The Godmother of Gloucester
Mayor Sefatia Romeo Theken lends her voice to the voiceless in this salty city.
By Alexandra Pecci
Gloucester and the ocean are as interwoven as the lines of a gillnet. So perhaps it’s no surprise that Gloucester mayor Sefatia Romeo Theken’s emotions were running high the day after she toured the new Gloucester Marine Genomics Institute (GMGI), a marine biotech research laboratory opening in October on Gloucester Harbor. “I was ecstatic. It was like a little kid having their little first piece of cake,” she says. ”
She was thrilled with GMGI’s potential to forge a partnership between the scientific and fishing communities, and the “miraculous” medicines that are being sourced from the sea, like a marine-derived pain medication that’s 15 times stronger than morphine, but not addictive. “For a city that started the Angel Program, wow!” she exclaims, referring to Gloucester’s nationally recognized program that allows addicts to ask the police for help without fear of arrest. Romeo Theken’s voice breaks as she fights back tears. “I get emotional,” she says, before quickly regaining her composure. “That is our future.”
In many ways, Gloucester embodies the familiar American narrative of a community seeking to embrace a new future without losing its heritage, and its centuries-old fishing industry and close-knit immigrant communities have shaped the city’s identity. Yet its struggles with climate change, fishing regulations, and the opioid epidemic aren’t simply existential; they’re matters of urgent, practical concern.
Perhaps that’s part of why Mayor Romeo Theken seems uniquely suited to lead the city toward its future. She’s a Gloucester-born Sicilian woman who’s been called “guinea” and “godmother;” she’s a granddaughter and a widow who lost her husband to suicide; and she’s a mother who’s watched a child struggle with addiction and knows the terror of a middle-of-the-night phone call.
Despite—or, more fittingly, because—of all that, she’s lent her voice to the voiceless her entire life, whether providing English translation for Italian relatives, passionately advocating on behalf of the local fishing industry, or helping patients navigate their medical care and benefits. “I was always being heard,” she says. “My voice never shuts up.”
Her work on behalf of the community didn’t start with becoming mayor in 2015. She spent years as a city councilor and still serves as vice president of the Gloucester Fishermen’s Wives Association. As health and human service liaison at Addison Gilbert Hospital, she was called a “fairy godmother” by a patient whom she helped get affordable medications, and the nickname stuck. In fact, she’s still a certified SHINE (Serving the Health Information Needs of Everyone) counselor, volunteering weekly to provide Medicare guidance to those who need help.
“She is one of a kind, and a positive advocate,” says Deb Sacco, a friend and former coworker whose family founded the Reid R. Sacco AYA Cancer Alliance and the annual fundraiser Reid’s Ride, a bike race that ends at Stage Fort Park. Chris Munkholm, Ph.D., chief operating officer of GMGI, echoes that. “Ever since she has taken on the role of mayor in Gloucester, Mayor Romeo Theken has been immensely supportive of what GMGI is doing, both through the Gloucester Biotechnology Academy training program and the realization of our new research institute on Gloucester Harbor,” Munkholm says. “She understands perfectly the potential for GMGI to bring together the scientific and fishing communities of Gloucester in a way that can help support and inform the future.”
After being frustrated that leaders seemed to make decisions without listening to everyone involved, Romeo Theken vowed to do things differently. “I have an open-door policy. And I have pride in that. I made a promise that I would never accept anything until all voices were heard,” she says. Someone’s going to come up with something [that makes you say], ‘I never even thought about that.’”
That team-based mentality is evident in everything from the city’s partnership with other local and state law enforcement in fighting the opioid epidemic to monthly meetings with community stakeholders. “You’ve got better programs happening when you work together,” she says.
She also doesn’t flinch from discussing sensitive topics. She’s frank about the challenges of being a woman in power and tells of how she chafed when she was told she could stay home during a snow storm.
After a spate of overdoses, she didn’t hesitate in warning the community via social media about a dangerous batch of drugs that was circulating. And she talks openly about her husband’s suicide and depression, using it to propel her work with organizations like Health Care for All to help eliminate red tape and stigma in mental healthcare. “He didn’t die for nothing. He just made it easier for other people to get help,” she says. As mayor, she loves to see Gloucester’s beaches, streets, hotels, restaurants, harbor, and shops full and bustling. And she’s always pushing forward to increase jobs and affordable housing, advocate for the fishing community, and develop a 20- to 25-year capital plan that can help usher Gloucester into the future. Romeo Theken will always go to bat for the people in her community.“It’s not mine. It’s our city,” she says. “My title didn’t go to my head. My title went to my heart.” gloucester-ma.gov