Jay Nixon’s inauguration as Governor one month from today does not have a theme yet. But it already has picked up a nickname the "potluck inauguration."
Organizers are still deciding who to invite to take part in the parade and are still deciding who will perform and pray during the inaugurations of the governor, lieutenant governor, secretary of state, treasurer and attorney general. The oath taking begins at 11:15 that morning and continues until Nixon takes the oath at noon, as the bells in the nearby church are rung.
Inaugural team spokesman Jack Cardetti says the event will be "bare bones," costing less than the 250-thousand dollars spent for the Blunt inauguration four years ago. The highlight: a post-inauguration potluck dinner at a nearby hotel. He says the Nixon campaign committee will provide the meal while the public is invited to provide desserts.
The campaign committee is paying the bills because the legislature has stopped putting up state money for the governor’s inauguration.
Ceremonies are usually held outdoors unless the weather is so beastly that it has to be moved indoors, as Mel Carnahan did in 19-97 and as many felt Joe Teasdale should have done twenty years earlier when wind chills hit 40 below and the new Governor for a short time was nicknamed "Freezedale."
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