Creating a Legacy with an Eye to the Future; Our interview with Mayor Gavin Buckley, as he embarks on a second term
Last November 2nd, Annapolis Mayor Gavin Buckley, a Democrat first elected in 2017, became the first city executive to win a second term since fellow Democrat Ellen Moyer (2001–2009). Prior to that election, we wrote that, “His first four years have been notable for an emphasis on renovating, developing, and modernizing the historic district from West Street to Main Street.” Just before Christmas, we sat down with the Mayor to discuss what he’ll focus on during the next four years, including the implementation of the 2020 report by the City Dock Action Committee (CDAC), “Transforming City Dock,” a cooperative effort between the Mayor’s office, the City Council, Historic Annapolis, Inc., and other organizations that advised and funded the report including the National Trust for Historic Preservation, the Maryland Historical Trust, Preservation Maryland, and the National Park Service’s Chesapeake Bay Office. We were also especially interested in what he wanted to be remembered for and if he harbored aspirations for higher office.
On the Subject of West Street
You’ve been a driving force behind the ongoing transformation of West Street. What’s next for that region of the city?
There has been a lot of creativity there related to the arts, food, and shops. The goal would be to extend that kind of development out toward Maryland Hall to enlarge the Arts District so that it flows into West Street, bookended by Ram’s Head on the other side, an amazing venue that we’re lucky to have in a city of this size; in fact, we’re working with them on a singer-songwriter festival that will be a sister event to the one they do in Key West. I love the connection between these two cities; we’re both waterfront towns with distinctive personalities attracting creative people who like to collaborate on arts-related ideas that use a lot of local venues.
Transit
What will the CDAC report’s five-year Transit Development Plan include? My first piece of legislation was a 100 percent electric bill to make all transportation within the city limits carbon-neutral. If we can get people out of their cars as soon as possible when they come into the city and move them around on electric vehicles such as a ferry, a 10-minute trolley like in San Francisco, or a circulator, that will be much better for the planet. If we can make getting around fun—literally part of the experience—and free, it will get incorporated into people’s routines and will almost become a tourist attraction in and of itself.
The state’s capital is not linked by rail to the nation’s capital or to the state’s largest city, Baltimore. Perhaps that won’t change within the five years of this development plan, but what about long term? I think we have to; if we’re going to truly move away from fossil fuels, we’ll need to develop efficient forms of transportation that not only connect Annapolis to the Eastern Shore but also to Washington, Baltimore, and Philadelphia, by water as well. It’s a massive, missed opportunity not to have followed examples by other cities on the east coast and places farther away like Seattle or Sydney where people come to work by ferry. I think anytime you can get on the water it’s therapeutic, it’s healthy, it makes you enjoy where you live, and so we have to explore all of these ideas as we move toward carbon neutrality.
Can you update us on the plan to install EV charging stations throughout the city? We’ve had some hurdles with what is acceptable in the historic district so we’re still working through those. We’ve implemented them in other parts of the city like parking garages, libraries, and the Moyer Recreation Center and we’re constantly looking for other locations. The Fifth Street idea for the ferry, where we plan to keep it docked, will hopefully include the country’s first in-water charging station for a 100% electric ferry. That’s newsworthy, and on that same street there will also be places to charge the trolleys, with electric bike racks allowing bikers to roll onto the electric ferry and go back and forth between the historic district and Eastport.
Flooding
Based on recommendations by the Urban Land Institute, the CDAC envisions a Town Square between Market House and the row of restaurants facing it and a City Park between Ego Alley and the restaurants facing it in order to link the Market House to the water in a way that would “rival the Georgetown waterfront.” Are those realistic goals in terms of space, business community support, and consistency with anti-flooding strategies? We’ve conditioned people to want to park near the water, resulting in the nicest waterfront parking in America. It should instead be a public space that not only provides a place to gather but also filters water and creates a barrier against flooding. We’re so far ahead of other areas on what we’re doing because we know what sea level rise will look like for us—what happens when there’s any kind of catastrophic event that forces water into the storm vents and into the streets of Annapolis. We’ve come up with a short-term plan that took our flooding days from sixty a year to something like six, on average, but once the water gets pushed above four feet it overcomes what we’ve done, so the CDAC designed a solution of 9 to 10 feet. To give you an idea of how significant the difference is, had that existed in 2003, it would’ve protected the historic district and its businesses from the damage done by Hurricane Isabel.
Parking
Speaking of parking, the CDAC promotes the development of a comprehensive parking strategy by March 2024 to ensure “no net loss of parking.” What could that entail? Their report mentions a remote parking program, more in-kind parking, and the demolition of Hillman Garage. The new garage will have more spaces to compensate for the spots removed from City Dock. We’ll also use smart technologies, for example, on Rowe Boulevard. As people are coming into the city, they’ll be informed that there’s, say, fifty expensive parking spaces available closer to the waterfront but a hundred free ones somewhere in between. Once we condition people to move around in a different way, it’s going to put a lot less pressure on the most valuable parking assets. Our goal is to get people walking into the city as much as we can because it’s a beautiful city to enjoy on foot. That’s the best way to see Annapolis!
New Attractions
Previous outside consultants had recommended using the City Dock area to give visitors something to do beyond eating and water-related activities, similar to what Philadelphia did with the construction of the Constitution Center. Annapolis was the first peacetime capital of the United States under the Articles of Confederation but nowhere on Main Street can souvenirs related to this period be found such as Treaty of Paris replica documents or statues of George Washington resigning his military commission before Congress. You can buy a mug with a crab or a sailboat, but nothing connected to the ratification of the Treaty of Paris or Washington’s retirement as Commander-in-Chief that ensured democracy’s survival; think of walking the streets of Gettysburg without references to the Civil War. Sam Brown and his brothers created an exhibit at The Westin that captures some of this history but it’s on the opposite end of West Street. Could there be eventual interest in something like a Pre-Constitution Center closer to City Dock? I know Sam Brown very well and I’ve sort of had a little glimpse of some of that. I’m all for “place-making” whatever way you can do it. That was one of the reasons I ran for office because our downtown didn’t have a trace of oyster men working here or crabbers working here, those kinds of things that are authentically Annapolis, like the fact that this was the Athens of the new world, a cultural center that anybody who was anybody came to at certain points in time. I love the idea; I do find that sometimes we are subjective in our history, so I think we have to acknowledge that we continue to make history.
What are some of the other ideas that would help achieve the CDAC report’s goal of providing more opportunities to “touch the water?” I envision floating boardwalks on the waterfront and transportation options that will take people to places like Truxtun Park. We want to “activate” the water in as many ways as we can because that’s one of the reasons people come here.
Legacy
What do you want your legacy to be? The Mayor who created green spaces, who both attracted more visitors to keep local businesses operation while fixing the parking problems, and who ultimately stopped the city from being continuously flooded? How would you like to be described to future generations? I would say that I want to be a Mayor who made everyone feel welcome downtown, who created a space that everyone could relate to and felt comfortable in and made Annapolis one of the best places to live in the country—which I believe it already is. I believe we have all of the pieces to do that. Geographically, we’re in a great position; we have employment centers all around us, we have an international airport, we have beautiful nature everywhere we look, we have big cities nearby that we can visit, and we have our own unparalleled history to attract visitors here.
Higher Office?
You just got re-elected Mayor so naturally people are going to wonder about your political ambition. What’s ahead for you—a campaign for County Executive, or Governor, or even Congress? Well, for now I’m only thinking about the next four years. I love being a Mayor and it’s the best job I’ve ever had so I want to make sure I do it right, and if I do, then maybe there’ll be other possibilities for me after that, but first I want the place I live in to be as awesome as possible. That’s my motivation—I not only want my kids to love this city as much as I do, I want other people to be jealous that we get to live here!
Mark Croatti, who teaches courses on Public Policy and Comparative Politics at the University of Maryland, the United States Naval Academy, and The George Washington University, has covered state and local politics since 2004.
