Electvalgilmanatlarge

12/29/2023

11/17/2023

Thank you to Gloucester for voting for me to serve one of four At Large City Council positions for the 2024/2025 along with my current At Large colleagues Tony Gross, Jason Grow, and Jeff Worthley.

Congratulations to our five 2024/2025 Ward Councilors.
Ward 1 Scott Memhard (re-elected)
Ward 2 Dylon Dylan Benson (newly elected)
Ward 3 Marjorie Grace (newly elected)
Ward 4 Frank Margiotta (newly elected in ward 4 and current ward 3 councilor)
Ward 4 Sean Nolan (re-elected)

11/06/2023

Thank you to the Clam and Cape Ann Pride Coalition for your At Large endorsements and to 16 supporters who submitted GDT Letters to the Editor including…

🔸Samantha V. V***a 11/3
(School Committee Vice Chair) web version

🔸Chris Leahy 11/3/23

🔸Melissa Cox 11/3/23
(former City Councilor)

🔸Lisa and Rick Accardi 11/3/23

🔸Roseann Vidal 11/3/23

🔸Maiuza Alves 11/3/23

🔸Sandy Ronan 11/2/23

🔸Donna Leete 11/2/23

🔸Cindy Dunn 11/2/23

🔸Avis Murray 11/2/23

🔸Kelle Louaillier 11/2/23

🔸Fred Cowan 10/27/23

🔸Paul Krueger 10/26/23

🔸Gary Thober 10/19/23

🔸Amy Shapiro 10/18/23

🔸Joe Ciolino 10/16/23
(Former City Council President)

All these letters of support are posted on my two websites in addition to our debates and candidate statements.

www.Facebook.com/valgilmanward4

www.Facebook.com/electvalgilmanatlarge

I ask for your vote on Tuesday 11/7/23!

11/06/2023

A GUIDE TO CITY’S ELECTION 11/6/23 GDT

From bake sales to who’s running

By Ethan F orman Staff Writer

Gloucester voters will be heading to the polls on Tuesday, Nov. 7, to cast their ballots in the city’s 2023 Municipal Election which features contested races for two-year terms for mayor, at-large councilor, School Committee and councilor seats in Wards 1, 2, 3 and 4.
Polls will be open from 7 a.m. to 8 p.m.
It should be noted that Ward 5 Councilor and City Council Vice President Sean Nolan, who represents Magnolia and West Gloucester, is running unopposed this election cycle.
City Clerk Joanne Senos said Friday she could not predict turnout among the city’s 23,162 registered voters.

As of Friday, there were 281 requested absentee ballots with 190 of those in-office votes and another 91 requested by mail. There were also 258 vote-by-mail ballots requested.

Absentee ballot voting in-office is by appointment until noon on Monday, Nov. 6, according to the city clerk’s website.
As voters head to the polls Tuesday, Gloucester Public Schools will be holding fullday professional development day for teachers and giving schoolchildren the day off Here is a list of polling places, which varies somewhat from previous years:

Ward 1, Precincts 1 and 2: East Veterans Elementary School, 11 Webster St.

Ward 2, Precincts 1 and 2: Our Lady’s Youth Center, 140 Prospect St.

Ward 3, Precincts 1 and 2:
Gloucester High School Field House, 32 Leslie O. Johnson Road

Ward 4, Precinct 1: Beeman Memorial Elementary School, 138 Cherry St.

Ward 4, Precinct 2: Plum Cove Elementary SchoolSchool, 15 Hickory St.

Ward 5, Precinct 1: Magnolia Library and Community Center, 1 Lexington Ave.

Ward 5, Precinct 2: West Parish Elementary School, 10 Concord St.

Residents can find more information about polling places and a Ward/Precinct map with polling places on the city’s website at https:// gloucester-ma.gov/533/ Polling-Places.
They can also find their registration status on the Secretary of the Commonwealth’s website at https:// www.sec.state.ma.us/Voter-RegistrationSearch/MyVoterRegStatus. aspx. Voters heading to the
See ELECTION, Page A2 Find specimen ballots for the city’s five wards.

ELECTION
■ Continued from Page A1 polls may want to bring some pocket change as the schools’ PTOs will be holding bake sale fundraisers during voting hours. This includes East Veterans, Plum Cove, and West Parish elementary schools’ as these PTOs who have posted on Facebook about their Election Day Bake Sales seeking volunteers to bake or work the bake-sale tables. Beeman Memorial will also be having a bake sale, the school said.

In addition to the PTO bake sales, the Women’s Community Club of Magnolia will host a bake sale and raffle at the Magnolia Library on Election Day from 7 a.m. to 8 p.m.

Here is a list of candidates running in Tuesday’s Municipal Election, with all candidates running for two-year terms.
In all wards and precincts:

MAYOR (Do not vote for more than one)
■ Mary Ellen Rose
■ Incumbent Gregory P. V***a

COUNCILOR AT-LARGE (Do not vote for more than four)
■ Incumbent Jeffrey T. Worthley
■ Incumbent Jason M. Grow
■ Christopher O. Sicuranza
■ Valerie Hanson Gilman (incumbent Ward 4
councilor)
■ Incumbent Tony M. Gross
■ Incumbent James William O’Hara Jr.

SCHOOL COMMITTEE (Do not vote for more than six)
■ Jeremy Marc McKeen
■ Incumbent Keith Alan Mineo
■ Richard John Roberts Jr.
■ Incumbent Kathleen A. Clancy
■ Incumbent Melissa Joy Teixeira Prince
■ Incumbent Laura B. Wiessen
■ Incumbent William W. Melvin Jr.

WARD COUNCILOR RACES (Do not vote for more than one) WARD 1
■ Mary Ann Boucher
■ Incumbent R. Scott Memhard

WARD 2
■ Dylan C. Benson
■ Daniel J. Epstein

WARD 3
■ Marjorie J. Grace
■ Joseph R. Orlando

Ward 4
■ Mary Pat DeRosa
■ Francesco Margiotta (incumbent Ward 3 councilor)

WARD 5
■ Incumbent Sean Nolan

For stories about the candidates and issues, please visit https://www.gloucestertimes. com/election/gloucester/. There readers will also find letters from neighbors about who their voting for — or not — and why.
Ethan Forman may be contacted at 978-675-2714, or at eforman@northofboston. com.

11/03/2023

Thank you School Committee Vice Chair, Samantha V. Watson, for this 11/3/23 GDT endorsement for At Large City Councilor.

Samantha’s presence on the School Committee has set the bar high for teamwork and respect.

Your message to ALL elected officials was heartfelt.

Thank you for your service! 👏👍

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WEB ONLY
Letter: Supporting team players this election
6 hrs ago


To the editor:

Trust, accountability, and mutual respect are imperative when working together on a team. I have had the good fortune to serve on two School Committees whose members I respect, trust, and feel safe to disagree and hold each other accountable when missteps occur, which is inevitable.

I will most certainly be supporting my colleagues Kathleen Clancy, Melissa T. Prince, Laura Wiessen, William Melvin and Keith Mineo on Nov. 7. I also believe Jeremy Mckeen will be a welcome addition to this team bringing his experience as an educator, parent, and his willingness to listen and learn. I know this group will not always agree on every item before them, but I know they can and will communicate those differences with grace and respect. This is how it should work. This is what we should expect as voters.

This dynamic has not been the case on the City Council for many years. When I vote for city councilors this year, I will be looking for individuals who have demonstrated a willingness to work as part of a team to model effective government. I will be looking for individuals who are not opportunistic or narcissistic, who understand the parameters of their roles and respect them, who model and demonstrate safe boundaries with all constituents, and who actually live in Gloucester.

For councilor at-large I will be supporting, first and foremost, Valerie Gilman. She has been steadfast in her position as Ward 4 councilor, she is familiar with the scope of her role and responsibilities, she has created relationships with other members of city government and constituents that are positive and productive, and she has handled an alarming level of disrespect as council president with maturity and class.

I will also be supporting Jason Grow, Tony Gross, and Chris Sicuranza for councilors at-large — they have demonstrated a respectful, team player attitude, and they seek out the facts and challenge misinformation.

I encourage Ward 4, Ward 1, and Ward 5 to support Frank Margiotta, Scott Memhard and Sean Nolan.

My hope is that those in Ward 2 and Ward 3 think about their candidate's ability to work as an effective member of a larger group — it matters a lot.

We should all expect our elected officials to listen with respect to their constituents' concerns and we should expect them to show evidence of creating and maintaining positive working relationships with their fellow elected officials.

We have a lot of work to do in Gloucester and I have no doubt that with the continued leadership of Mayor Greg V***a and the team of School Committee members and city councilors endorsed above this city will continue to tackle hard things in a responsible, fact-driven, ego-free approach.

Samantha V. Watson,

11/03/2023

Thank you, Maiuza Alves, for your Gilman At Large endorsement that appears in today’s 11/3/23 GDT. Thanks for your passion for leadership diversity and for serving on our City’s Human Rights Commission. 👍

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Keep the balance, vote Gilman

To the editor:

The Nov. 7 municipal election is right around the corner and we in Gloucester have a very important decision to make.

With so many challenges in the next two years, the people we choose to represent us next week will set the tone for several generations. I am confident we will have a team of community- minded individuals governing and legislating in our city. Please keep in mind that balance is important, and we should support the most experienced woman who has dedicated much of her life volunteering for our community.

Val Gilman is City Council president and her leadership in times of chaos shows that experience is extremely valuable, especially when misinformation is part of our lives on a daily basis. I am thrilled she decided to step up and run for councilor at-large. Her experience — not just here in Gloucester but over the bridge — and her mutual respect and good relationships with state leaders will be valuable. I can’t deny that having a strong and experienced woman to listen to us, represent us, and fight for us is the “cherry on top.”

Val is a councilor who relies on facts and goes above and beyond to find the best way to serve her constituents. She is the only woman running for an at-large seat, and was chosen to be City Council president for a good reason!

VAL GILMAN IS A KEEPER!

Please consider voting for Val Gilman for at-large city councilor on Nov. 7. She is number 4 on the ballot. Let’s keep the balance.

Maiuza Alves, Gloucester

11/03/2023

Thank you Roseann Vidal for your at Large endorsement that appeared in today’s 11/3/23 GDT. 👍

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Gilman responsive to concerns

To the editor:

I am writing to give my strong support for Val Gilman as councilor at-large.

I have known Val for a decade. She has always been responsive to any questions or concerns that I have had. She is always a quick reply, extremely knowledgeable and respectful. Importantly, even if we don’t always agree, we are always able to have a discussion.

Val is an asset to our city! She is intelligent and hard working. I will definitely be voting for her!

Roseann Vidal, Gloucester

11/03/2023

Thanks to my former city council colleague, Melissa Cox, for this Gilman for At Large endorsement in today’s 11/3/23 GDT.

Melissa taught me the importance of preparing for meetings, researching best practices and effective and well thought out ordinance submission.

She successfully lead our committee to vote unanimously to approve the plastic bag ban which cemented one of my at large campaign values to be true to our environment. 👍

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Former councilor backing Gilman

To the editor;

I worked with Val Gilman for 10 years and have known her longer. She is the kind of person you want on the City Council for many reasons but for the sake of space here are my top three.

1. She puts her whole self into her job. Research, interest and time.

2. She listens. She learns. She responds.

3. She’s a leader. Leading is hard and not always respected. I believe she does it very well.

I’ll be giving her my vote again during this election and I hope you do as well. We can’t afford to lose her knowledge and willingness to dig into the weeds where others take the easy road.

Go get them Val!

Melissa Cox,
Former Gloucester councilor for Ward 2 for six years and at-large for four years

11/03/2023

Thank you Ward 4 constituents, Lisa and Rick Accardi, for submitting this Gilman for At Large endorsement in today’s 11/3/23 GDT. 👍

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Gilman provides solutions

To the editor:

We would like to voice our support for Val Gilman for councilor at-large.
We have found that Councilor Gilman will listen to us even if she doesn’t always agree with everything we have to say. We find this ability to listen and communicate as an ideal trait for a councilor at-large.

She works endlessly to help provide solutions for her constituents.

Please vote for Councilor Gilman.

Lisa and Rick Accardi, Gloucester

11/03/2023

Chris Leahy, a community leader in protecting our open space, submitted this 11/3/23 LTE endorsement in today’s GDT. Thank you. 👍

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Gilman’s traits help
Gloucester

To the editor:

Intelligent, thoughtful, competent, conscientious, articulate, empathetic, effective, honest, reliable, hardworking, knowledgeable, experienced, accessible. These are character traits that I have admired in working with Val Gilman over the years on projects to improve the quality of life in Gloucester.

Please give her your vote for councilor at-large in the upcoming election.

Chris Leahy, Gloucester

11/02/2023

Thank you, Kelle Louaillier, for your At Large endorsement and your thoughtful criteria as referenced in today’s 11/2/23 LTE.

Much appreciated! 👍

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To the editor:

In preparing myself to vote in Tuesday's election, I made this list to guide my mayoral and city councilor votes. I hope others will find this useful:

■ Previous experience as an elected official.

■ Has vision for the future, and is solution-oriented.

■ Does their homework, and it shows.

■ Demonstrates knowledge and preparedness at all times.

■ Demonstrates civility, collegiality, open-mindedness, thoughtfulness, and integrity.

■ Has stability, longevity, and success in prior employment.

■ Their stated and demonstrated values best match my own.

That's why I've sett led on re-electing Mayor Greg V***a and City Councilors Val Gilman, Jason Grow, and Frank Margiotta.

Kelle Louaillier, North Gloucester

11/02/2023

Avis Murray, thanks for this special 11/2/23 GDT endorsement of my candidacy for At Large Councilor. You are my long term guardian angel whom I met as a young teen when you gave my mom and I our first tennis lessons 54 years ago at Bass Rocks and still coaching our teams regularly.

You are an inspiration to so many of us.

Thank you for being my friend, my mentor, a community leader and my role model.

And thanks for this letter. ❤️

Note the photo below is not posted in the newspaper. Just one I took last year. 😊

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Gilman gets vote councilor at-large

To the editor:

I have been fortunate to have known Val Gilman since she was twelve years old and have been so proud to watch the path she has taken to be involved in our city’s growth.

She first served six years on our School Committee before being elected the Ward 4 City Councilor and serving on the council for eight years, She is a great listener, patient and her leadership skills are shown with the role of President of the City Council. This shows her dedication to our community.

She is honest, truthful and a hard worker and gets things done.

For these reasons, I am casting my vole for Val Gilman.

Avis Murray, Gloucester