Savita Vaidhyanathan takes the Oath of Office as the Mayor of Cupertino, Dec. 8. Also seen by her side is her husband (l) and family, as her daughter administers the oath. (All photos and videos: Amar D. Gupta/Siliconeer) Live Videos from the event available on Siliconeer’s Facebook page (http://facebook.com/siliconeer)

For the first time, an Indian American woman has been elected as the new Mayor of Cupertino, globally known for being the technology capital of Silicon Valley, and Apple headquarters, writes Lalit K Jha. – @siliconeer #siliconeer #SiliconValley #SavitaVaidhyanathan #Cupertino #MayorofCupertino #Apple #Facebook

Savita Vaidhyanathan, an MBA who worked as a high school Math teacher and an officer in a commercial bank as well as in non-profit management, was sworn in Dec. 8, in a ceremony attended by her mother who had flown in from India.

“This is definitely a very momentous moment in my life,” Vaidhyanathan told a packed house at the City Hall of Cupertino, The Mercury News reported.

Two days after taking charge, she issued her first proclamation as the Cupertino Mayor in education.

Savita is the first Indian American Mayor of Cupertino, which according to Forbes is one of the most educated small towns in the country with local public schools ranking highly.

According to her campaign website, Savita has been a Cupertino resident for over 19 years and has been deeply involved in several community activities in the city.

“I’ve had several congratulatory messages saying that I’m the first woman mayor of Indian origin,” said Savita.

“Yes, I do take a lot of pride and prestige in that, but I do want to thank the residents of the city of Cupertino that voted me in not looking at ethnicity at all. Thank you for your trust in me, and maybe we did break that silicon ceiling and put a few more cracks in that glass ceiling,” she said.

A large number of residents waited their turn patiently to personally convey their congratulatory message to the new-elected Mayor.

The swearing-in ceremony had the special Indian flair in the form of a spectacular dance performance by Silicon Valley-based group “Rang Manch” which entertained the residents of Cupertino and dignitaries including the Consul General of India, San Francisco, Venkatesan Ashok, with their rendition of fusion dance of various Indian classical dance forms.

The aroma of samosas and tandoor chicken drew huge lines at the lavish buffet by a local Indian restaurant.

The publisher, editors and staff of Siliconeer extend their best wishes to Mayor Vaidhyanathan and look forward to working closely with the Mayor’s office.