Congratulations to Gov. Ralph S. Northam, who took the oath of office shortly after noon on Saturday, echoing the oaths taken moments before by Lt. Gov. Justin Fairfax and Attorney General Mark Herring.

The inauguration, in the first place, promised stability and knowledge in Virginia’s top executive posts, as Northam moves up from the lieutenant governor’s office and Herring begins a second term as attorney general. Fairfax, a former federal prosecutor and political newcomer, has a wealth of experience to guide him.

The inauguration, secondly, promised a term of decency and “the Virginia way” as Northam made several pledges:

“I will remember that no one has a monopoly on good ideas.

“I will always tell the truth”; and he promised,

“To fight every day for the hope that tomorrow will be better—for all of us, not just some of us.”

He took note of Virginia’s conflicted history:

“In a church on a hill 15 blocks ...