Former Dean Peter Beck has been officially sworn into the Christchurch City Council, promising to work in the interests of the entire city.

He was elected to represent the Burwood-Pegasus ward this month, beating his nearest competitor by nearly 2000 votes in a by-election.

He was welcomed to the council by Mayor Bob Parker at a meeting this morning.

Cr Glenn Livingstone, Beck's fellow ward councillor, read a prayer written for his colleague.

In a short speech Cr Beck pledged to help "rebuild trust" in the troubled organisation.

"I wouldn't have taken this step if I wasn't excited about the very possibility of working with this council," he said.

While he was "specifically interested" in issues facing residents in the city's eastern suburbs, he would work in the interests of the entire city.

Cr Beck joked that he was "completely daunted and scared to death" by the volume of work he would have to deal with.

"The number of papers I've already seen and the number of meetings I've already seen, I'm like, 'Wow, how do you get your heads around it?'"

Mayor Parker said it gave him "great pleasure to be able to fill the gap that's been at this table".

"Your life will never be the same again," he told Cr Beck.