homelessness, drug addiction, gun violence and the cost of living that have recently plagued the city.

“Today’s question is not how we found ourselves here, but how we find our way out of here,” Johnston said. “Denver is ready for a new dream.”

The changes facing Denver were evident during Monday’s ceremony.

Johnston was inaugurated along with Auditor Tim O’Brien, Clerk Paul López and the 13 members of the Denver City Council.

Of those 13 members, six are Latina — the most to ever serve on the council. The council also now has a nine-member women supermajority and the first two openly LGBTQ Black members.

“Today we celebrate more milestones,” said City Council President Jamie Torres during the ceremony. “New people bring new energy, new visions, new ideas and I am here for it.”

The inauguration also featured prayers from a wide variety of faith leaders: Cheyenne and Lakota Elder Rick Williams, Baptist Reverend Eugene Downing, Jewish Rabbi Sarah Shulman, Islamic Imam Abdur-Rahim Ali, Presbyterian Reverend Ian Cummins and Catholic Apostolic Father Joseph Dang.

The diversity and unity displayed by the speakers encapsulates the kind of city that Johnston said he wants to make.

“The essence of democracy is that it calls on our ability to do something that feels unnatural — to love those who are different than us, to believe in them, to work with them, to sacrifice for them, to deliver for them,” Johnston said. “That is how we pull this city back into a cycle of hope. It is how we dream, serve and deliver Denver as America’s best city.”

Johnston, 48, is a Democrat and former two-term state senator. He grew up in Vail, graduated from Yale and Harvard, and most recently headed Denver-based Gary Community Ventures, a major local philanthropic nonprofit.

Johnston was elected mayor in June, emerging as the winner out of a field of 17 candidates over two rounds of elections to replace term-limited Mayor Michael Hancock, who has led the city since 2011.

Hancock spoke at Monday’s ceremony, saying he is honored to “pass the baton” to Johnston.

“This office is one held in the public trust. Through your years of service to Denver, you have earned that trust,” Hancock said. “I am rooting for you and your administration to succeed on behalf of the people of this great city. Go out there and do great things.”

More than 1,700 people attended the ceremony. Other notable names included former Denver Mayor Federico Peña, former Mayor Wellington Webb, former mayor and now U.S. Sen. John Hickenlooper, Gov. Jared Polis, U.S. Rep. Diana DeGette, Attorney General Phil Weiser, Secretary of State Jena Griswold and State Treasurer Dave Young.

True Apodaca-Cobell, the political director for SEIU Local 105 and a member of the labor relations committee for Johnston’s transition, waited nearly first in line to take his seat inside the ceremony.

“It’s incredible,” he said of Denver’s first inauguration of a new mayor in 12 years.

The transition process, and the fact that the committee he served on existed at all, is one of the first signs that Johnston aims to be a transparent and engaged mayor, Apodaca-Cobell said. The committee gave Apodaca-Cobell a seat at a table, where people came together to brainstorm solutions for the city and where professional moderators led forums to spur critical thinking.

“I’m looking forward to a mayor who is actually listening, and is from all accounts ready to be engaged,” Apodaca-Cobell said. “Mike’s the kind of guy who thinks big. I’m excited to be part of big thinking.”

While inside the theater, Johnston spoke about ensuring Denver abandoned not one person, even as a gathering outside served as a stark reminder of the challenges awaiting him as mayor.

Protesters held up posters and chanted “people over profit” as they called for solutions they say will prevent the displacement of people who reside at the temporary shelter at Rodeway Inn, which the Denver Housing Authority plans to shutter and sell.

Zoe Avalon has lived at the shelter for more than a year. She is afraid she will be forced to live on the streets when the shelter closes in a few weeks and she has not found other housing, so far. There’s has been talk of bridge housing for people leaving Rodeway, but that is not enough, she said.

Avalon believes the new mayor’s administration has been initially responsive to their concerns “but those are words.” She hopes city officials will find a way to keep the shelter open until a better plan for its current residents is found. Many people at Rodeway have PTSD and are victims of domestic violence.

“Some of us have physical disabilities and we tend to be brushed under the rug,” Avalon said. “We are what people see as the ugly side of the city.”

Johnston said these vulnerable populations are precisely who he wants to help during his administration, aiming to create a city that works for every Denver resident. More details about how he plans to achieve this will be announced Tuesday, he said.

Poet Laureate Bobby LeFebre performed his poem “Questions for the Moment” during the ceremony, inviting Denverites to dream of this new version of Denver.

“Let us build the best city in the world. One fist, one idea, one person, one action, one need, one day at a time,” LeFebre said. “A new city is possible. A new city is here.”

“Now, let’s get to work,” Johnston said.