New San Diego City Councilman David Alvarez got off to a good start after being sworn in Monday morning at Golden Hall

He told a joke.

The 30-year-old Barrio Logan resident was the last of four council members to be installed into office. His one-year -old daughter, Izel, began crying in her mother's arms during the long wait.

"Now that I've been sworn in I'd like to make a motion that we allow councilmen with small children to go first," Alvarez said, drawing laughter and applause from hundreds in the audience.

Alvarez can do that and more now that he has been formally seated as councilman for

District 8, the heavily Latino area south of downtown San Diego that includes Logan Heights and San Ysidro. Alvarez defeated Felipe Hueso in the Nov. 2 election and succeeded his rival's brother, Ben Hueso, on the City Council. Ben Hueso was elected to the state Assembly.

Council members Tony Young and Kevin Faulconer, who were re-elected, and newly elected Councilwoman Lori Zapf, were also sworn in on Monday.

Alvarez thanked his wife, Xochitl, for taking care of their daughter during the ceremony and followed that with a speech about the importance of working together to solve problems.

"We are often reminded how intractable the city's problems are and indeed our problems are so large that it's easy to fall into despair," he said. "But it's important to realize that many families in District 8 and throughout our city overcome much scarier problems every day."

Alvarez was speaking from experience. He recounted his family's struggles, how they became homeless after losing their apartment.

His mother and father went to live with his sister, he said. He went to live with his neighbors, "the Garcias," during his final semester at San Diego High School. He never forgot the experience.

"Families make hard choices and lean on their neighbors for support. By pulling together they find solutions."

Alvarez graduated from San Diego State University and has worked for nonprofits and government offices. He worked for more than four years for former state Sen. Denise Moreno Ducheny as her liaison to District 8.

Ducheny administered the oath of office to him on Monday.

"I'm truly humbled by the opportunity they have given me and the trust they

have placed in me," Alvarez said.