Mayor Gavin Buckley was elected to his first, four-year term in November 2017 and re-elected in November 2021. He is the only Mayor in over 75 years to be re-elected with an outright majority and having won all wards in both elections.
Born in South Africa and raised in Perth, Australia, Mayor Buckley arrived in Annapolis by sailboat in 1992. Soon after arriving, he met and fell in love with Annapolis local Julie Williams. The two married and together have raised two children and established a series of successful businesses including Annapolis’ first coffee shop, “The Moon.” After seeing potential on West Street, a part of town just outside the historic district, they opened their first restaurant there in 2000. By 2006, they had opened three additional restaurants in the same area, as well as two more in Anne Arundel County.
In his private business ventures, Buckley worked to build partnerships with other business owners and community groups to initiate a number of successful, recurring events, including, “Dining Under the Stars,” the “Annapolis Fringe Festival,” and “First Sunday Arts Festival.” These efforts led to a gradual revitalization of West Street, now known as the Annapolis Arts District -- a thriving hub for new businesses, arts, and community events.
As Mayor, Gavin continued to embrace bold ideas and worked to leverage partnerships across all levels of government, business, and community sectors to secure investment in the City and drive major revitalization. His first term was defined by innovation, governance reform and community-focussed planning as he immediately set to work to build a talented and diverse leadership team and address long-neglected issues such as flooding; revitalization of the downtown economy; a more sustainable approach to transit and other services; and greater representation and inclusion for marginalized and underserved communities.
He introduced a range of governance reforms including best practice budget management, resulting in the City achieving its highest ever bond ratings. He also worked to improve community participation in decision-making by introducing an innovative resident consultation process to appoint a new police chief and establish a community-policing model. A similar community engagement model was used to create the ‘City Dock Action Committee’ to develop a vibrant concept plan for City Dock and downtown flood prevention.
Mayor Buckley’s first term was also marked by unprecedented challenges including the tragic mass shooting at the Capital Gazette. The Mayor and First Lady Julie Buckley played an important role in supporting our grieving community and the Mayor quickly worked to introduce policies and programs to combat gun violence.
In 2020, in response to the Covid-19 pandemic, Mayor Buckley introduced ‘Recovery Zones’ to provide a lifeline to businesses and residents. He also worked with the county, the state, and Governor, to bring relief to impacted residents and businesses following natural disasters, including a tornado and increasingly frequent and severe downtown flooding.
The Mayor’s second term built on these foundations and delivered long-awaited infrastructure and public projects. These include new parks and trail connections, a range of electric transit services, a new downtown parking garage built through an innovative P3 partnership, the transformation of public housing, a more transparent development process, and new programs and resources to address the particular needs of underserved residents.
A particular highlight was saving the last parcel of Elktonia/Carr’s Beach from development. The City’s master plan for this historically significant waterfront park will ensure this vibrant and important chapter in Annapolis history is recognized and preserved for future generations.
Mayor Buckley’s signature project, the City Dock Resilience Project, which will definitively address downtown flooding and transform the Annapolis City Dock from a parking lot into a vibrant community park, broke ground on November 3rd 2025.