About Greg
I’m proud to be part of Gloucester’s heritage. I grew up on Portuguese Hill and my grandfather was a commercial fisherman. My dad worked for the city as Director of the Fisheries Commission.
I raised a family here, put myself through school while working full-time in a working class job, and I’m proud to walk my grandkids to or from West Parish Elementary whenever I can.
Up on the Hill, like in so many parts of this city, we were part of a close-knit, diverse community. People worked hard for a living, we went to Our Lady of Good Voyage church, we were proud of our neighborhood’s diversity and how that connected us with Gloucester’s rich cultural identity.
My family didn’t have it easy. We made ends meet thanks to food stamps, government surplus provisions and the free lunch program. Later, when my wife Kellie and I were a young couple, we needed a hand up from the fuel assistance program to pay for heat and we needed WIC to help pay for food.
It was inside my childhood home where I learned the value of service to others. My dad ultimately served Gloucester along with Rockport and Essex as a 7-term state representative. Through his eyes, I discovered that not everybody on Cape Ann needed food stamps, but I also learned that everyone should expect to live in a clean, safe city with proficient schools, good municipal services and honest, efficient city operations.
Through my dad’s eyes, I discovered that whether you were born here or fell in love with Gloucester as a transplant, you should be free to stay while working to live, not living to work. All shapes and sizes. All manner of means.
Ultimately, I caught the civil service bug from my dad. Before becoming mayor, I served our city for eight years on the School Committee, followed by six years on the City Council.
I’ve done a lot to move Gloucester in the right direction. But being a successful mayor is about more than checking off a list of projects. It requires a deep understanding of what makes Gloucester unique—our maritime heritage, our cultural and economic diversity, our strong sense of community. It’s also about forward-thinking and an understanding of how next-generation technology and new jobs that are being invented daily can and will improve lives and livelihoods right here in our city.
I see a Gloucester where we keep refining our core city services for residents, improve parking access downtown, empower a more diversified business community, and create real relief for our entry-level and middle-class housing crisis, making it just that little bit easier to make ends meet.
My family has been fighting for decades to make Gloucester a better place for everyone. My vision for Gloucester is a place my ancestors, who came here more than a century ago, would be proud of. A place where residents benefit from as many resources and as much support as a city government can provide.
“I have a deep understanding of what makes Gloucester unique—our maritime heritage, our cultural and economic diversity, our strong sense of community. That’s the Gloucester I love. That’s the Gloucester I’m fighting to preserve.”
Greg’s Notable Leadership and Community Positions
Elected positions:
Mayor of Gloucester 2022-present
Gloucester City Council 2010-2016
City Council Planning and Development subcommittee
Vice Chair, 2010-2013; Chair, 2013-2016
At-large member, 2014-2016
Represented Ward Five, 2010- 2014
Gloucester School Committee 2002-2010
Vice Chair 2006-2008; Chair 2008-2010
Appointed municipal positions:
Capital Facilities Management Committee
Magnolia Woods Oversight and Advisory Committee
Newell Stadium Building Committee
Harbor Plan Committee
Fisheries Commission
Council on Aging
Other Community Activities:
Gloucester Fishermen Athletic Association (GFAA) Founding Member and first Treasurer
First R Foundation, a 501(c)(3) nonprofit promoting reading skills for young children: Past Board Member and Volunteer Reader
West Parish School Building Committee,1999-2000
West Parish School Site Based Management Team, 2000-2002
Paid for by the Verga Committee