Mayor Gavin Buckley: Here to serve you
I first arrived in Annapolis in 1992. When I sailed into City Dock, I dropped anchor in Spa Creek, got a job at Middleton’s Tavern as a server, and quickly recognized that Annapolis was the home I had been looking for. In the intervening three decades, I got married to my beautiful wife Julie, started a family, and have successfully partnered in running more than a half dozen restaurants.
In all of these parts of my life, one thing has been steadfast: my desire to serve.
Four years ago, I took a shot at running for mayor. I had some ideas of what the job entailed, but since becoming the mayor of Annapolis, I now know the reason why I love this town and why I love my job as mayor — it is an opportunity to continue in service to this amazing community.
Over the course of my four years as mayor, my administration has tackled difficult issues and sought to solve problems. We have focused on initiatives to improve the lives of Annapolis residents and visitors.
We convened more than 100 stakeholders in the City Dock Action Group and now have a solid plan to rebuild Hillman Garage and re-imagine
City Dock for the next generation of Annapolis residents. We will break ground on Hillman with a demolition set to begin in January. Together, these two projects are the largest-ever public works projects in the city’s history, and they are the beginning of our efforts to mitigate the impacts of sea level rise. This is crucial in a city with more than 22.35 miles of waterfront.
We reorganized city financial processes which recently resulted in Annapolis receiving AA+ ratings from all three bond rating agencies. This helps with our ability to issue bonds and pay for key infrastructure projects.
We greatly reduced sunny day flooding on Dock Street with an innovative pump solution that took flooding days (where businesses had to close) from 45 to 60 days a year down to a total of six days over the past 29 months.
We helped secure funding for demolition and rebuild of HACA’s Newtowne Twenty.
We improved water access at Hawkins Cove, Wells Cove, and on College Creek in addition to improvements at a half-dozen existing street-end parks.
We acquired property on Hudson Street to relocate the Department of Public Works which sat at the headwaters of Spa Creek in a 100-yearold facility that was well beyond its useful service life.
We have made progress on environmental initiatives, including the passage of the strongest forest protection law in the state. We established a Waterways Cabinet for stakeholder input. We implemented stringent stormwater requirements for development and developed a restoration plan for Annapolis waterways. We created a “No Discharge Zone” and installed EV charging stations throughout the city.
We have enhanced opportunity for all residents by hiring a more diverse city workforce, including African-American and Hispanic outreach in the mayor’s office. We inaugurated the City’s Pride Parade and Festival.
We cut the ribbons on the new $4 million Kenneth R. Dunn Municipal Pool and completed the restoration of the tennis and pickleball courts at Truxtun Park. We expanded open space and access to hiker and biker trails in Truxtun Park, Admiral Heights, downtown and other locations. We have convened stakeholders to map and connect transit alternatives.
As mayor, I have spent a lot of time with city workers and staff, who work hard on behalf of city residents every day. I witnessed firsthand, the public safety response to the horrific mass shooting at The Capital newsroom in 2018, and other tragedies, including the recent Annapolis tornado. We have worked to navigate the pandemic and get resources to businesses and residents. I am grateful to be their boss and grateful to serve as your mayor.
Today, I want to thank you for allowing me to serve for the past four years. On Nov. 2, I am asking for your vote to continue my service.