Absent from the well-wishers at Mayor Laurent F. Gilbert’s inauguration ceremony Wednesday were some notable faces: The bulk of Gilbert’s new colleagues on the Lewiston City Council, only two of whom appeared to watch their leader take his oath of office.

That absence might hint at disunity among the council, and causes speculation whether Gilbert’s agenda can be channeled without the support of the council he’s been elected to lead.

The next campaign for mayor, after all, started at 8:01 p.m. on Tuesday evening, 60 seconds after the polls closed at the Multi-Purpose Center. Gilbert has a short time to push his ambitious agenda before facing the rigors of a mayoral campaign for the second time this year.

On Wednesday, he spoke of supporting education, consolidation and embracing diversity. Gilbert, of all the candidates, acted most like he wanted the job, with his ceaseless campaigning, ubiquity around the city, and polished communications strategy.

And the overwhelming majority by which he claimed victory shows he has the people’s support, albeit mostly for his past contributions to Lewiston, not his plans. Gilbert cannot afford to rest on these laurels and expect to be judged on the same basis in his next campaign.

His agenda, as stated, is more than one mayor can achieve in the brevity of this term. Perhaps his most important item, then, is fulfilling his promise to meet councilors and city administration to “mend fences” from a campaign in which he was one of the city’s sharpest critics.

Now he’s their partner, as well as leader. This makes unity a high priority.

For Gilbert, the future is now. With the next campaign so near, Lewiston’s new mayor needs to make immediate headway on improving his relationship with his fellow councilors. He wanted, more than anything, to be mayor, and the people have rewarded his enthusiasm with the job.

That several councilors didn’t appear at his swearing-in could be indicative of deep discord, or representative of a series of coincidental calendar conflicts. Regardless of their reasons, their absences lead to one concrete conclusion:

Gilbert must extend his hand to the city council, because the council apparently won’t be coming to him.