headshot of candidate

Joe McGuirk

He/Him

Currently
Bartender
Election history
1st time running

More about Joe McGuirk

Named the Best Bartender in Boston by the Boston Magazine twice, Joe McGuirk has spent several decades tending Cambridge and Boston bars. He grew up in the area, and wants to continue living and serving in Cambridge - something he says is difficult for working families given the housing and coronavirus crises.

Incumbent
No
Age
58 years, 1 month
Born in 1965
Voter Registration
March 5, 2010

Where does Joe live?

Address
Rents at 314 Columbia Street, Apt. 1 Cambridge MA 02141

What are their housing positions?

Proposal Supported?
2072 Mass Ave

Local Endorsements

Q&A

Interviews with the candidate

Cambridge Citizen's Coalition Survey

Questions about recent zoning petitions, city manager contract, and "housing challenges"

Cambridge Citizen's Coalition Survey

Questions about recent zoning petitions, city manager contract, and "housing challenges"

ABC Candidate 2021 Survey

Housing policy questions

ABC Candidate 2021 Survey

Housing policy questions

Vision Zero Coalition 2021

Reduction in traffic injuries and deaths

Vision Zero Coalition 2021

Reduction in traffic injuries and deaths

Quotes

One cannot paint Black Lives Matter on a fence or hang a sign saying All Are Welcome while building a wall made of money around our city to prevent lower income people from moving here, as well as displacing lower income people who already call Cambridge home.

Joe McGuirk, CCC survey

I read the CCCs recent Op-Ed in the Cambridge Day about the AHO. The values your organization espouses therein do not align with mine. Had your group been around in 1938 when my immigrant grandmother sought to make her home here, (and who then helped build the Cambridge that you now claim to seek to protect,) she would not have been welcome.

Press

Articles about the candidate

The Harvard Crimson From Bartender to City Council Candidate, Joe McGuirk Hopes to Bring Fresh Voice

He argued that while Cambridge may be a very progressive city, issues like housing showcase that decisions are still made by those with more "economic might."

"I'm kind of tired of hearing that we're champions of housing and watching Cambridge become one of the most expensive cities to live in the country," McGuirk said.

...

McGuirk also said he believes more needs to be done to protect cyclists, but he acknowledged that "the process is dividing" the people involved. He cited the Oct. 2020 amendment of the Cycling Safety ordinance, which sped up the construction of dozens of miles of cycling areas in Cambridge.

Oct. 29, 2021 — Julia García-Galindo, Ella L. Jones
The Harvard Crimson From Bartender to City Council Candidate, Joe McGuirk Hopes to Bring Fresh Voice

He argued that while Cambridge may be a very progressive city, issues like housing showcase that decisions are still made by those with more "economic might."

"I'm kind of tired of hearing that we're champions of housing and watching Cambridge become one of the most expensive cities to live in the country," McGuirk said.

...

McGuirk also said he believes more needs to be done to protect cyclists, but he acknowledged that "the process is dividing" the people involved. He cited the Oct. 2020 amendment of the Cycling Safety ordinance, which sped up the construction of dozens of miles of cycling areas in Cambridge.

Oct. 29, 2021 — Julia García-Galindo, Ella L. Jones
The Harvard Crimson Challenger Candidates Propose Housing Plans, Government Reform in Bid for City Council

"The council has often been made up of land-owning or property-owning people who mostly are white-collar," he said. "They have the leisure time and the energy to do this, and I think that that isn’t truly representative. I thought, 'If not me, who?'"

Oct. 27, 2021
The Harvard Crimson Challenger Candidates Propose Housing Plans, Government Reform in Bid for City Council

"The council has often been made up of land-owning or property-owning people who mostly are white-collar," he said. "They have the leisure time and the energy to do this, and I think that that isn’t truly representative. I thought, 'If not me, who?'"

Oct. 27, 2021
Cambridge Day A healthier conversation for safer streets: Candidate on bike law and group’s pledge

I was surprised to discover that CBS told its community through social media posts and emails that I, along with other candidates who did not sign the pledge, were opposed to the ordinance. I got many emails imploring me to support the ordinance, and I have tried to reply to each to explain that I do, but that its implementation should be open, transparent and built on consensus.

Oct. 23, 2021
Cambridge Day A healthier conversation for safer streets: Candidate on bike law and group’s pledge

I was surprised to discover that CBS told its community through social media posts and emails that I, along with other candidates who did not sign the pledge, were opposed to the ordinance. I got many emails imploring me to support the ordinance, and I have tried to reply to each to explain that I do, but that its implementation should be open, transparent and built on consensus.

Oct. 23, 2021
The Harvard Crimson City Council Candidates Lay Out Plans to Support Arts and Culture at Virtual Forum

“People who make our lives better by performing art in the city — they should have the opportunity to live here as well,” [McGuirk] said.

Oct. 20, 2021 — Sarah Girma and Jennifer L. Powley
The Harvard Crimson City Council Candidates Lay Out Plans to Support Arts and Culture at Virtual Forum

“People who make our lives better by performing art in the city — they should have the opportunity to live here as well,” [McGuirk] said.

Oct. 20, 2021 — Sarah Girma and Jennifer L. Powley
The Harvard Crimson City Council Candidates Propose Strategies for Supporting Low-Income Residents at Virtual Forum

Challenger Joe McGuirk noted the rapid loss of low and middle-income residents from Cambridge, citing mobile housing vouchers as a means of preserving socioeconomic diversity in the city.

Oct. 10, 2021 — Isabella B. Cho
The Harvard Crimson City Council Candidates Propose Strategies for Supporting Low-Income Residents at Virtual Forum

Challenger Joe McGuirk noted the rapid loss of low and middle-income residents from Cambridge, citing mobile housing vouchers as a means of preserving socioeconomic diversity in the city.

Oct. 10, 2021 — Isabella B. Cho
DigBoston Joe McGuirk and the Bartender to Politician Pipeline

... giving working class service industry people a voice, in a city that has seen incredible jumps in cost, a city that wants to retain the authenticity and the uniqueness that has made all these people want to move here, is important.

May 26, 2021 — Luke Oneil
DigBoston Joe McGuirk and the Bartender to Politician Pipeline

... giving working class service industry people a voice, in a city that has seen incredible jumps in cost, a city that wants to retain the authenticity and the uniqueness that has made all these people want to move here, is important.

May 26, 2021 — Luke Oneil
Boston.com Cocktail Club: Meet Joe McGuirk, the people’s bartender of Cambridge

I’d be a Salty Dog. [It’s] grapefruit juice and vodka with a salted rim — a Greyhound with a salted rim. Why? Because I’m outdated, bitter, and basic, yet playful and refreshing.

May 14, 2021 — Emily Turner
Boston.com Cocktail Club: Meet Joe McGuirk, the people’s bartender of Cambridge

I’d be a Salty Dog. [It’s] grapefruit juice and vodka with a salted rim — a Greyhound with a salted rim. Why? Because I’m outdated, bitter, and basic, yet playful and refreshing.

May 14, 2021 — Emily Turner
WBUR Meet Your Bartender: Highland Kitchen’s Joe McGuirk

When I mentioned to a friend, who is a veteran Boston barhound, that I was meeting with Joe McGuirk, the bartender at Highland Kitchen, my friend beamed and said, “Wow, I first knew Joe back when he was at the B-Side! He’s great. I swear he’s worked at every bar in the city. He’s like Boston’s bartender!”

Nov. 8, 2010 — Susanna Bolle
WBUR Meet Your Bartender: Highland Kitchen’s Joe McGuirk

When I mentioned to a friend, who is a veteran Boston barhound, that I was meeting with Joe McGuirk, the bartender at Highland Kitchen, my friend beamed and said, “Wow, I first knew Joe back when he was at the B-Side! He’s great. I swear he’s worked at every bar in the city. He’s like Boston’s bartender!”

Nov. 8, 2010 — Susanna Bolle

Campaign finance

How much the candidate has raised and spent

$10,816
Current balance
$10
Balance at the start of 2021
$22,166
Raised in 2021
$11,361
Spent in 2021