Cape Ann Chamber Presents
Gloucester Mayoral Candidates Debate
101 Atlantic Road, Gloucester
Tuesday, October 8
7:30 to 9:00 am
On Tuesday, October 8, the Cape Ann Chamber of Commerce will host a Gloucester Mayoral Candidates Debate between the two candidates whose names will appear on the November 5 Gloucester municipal elections ballot, incumbent Mayor Carolyn Kirk and challenger Mac Bell.
The debate will be held at the Elks at Bass Rocks, located at 101 Atlantic Road in Gloucester from 7:30 to 9:00 am. This event will be open to Chamber members and the general public.
A limited number of tickets are available for $35 in advance or $40 week/day of for Members and $50 for Future Members. Fee includes a continental breakfast and attendance for the debate. Check-In, breakfast and networking will be held from 7:30 to 8:00 am and the debate will follow from 8:00 to 9:00 am.
Questions will be posed by a panel of Cape Ann journalists. If you have questions that you would like considered for the candidates, please submit them to peter@capeannchamber.com.
Pre-registration is highly recommended as this event will fill up quickly. To make a reservation online please visit www.capeannchamber.com
or call 978-283-1601.
Carolyn A. Kirk, Mayor, City of Gloucester, Massachusetts
Carolyn A. Kirk is the first woman popularly elected as Mayor of the City of Gloucester. Mayor Kirk is currently serving her third two year term. Prior to being elected Mayor, Mayor Kirk served two terms on the Gloucester School Committee. Mayor Kirk came into office during turbulent times in the city. During her initial mayoral campaign, she emphasized the need for reforms, regaining fiscal control, and her professional management experience in the corporate sector.
With the City’s finances stabilized, and significant infrastructure investments made, Mayor Kirk is now focused on improving the quality of life for all residents, economic development and long-term capital planning for the city’s elementary schools.
Mayor Kirk’s professional career spans over 20 years. She is a long-time management consultant, specializing in the field of customer relationship management (CRM), with industry expertise in financial services. Career highlights include employment by Fleet Financial Group in the early 90’s and by IBM Global Services as an Executive Consultant in the late 90’s. Mayor Kirk’s clients have included many of the Top 20 banks in the US, along with Fortune 500 companies.
Mayor Kirk also started her own successful consulting practice which afforded her the flexibility to spend more time with her family, and launch her political career. She and her husband Bill Kirk have two children, Sam, 16 and Baylee, 13. Both are enrolled in Gloucester Public Schools.
A graduate of the Boston College class of 1984, Mayor Kirk was born and raised in Clinton, NY and moved to Massachusetts to attend college. She moved to Gloucester in 1988, and was drawn to the diversity and beauty of the city.
Mac Bell, Candidate for Mayor of Gloucester
Mac Bell, a life-long resident of Gloucester, is a well-known and successful real estate developer whose projects include the Gloucester Mill, Downtown Plaza, the Pathways expansion development on Emerson Avenue, and 33 and 44 Commercial Street. In 1973, Bell was elected to the Gloucester City Council and served two terms as the youngest city councilor ever elected. He also ran a retail operation called The Glass Sail Boat that he financed in its fledgling years by working as a union laborer and a commercial fisherman. The Glass Sailboat was a downtown fixture for 31 years providing services, products, and employment opportunities. Over the years Bell’s retail and commercial real estate ventures have provided hundreds of jobs to local residents.
In 2011, Bell contracted with Endicott College to bring day and evening Associate and Bachelor degree programs with flexible scheduling and small class sizes to support the needs of students in Gloucester and the greater Cape Ann area. The following year, 2012, Orange Leaf Yogurt was brought in to sweeten up Main Street Plaza. Bell has focused on the beautification of his beloved Gloucester and takes pride in being a champion of tree planting, anti-litter, and sustainability initiatives in the city.
Mac Bell has five children: Pip, Winnie, Timba, Sylvie, and Joe who are the 5th generation of Bell’s to have grown up in Gloucester.
Good Morning Gloucester 
Charging a fee of $40. to hear a debate between 2 Mayoral candidates – not nice!! Do you think people from all walks of life will be attending? Oh, Continental breakfast included- really worth the price !!?? All debates should be free and open to the public at a reasonable time.
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I agree, Kathy. There won’t be many elderly voters there, or those w/o the $$$ to hear a debate.
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Agree with you Fred! The money goes to the Chamber.
Will there be another debate for those who cannot afford this?
Attending a City Council meeting as suggested is not a debate between mayoral candidates.
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Really? I have to pay them for the opportunity to ask for my vote?
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With respect Ms. Roberts, this event is not a public debate.
I am confused. Why did you think it was?
It is hosted and moderated by the Cape Ann Chamber, as noted in this post. If you want a free debate, read the newspaper. Better yet, attend a meeting of the City Council. Show up. Listen. Learn. Make your own conclusions.
If you want a facilitated discussion of the issues in a controlled and orderly manner = go here.
That’s why I am a member.
As the organizing entity, the Chamber puts its money and resources together to make an event like this happen. They pay hours and hours of full time employees into coordinating all the logistics of this event, including pre-planning, update and confirmation of registrants (hr$$), managing the venue plan + capacity (hour$$ + venue rental fee$$) and promoting it (hours$$). A well run event like this has many behind the scene people working hard to make it look seamlessly. In all, I would project that the Chamber staff will spend a full week’s effort on this very important political debate for the sake of Gloucester’s citizens.
BUT I am sure you are unaware of how events like this operate.
AND I will bet your entry fee ($40) that they are not putting on a continental breakfast.
You in???
Bex OUT
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Fee includes a continental breakfast and attendance for the debate.
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