WASHINGTON (AP) – Muriel Bowser has been sworn in as the seventh elected mayor of the District of Columbia.

The 42-year-old Bowser spent seven years on the D.C. Council before being elected to the city's highest office. She replaces Vincent Gray, who spent most of his only term dogged by scandals involving his 2010 campaign.

Bowser, a Democrat, called it her life's "greatest honor" to be sworn in Friday as mayor of her hometown.

She pledged that her administration would be "both bold and pragmatic" and would work to combat growing inequality in the prosperous nation's capital.

Bowser is a protege of former mayor Adrian Fenty, who said Friday that he thinks she'll do a "fantastic" job.

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