“Virginians didn’t send us here to be Democrats or Republicans. They sent us here to solve problems.”

So said Ralph Sherer Northam on Saturday after he was sworn in as Virginia’s 73rd governor with his wife, Pam, and children beside him.

Gov. Northam spoke of the need to use goodwill and a common effort “to leave this place better than we found it” at a ceremony that showcased diversity, from African-Americans singing patriotic songs to Native American dancers blessing the Capitol grounds and Muslim Boys and Girls Scouts leading the Pledge of Allegiance.

Optimism and a show of good will radiated at the event that drew about 4,000 people, including 10 former governors, judges, members of Congress and ordinary citizens.

The program also featured Justin E. Fairfax taking the oath of office as the state’s second African-American lieutenant governor and Mark R. Herring being sworn in for his second term as attorney general.

A pediatric neurosurgeon and politician, Gov. Northam, 58, brings unusually varied experience in taking over from his fellow Democrat, former Gov. Terry McAuliffe, whose boisterous, enthusiastic and outgoing manner stands in sharp contrast with his successor’s more low key and less flashy style.

Before becoming a doctor, the man from the Eastern Shore worked on deep sea fishing boats, captained a ferry to Tangier Island and served in the Army. And even while immersed in his medical practice, he served in the state Senate and most recently as lieutenant governor, creating relationships on both sides of the aisle.

Even while lacking the flash of his predecessor, Gov. Northam is comfortable in his new role, noting in Saturday’s address, “You don’t have to be loud to lead.”

Citing lessons he learned from his parents and his patients, he promised to take an approach to governing that would combine a progressive agenda with a new effort to cut through the partisan divide to forge “the way ahead.”

Whether his approach will work remains to be seen. Despite a big jump in Democratic numbers in the General Assembly as a result of November’s elections, Republicans still hold skimpy majorities in both the House of Delegates and the state Senate. Already, they are using their majority to kill legislation the new governor supports.

Just two days after he was sworn in, a Republican-controlled Senate committee killed off a package of gun control measures that Gov. Northam had said offered “a smart approach” to keeping guns out of the hands of people who should not have them.

Other bills on the Democratic agenda have been sent to a Republican-heavy House Rules Committee to die.

Nor is it yet clear that Gov. Northam will have any more success than his predecessor in getting the Republican majorities to agree to a federally paid expansion of Medicaid to low-income working adults who cannot afford health insurance. Republicans appear ready to overhaul the proposed 2019-20 budget that is built on Medicaid expansion rather than approve Gov. Northam’s top priority, as it was for Gov. McAuliffe.

What is clear is that tough negotiations lie ahead.

And despite offering kind words about the new governor before and immediately after his inauguration and promising to work with him, Republican leaders already are blasting him as overly partisan.

Still, Gov. Northam told the inaugural audience that he would pursue Medicaid expansion and other legislative priorities with hope.

“Hope is not just a source of comfort for the afflicted. It is a wellspring of energy to fight for a better tomorrow, no matter the odds.”

He said there is reason to fight. Despite the “incredible economic progress,” plenty of Virginians still are not feeling the rewards.

“In far too many places in Virginia, our ZIP code determines not just how well you are, but how long you will live.”

He cited Richmond data that shows that a child born 2 miles to the east of the State Capitol can “expect to live to about age 63, but a child 5 miles to the west of the State Capitol can expect to live 20 years longer. You don’t have to be a doctor to know something is wrong.”

He said, as in many cases, the solutions “are not easy,” but are known and would require smart approaches creating connections to quality education, health care and good jobs.

Gov. Northam noted that Virginia’s own complex history makes it the ideal place to find such solutions.

He noted that on a hilltop 15 blocks east of the Capitol, one of his predecessors as governor, Patrick Henry, helped launch the movement for American independence and freedom with his cry of, “Give me liberty or give me death.” Yet at the bottom of the hill, one of the largest slave-trading markets in the country was coming alive as a place to buy and sell men, women and children.

His words about hope impressed many who came, such as Dionne Keith, 19, who said she felt “more hopeful” as she listened to the ceremony.

Daphne Mustaffa also was moved by what she heard and is excited to see what is to come with Gov. Northam in charge.

To find the way forward, Gov. Northam urged people to follow “their moral compass,” just as he used a real compass when going out on the water as a youth to find his way home.

He said a “moral compass” is needed more than ever.

“It can be hard to find our way in a time when there’s so much shouting, when nasty, shallow tweets take the place of honest debate and when scoring political points gets in the way of dealing with real problems.”

In his view, “we are bigger than this.”

The Democrat said he and his party do not have a monopoly on good ideas and said his guiding principles would include “telling the truth,” willingly considering alternative views and working with all parties.

“The path to progress is marked by honest give and take among people who truly want to make life better for those around them,” said Gov. Northam, who is the longtime volunteer director of a pediatric hospice in Norfolk and annually travels to a free clinic in Southwest Virginia to lend a diagnostic hand.

Gov. Northam also is pledging to build on the accomplishments of the McAuliffe administration, which led the state’s recovery from the Great Recession.

“Virginia is better for the work of Gov. McAuliffe and former First Lady Dorothy McAuliffe, and Pam and I have been proud to work as their partners,” Gov. Northam said, as he ticked off a list of achievements.

The McAuliffe legacy includes “200,000 new jobs, $20 billion in capital investment, voting rights restored for 173,000 Virginians, 10 million more school breakfasts served to children who need them,” he said.

Virginia also functionally ended homelessness on Gov. McAuliffe’s watch, revitalized the state’s port system and helped cut employment to its lowest level in a nearly 10 years, ushering in nearly full employment.

He said he understands there is more work to do to improve employment pay and options.

And he made it clear his call for a bipartisan approach to solutions would not mean sweeping big issues under the rug because common ground was hard to find, as an aide later put it.

“I am committed as your governor to fight every day for the hope that tomorrow will be better for all, not just for some, … because it can be,” he said.

“If we work together, tomorrow can be better for nearly 400,000 Virginians who are one illness or accident away from bankruptcy because they have no insurance,” he said.

“Tomorrow can better for families in rural communities who are praying for new jobs, … for children who are sitting in crowded and crumbling schools across the state” and for those who want to maintain clean air and water to pass on to their children, he said.

“Tomorrow can be better for people who too often face discrimination, harassment or violence because of their race, gender, religion or sexual orientation.”

Gov. Northam said the country is looking to Virginia to lead the way “with humility and optimism, learning from history and removing every obstacle to progress,” he said. “Let us rely on the compass we all carry to show us the way ahead.”