Gavin Buckley facts for kids

Quick facts for kids Gavin Buckley
137th Mayor of Annapolis
Incumbent
Assumed office 7 December 2017
Preceded by	Mike Pantelides
Personal details
Born	(1963-02-08) 8 February 1963 (age 62) Boksburg, South Africa
Political party	Democratic
Spouse	Julie Williams ​ (m. 1997)​
Children	2

Gavin Buckley was born on February 8, 1963. He is a politician from South Africa and Australia who now lives in America. Since 2017, he has been the 137th mayor of Annapolis, Maryland.

Gavin Buckley was born in South Africa and grew up mostly in Perth, Australia. He moved to Annapolis in 1992. There, he opened several places to eat and drink.

He is a member of the Democratic Party. He was first elected mayor in 2017. This was his first time running for a public job. He won against the mayor at the time, Mike Pantelides, who was a Republican. He was elected again in 2021.

As mayor, Buckley started important projects. One project helped fix flooding at the Historic City Dock, which is Annapolis's main harbor. His team also worked on improving public housing areas. In 2021, the city's financial health was rated better by experts. Mayor Buckley was in office during a sad event in 2018, the Capital Gazette shooting. After this, he spoke out for stronger laws about guns.

Early Life and Education

Gavin Buckley was born in Boksburg, South Africa. He lived in London for a short time before growing up in Perth, Australia. His father traveled a lot for work and passed away when Gavin was young. Because of this, Gavin and his twin brother, Paul, were mostly raised by their mother, Pauline Brosnan. She was from Ireland and was active in the Australian Labor Party.

Gavin was asked to leave two high schools in Australia because he did not attend classes enough. These schools were St. Norbert and Belmont Senior High School. After leaving school, he started working in different countries like Scotland and France. He also worked in Florida, USA, where he arrived in 1985.

Career Highlights

Business Ventures

Buckley came to Maryland in 1992 by boat. He had only 200 dollars with him. In the area, he found jobs as a waiter and a farm worker. He stayed longer than his first visa allowed. However, he was later given permission to stay in the U.S. because of his farm work. He became a U.S. citizen in 2009.

Buckley eventually settled in Annapolis, Maryland. He started his business career there. First, he opened a coffee shop called The Moon. Later, he opened four restaurants in the West Street area. These were Tsunami Seafood, The Metropolitan Kitchen and Lounge, Lemongrass Thai, and Sailor Oyster Bar. He was part of a group that fixed up old buildings on West Street in 2001. This helped bring many businesses back to that part of the city.

In 2015, Buckley had a disagreement with a local group that protects historic places. This was about a large painting on the outside of his Tsunami restaurant. During this time, Buckley became known in city politics. He believed that Annapolis needed to be more flexible with its historic rules to help businesses grow. He said, "We have to celebrate our history, but you can't get stuck in it."

Political Journey

Buckley speaks at the 2018 Women's March in Annapolis

Gavin Buckley ran for mayor of Annapolis in 2017. He had no political experience before this. He won against John Astle, a long-time state senator from Annapolis, in the Democratic primary election. This was a surprising win. During his campaign, he said he helped make downtown Annapolis better. He presented himself as a new voice from outside the usual political system. He also said he would support people in Annapolis who needed help.

In the main election, Buckley suggested many new ideas. For example, he wanted to replace street parking on Main Street with a trolley. His opponent, the mayor at the time, Mike Pantelides, thought these ideas were not realistic. The election was known for being friendly between the two candidates. Buckley won against Pantelides by more than 1,000 votes in November.

As Mayor of Annapolis, Buckley created the City Dock Action Committee. This group gathered ideas from people to help solve flooding problems at the Historic City Dock. The first part of this project, rebuilding Hillman Garage, was finished in 2023. Buckley has also worked to build stronger relationships with the city's two universities: St. John's College and the United States Naval Academy.

His team has started many projects to improve the city's buildings and services. This includes a partnership with the Housing Authority of the City of Annapolis. They worked together to improve public housing areas like Eastport Terrace and Harbour House. In 2021, financial experts gave the city better ratings. They said this showed the city had a strong and growing tax base.

Buckley was mayor during the Capital Gazette shooting on June 28, 2018. Five people were killed at a local newspaper office. After this event, Buckley asked for flags to be flown at half-mast. He later said that President Donald Trump's team had first said no to his request. However, the White House later agreed to the request. After the shooting, Buckley called for stronger gun control laws. He suggested looking into programs where people could sell their guns back to the government, like those in Australia.

Buckley was re-elected in November 2021. He won with 71 percent of the votes. This was one of the largest wins in Annapolis city elections in over 70 years.

Personal Life

In 1996, when he was 33, Buckley had surgery for intestinal cancer. A year later, he married Julie Williams, who is from Annapolis. They have two sons. Their son Dash loves to run. Their son Miles has survived pancreatic cancer twice.

Election Results