By Globe Staff

Focused on a vision to make Oakland a “model city,” Mayor Ronald Dellums urged residents to pool their talents and energies and strive to make positive social changes during his inauguration on Monday.

   Dellums said he will review suggestions from 41 task forces that have enlisted some 900 Oaklanders “who want to see change.”
   “Everyone has a right to a healthy city ... we are not a community with 150 homicides. We need to figure out how to go ahead,” said Dellums, 71.
    He also promised to go after needed resources. “Put me on a plane to Washington, D.C., or I’ll go after (Microsoft founder) Bill Gates ... we’ll find the money.”
    Thousands filled the ornate Paramount Theatre where Dellums, standing with his wife, Cynthia, took the oath of office, administered by City Clerk La- Tonda Simmons, as the city’s 48th mayor.
    Outgoing Mayor Jerry Brown was not present. He was in San Francisco being sworn in as the new California Attorney General.
    The Dellums inauguration ceremony, which kicked off a weeklong slate of programs and activities, was also a joint session of the Oakland City Council and the Board of Education. Newlyelected members of both bodies were also sworn in along with City Auditor Courtney Ruby.
    City Council members Patricia Kernighan, Jean Quan and Desley Brooks were sworn with Board of Education members Gary Yee, Christopher Dobbins and David Kakishiba, who was elected board president. Alice Spearman was named vice president.
   Political sparks flew after many in a parade of 19 speakers urged the City Council not to select Ignacio De La Fuente to another term as council president. However, he was chosen after Brooks nominated Councilman Larry Reid to the powerful seat. Reid only won three of eight votes.
    De La Fuente had run against Dellums for mayor, and his selection as council president drew catcalls from many in the audience.
    At one point, Dellums urged the gathering to be more respectful.
    City Councilwoman Jean Quan was voted president pro tem (she will fill in when the president is not present) and at-large Councilman Henry Chang was elected vice mayor. Critics said Brooks should have been named vice mayor because the office traditionally rotates to each council member. Brooks was the lone council member who had endorsed Dellums.
   “I stand on the shoulders of strong people,” said Brooks, who welcomed family members and other supporters to the stage. “It takes a whole city to make a city work.”
    Poet Maya Angelou, a former Oakland resident who sent along a video greeting that was screened, praised Dellums. Allen Temple Baptist Church pastor J. Alfred Smith Sr. led the gathering in prayer.
    Congresswoman Barbara Lee, who was greeted with a standing ovation, called Dellums “the father of coalition politics,” and she lauded his opposition to the Vietnam War and his divestment bill, which helped bring down the apartheid rulers of South Africa.
    “Now, you have elected him to tackle the difficult issues facing Oakland,” said Lee, who credited Dellums with bringing to Oakland funds for the dredging of the Port, the Chabot Space and Science Center, the federal building, jobs and senior housing.
    Many speakers agreed that crime and youth violence must be addressed.
    “We need to hear from young people ... I’m going to put them on every board and commission in Oakland,” said Dellums. “We need to focus on all the issues. It’s about quality of life. Everyone has a right to be at the table. “
    ‘We shall overcome’ was the song of my youth. If our grandchildren are still singing this, something is wrong ... you will be at the table.”
    Dellums said stronger links need to be established between the city, City Hall and public schools.
    Kakishiba said during his president’s remarks that the school district’s budget is balanced, a rainy day fund has been restored, some schools have been renovated and two new schools have been built. The district also has a $435 million bond for capital improvements, and students test scores are rising.
    However, he noted, the district has seen enrollment fall by 14,000 students, and that means a loss of $90 million in revenues. There are also 7,000 students in local charter schools, and public schools must compete. Kakishiba called for longer school days and years for elementary and middle schools, more college prep and job readiness programs in high schools and better pay for teachers.
    Ruby said her staff will “improve the performance of the office” and a 90-day plan is in place to eliminate a backlog of work. She will also issue annual reports.
    After the ceremony, Dellums and other officials greeted the public in a receiving line outside. Areception was held later at Geoffrey’s Inner Circle, and Scott’s in Jack London Square hosted a $150-per-person gala.