One of the things that makes American democracy unique took place at the Fort Dodge Municipal Building Friday morning.

There, in a brief ceremony, a peaceful and seamless transition of authority occurred when a new mayor, three new members of the City Council and three reelected council members were sworn into office by Magistrate Neven Conrad.

The new mayor is Dave Flattery, a veteran of 18 years on the council.

The new council members are Scott Davis and Terry Moehnke, who hold at-large seats, and Todd McCubbin, who represents Ward 3. Moehnke is actually returning to the council after representing Ward 1 from 2002 to 2023.

In the November general election, the voters also reelected some veteran local leaders.

Jen Crimmins was reelected to a second term representing Ward 1. Cameron Nelson was reelected to a third term representing Ward 2. Kim Alstott was reelected to an eighth term representing Ward 4.

The officials who were sworn in may someday find themselves being sworn at. Being an elected leader is a tough job, and it’s one in which it’s impossible to make everyone happy.

There’s also a lot of work involved in being an elected official. Indeed, experienced local leaders may say that the two regular meetings a month in the Municipal Building are actually a small part of their workload.

We congratulate those officials who took the oath of office, and we thank them for their willingness to take on the challenge of leading our city.

Now they must set aside whatever campaign rhetoric they may have indulged in and begin the tough work of governing.