Gavin Buckley

Gavin Buckley (born 8 February 1963) is a South African-born Australian-American Democratic politician,[nb 1] and former restaurateur serving as the Mayor of Annapolis, Maryland. He was elected in November 2017, defeating incumbent Republican mayor Mike Pantelides,[2] and inaugurated on December 7, 2017.[3] As mayor, Buckley has worked to allow denser development in the City Dock district, drawing opposition from historic preservation advocates.[4] He was in office during the Capital Gazette shooting on June 28, 2018, and has advocated for stricter gun control laws in its wake.[1]

Gavin Buckley
Mayor of Annapolis
Assumed office
December 7, 2017
Preceded byMike Pantelides
Personal details
Born (1963-02-08) February 8, 1963
Boksburg, South Africa
Political partyDemocratic
Spouse(s)
Julie Williams
(
m. 1997)
Children2

Early life and education

Gavin Buckley was born in Boksburg, South Africa, and lived briefly in London before growing up in Perth, Western Australia.[1] Because their father traveled often for work and then died at an early age, Buckley and his twin, Paul, who died at age 14, were primarily raised by their mother, Pauline Brosnan, an Irish native active in the Australian Labor Party.[5] Gavin was expelled from two Australian high schools, St. Norbert and Belmont Senior High School, for poor attendance;[5][6] and began working in Scotland, France, and Florida, where he arrived in 1985.[1][5]

Career

Business

Buckley came to Maryland in 1992 by boat, he only had 200 dollars in cash; in the region, he found work as a waiter and farm laborer, among other jobs.[1] He overstayed his initial visa, but was granted amnesty under the Reagan administration through his agricultural work, and was naturalized in 2009.[5]

Buckley eventually settled in Annapolis, Maryland, where he began a business career, first opening a coffee shop called The Moon, and later four restaurants, Tsunami, Metropolitan Kitchen and Lounge, Lemongrass, and Sailor Oyster Bar, in the West Street area.[5][7][8] He was one of several partners in West Village LLC, which renovated a strip of dilapidated buildings on West Street near Tsunami in 2001 and restored a variety of businesses to what had become a "relatively desolate" part of the city.[9][10][11][12] Buckley's businesses accrued several debts and contract disputes between 2006 and 2012, which he attributed to cash flow problems due to the Great Recession. Buckley was also cited by local authorities for failing to display boat registration numbers and failing to obtain a rental license.[5]

Gavin Buckley, Mayor of Annapolis, speaks at the Women's March in Annapolis MD on January 20th, 2018

A dispute with the local Historic Preservation Committee in 2015 over a large mural on the outside of Buckley's Tsunami restaurant brought him to public attention in municipal politics.[1][13] Throughout the controversy, Buckley argued that Annapolis's economic development depended on loosening historic preservation policies, saying "We have to celebrate our history, but you can't get stuck in it."[5]

Politics

Buckley ran for mayor of Annapolis in 2017 with no prior political experience. He defeated longtime Annapolis State Senator John Astle in a Democratic primary with unusually high turnout, a "stunning" result after a primary campaign in which he presented himself as a contributor to the renewal of downtown Annapolis, a fresh voice from outside the political system, and an ally of underprivileged Annapolitans.[14] In the general election campaign, Buckley proposed a "firestorm" of reform proposals, including replacing curbside parking on busy Main Street with a trolley, that his Republican opponent, incumbent mayor Mike Pantelides, mostly dismissed as unrealistic. The race was unusual for its relative civility, with Buckley and Pantelides dining together publicly.[15] Pantelides's campaign at times contrasted his Annapolis pedigree with Buckley's Australian identity, but Buckley believes this tactic backfired, telling an Australian newspaper "People are very nice to Australians here."[1] Buckley defeated Pantelides by over 1,000 votes in the November election.[16]

In office, Buckley fought to relax zoning restrictions in Annapolis's City Dock area to match those in the West Street area where his restaurants operated, a move he argued was necessary to revitalize economic activity in "the best real estate that the city has".[4] He introduced legislation to do so in a City Council meeting in May of 2018, where it was rejected after historic preservationist opponents raised concerns about losing the area's designation as a National Historic Landmark District and pointed out that a "cultural landscape study" mandated by the city's master plan for the area was still underway.[17][18] Buckley announced his intention to reintroduce the legislation with more sponsors after the study had been completed, and in June the National Trust for Historic Preservation named the district one of "America's Most Endangered Historic Places."[4][19]

Buckley was in office during the Capital Gazette shooting on June 28, 2018, in which five people were killed at a local newspaper's office. In the aftermath, Buckley requested a federal proclamation allowing flags to be flown at half-mast; he told the press on July 2 that the administration of President Donald Trump—who had repeatedly described press members as "enemies of the people"— had denied the request.[20] Trump's press secretary, Sarah Huckabee Sanders, called Buckley later that day; on the following day, the White House issued the requested proclamation, saying Trump had ordered it as soon as he learned of Buckley's petition.[21][22] In the wake of the shooting, Buckley called for stronger gun control, blaming the U.S.'s National Rifle Association for opposing legislation restricting gun sales to certain people with mental illnesses, such as the accused Capital Gazette shooter, and suggested looking into gun buyback programs such as those enacted in Australia.[1]

Personal life

Buckley married Annapolis native Julie Williams in 1997. They have two children, Dash and Miles.[5] He is a survivor of intestinal cancer and an avid runner.[5][7]

Electoral history
Annapolis Mayoral Election 2017[23][24]
Party Candidate Votes %
Democratic Gavin Buckley 5,787 61.1
Republican Mike Pantelides 3,671 38.7

Notes
  1. Buckley is a naturalized American citizen, but was raised in Australia, lived with his wife in Perth for five years, and has said "I still consider myself an Australian."[1]

References
  1. Knott, Matthew (2018-07-07). "The Aussie mayor who wants America to get tough on guns". The Sydney Morning Herald. Retrieved 2018-08-05.
  2. Gavin Buckley elected Mayor of Annapolis after jibes about his Australian background, by Zoe Daniel, abc website.
  3. Inauguration day in Annapolis: Introducing Mayor Gavin Buckley, Danielle Ohl, Capital Gazette, Dec 4,. 2017.
  4. Ohl, Danielle (2018-06-04). "Annapolis mayor to reintroduce City Dock zoning legislation". capitalgazette.com. Retrieved 2018-08-05.
  5. Cook, Chase (2017-11-03). "Gavin Buckley: The Aussie turned Annapolitan who wants to be mayor (seriously)". capitalgazette.com. Retrieved 2018-08-05.
  6. Barass, Tony (2017-11-12). "Perth high school drop-out to US city mayor: Gavin Buckley elected Mayor of Annapolis". PerthNow. Retrieved 2018-08-05.
  7. Blackstone, Andrea (2017-12-07). "Gavin Buckley sworn in as new mayor of Annapolis". The Baltimore Times, Inc. Retrieved 2018-08-05.
  8. Smith, Mark R. (2018-05-29). "Q&A With Annapolis Mayor Gavin Buckley". The Business Monthly. Retrieved 2018-08-20.
  9. Breningstall, Jeremy (2001-08-30). "Wave of Revitalization Pulsing Through West Street". Washington Post. Retrieved 2018-08-20.
  10. Lewis, Nancy (2004-06-10). "Annapolis's Tsunami Provides Wave of Asian Fusion". Washington Post. Retrieved 2018-08-20.
  11. Wiseman, Lauren (2006-03-30). "The Arrival of West Street". Washington Post. Retrieved 2018-08-20.
  12. Lewis, Nancy (2007-04-26). "10 Places to Eat That You Should Know About". Washington Post. Retrieved 2018-08-20.
  13. Ohl, Danielle (2017-09-12). "Tsunami mural retroactively approved". capitalgazette.com. Retrieved 2018-08-05.
  14. Cook, Chase (2017-09-19). "Gavin Buckley wins Democratic primary over Astle, to face Pantelides". capitalgazette.com. Retrieved 2018-08-05.
  15. Hosler, Karen (2017-11-01). "Annapolis mayor's race: Contrasting styles". WYPR. Retrieved 2018-08-05.
  16. "Business Owner, Democrat Gavin Buckley Elected As Annapolis' Next Mayor". CBS Baltimore. 2017-11-08. Retrieved 2018-08-05.
  17. Ohl, Danielle (2018-05-21). "Mayor Gavin Buckley ousts longtime historic preservation chairwoman". capitalgazette.com. Retrieved 2018-08-05.
  18. "Annapolis mayor, preservationists differ over future of City Dock". Houston Chronicle. 2018-06-26. Retrieved 2018-08-05.
  19. Miller, Benjamin; Milligan, Carley (2018-06-26). "Annapolis City Dock makes 'America's Most Endangered Historic Places' list". Baltimore Business Journal. Retrieved 2018-08-05.
  20. Ohl, Danielle (2018-07-02). "Trump declines request to lower flags in memory of Capital Gazette shooting victims". baltimoresun.com. Retrieved 2018-08-05.
  21. Haag, Matthew (2018-07-03). "Trump Orders Flags to Half-Staff for Capital Gazette Victims, in Apparent Reversal". The New York Times. Retrieved 2018-08-20.
  22. Associated Press (2018-07-03). "Trump orders flags lowered to honor slain journalists". Retrieved 2018-08-05.
  23. Ohl, Danielle (2017-12-20). "Year in Review: Winners and losers of the city election". capitalgazette.com. Retrieved 2018-08-20.
  24. City of Annapolis (2017-11-14). "2017 Official General Election Ward Report". www.annapolis.gov. Retrieved 2018-08-20.
Political offices
Preceded by
Mike Pantelides		 Mayor of Annapolis
2017–present		 Incumbent
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