City leaders witnessed a changing of the guard just as 2005 was about to end and a new year set to begin.

With family, friends and coworkers looking on, Jim Carey was sworn in Friday morning as Ironton’s new police chief.

Carey, 40, is a 16-year veteran with the department, having most recently served as head of the department’s detective bureau.

Ironton Mayor John Elam administered the oath of office and then told the roughly 40 people in attendance he thinks Carey will make an excellent chief.

“He exemplifies every good quality of a man I feel the citizens of Ironton expect in a chief,” Elam said. “He has come up through the ranks as an officer, a sergeant, a captain and now chief. … He has integrity, morals and ethics and I think he will lead the department in a new direction that will benefit the citizens of Ironton.”

Carey began by acknowledging a strong support system that has sustained him through the years, some of it earthly and some of it from a higher power.

“I want to first thank God,” he said. “He’s blessed me with a good family and put me where I am. I’ve never been one to seek titles or be held up in high esteem. One of the things my wife and a struggled with is going in the direction God wants us to go. For a time I thought about going in some other areas but after those doors didn’t open and this one did my wife and I prayed about it and this is where he led us.”

Carey choked back tears when he thanked his mother, Isabell Winters, who attended Friday’s ceremony with other family members.

“She’s a big part of who I am and where I am today,” he said.

“My dad died when I was young and she raised us by herself. If not for her guidance, who knows where I might be today? Maybe Lucasville or something.”

Carey also thanked his wife of 22 years, Angela.

“I may not have always been the best husband or easiest husband but she’s always stood by me,” he said.

He also thanked former chiefs and captains in the department for their guidance, as well as the support of other co-workers. And he thanked members of his church for their support.

As for the department, Carey said, “We’re going to be fair, we’re going to be firm and we’re going to work,” he said. “We’re going to establish short-term goals and long-term goals and we’re going to try to follow through on them.”

Adding that the police department belongs to the citizens of Ironton and not just the men and women who work in it, he said. “I hope I don’t disappoint you.”

A graduate of Dawson-Bryant High School, Carey has been with the police department 16 years, most recently serving as head of the detective bureau. He and his wife, Angela, have three children, Nicole, Zack and Autumn.

Carey and two other captains, Chris Bowman and Dan Johnson, took the chief’s test earlier this month. Each one then sat for an interview with the three-member city civil service commission. Carey garnered the highest combined score from the exam and the interview.

Former chief Bill Garland retired in July. Since then, Capt. Jerry Leach and then Capt. Chris Bowman have stood in as acting chiefs until a permanent chief was selected.