Signed in as:
filler@godaddy.com
About Dominick
Dominick grew up in Salem and today is raising his own family in the same North Salem neighborhood where he and his brother were raised.
His mom was a librarian at Saltonstall School, before she became library director at North Shore Community College.
Dominick's dad was a coach at Salem High, where he was inducted into the Salem High School Hall of Fame, and a public school teacher in Marblehead.
Like a lot of Salem kids, Dominick and his brother grew up playing Salem Little League baseball, Salem Youth Soccer, and Cartoon League basketball. Their youth was spent exploring Salem’s parks and beaches, making discoveries at the Salem Public Library and the Peabody Museum, acting with theater groups like the North Shore Players, and eating way too much Hobbs popcorn and candy from Bill's Variety.
Dominick attended Bates College, where he earned a Bachelor's degree in political science and theater. While he was at Bates he also met and fell in love with Kristin. In 2007 Dominick and Kristin got married.
After college Dominick ran John Keenan’s campaign to be Salem’s State Representative and then went on to work for John as Salem’s chief legislative aide in the State House, serving the people of Salem by helping them navigate state agencies and services, drafting legislation, providing constituent services for residents, and more.
While he worked at the State House during the day, Dominick put himself through graduate school at Suffolk University at night, earning two Master’s degrees -- one in political science and one in public administration, concentrating on management in local and state government. From the State House, Dominick went to work for the Peabody Essex Museum as interim public relations manager.
Kristin and Dominick left Salem for a while for Kristin’s work as a college professor in chemistry and environmental sciences. While Kristin taught, Dominick spent a few years as an at-home dad with their first child, before joining a regional community development agency as their Development and Marketing Director. He led the organization's efforts to establish a small business resource center, promoted community events, and pursued grant opportunities on behalf of the agency and the community.
In early 2013, Mayor Kim Driscoll reached out to Dominick and Kristin with an invitation to come back to Salem so Dominick could join the team at City Hall as the City’s Chief of Staff.
Dominick and Kristin jumped at the chance to be back in the city they both love and to raise their children closer to family, in a diverse and vibrant community. Both of their children are proud and happy Salem Public School students today, at Bates and Collins. Kristin serves on the Salem School Committee and is a professor at Salem State University.
As Salem’s Chief of Staff for the last ten years, Dominick has been a professional leader and manager, to make Salem City government work better for everyone in our community, create policies, initiatives, and budgets, collaborate with residents, department heads, and City Councillors to solve problems, and make a positive difference in the daily lives of the people of our city.
At City Hall, Dominick has delivered real results and advanced policies on everything from better and more transparent government to professional fiscal management, and from finding solutions to make housing more affordable and transportation options more robust to taking meaningful action on the climate crisis at the local level. In all of his work for the people of Salem, Dominick has brought an intentional and centered focus on equity and inclusion.
During the pandemic, Dominick was a central member of the City’s COVID response team, serving as the team’s public information officer, coordinating efforts on testing and vaccinations, and keeping residents connected to essential public services during a time of tremendous upheaval and uncertainty.
As chair of Salem’s Neighborhood Improvement Advisory Council, he has worked for a decade to find solutions to neighborhood challenges and problems, from the small to the complex. As chair of the Salem Retirement Board, Dominick has helped successfully lead and guide a quarter-billion dollar system that thousands of our City’s retirees and their families depend upon.
And as co-chair of Salem for All Ages, he has worked to create policies and new programs that help older adults in Salem age in place, right here in the city that we all love.
Now, Dominick is running for Mayor to build on the foundation we’ve created here together and to ensure that Salem keeps working based on professionalism - not politics - toward being a city that works for everyone.