Cllr Griffiths was born in Criccieth and now lives in Borth y Gest, near Porthmadog. He is fluent in both Welsh and English.

He was teaching for 35 year, a Headteacher in Llanbedr and then in Ysgol Manod, Blaenau Ffestiniog before taking early retirement some years ago.

He has served on Porthmadog Town Council for 25 years and is currently the Chair of the Council . He was elected as a Member of Gwynedd Council in 2004. In the course of his work as a Gwynedd Councillor, he is a member of the Resources Committee, the Scrutiny Committee, the Special Education Committee, the Dwyfor Area Planning Committee and several sub-committees relating to the Porthmadog area.

At the moment, he is the Vice-Chair of the Porthmadog Crime Stoppers Panel. For several years,he has been a member of the North Gwynedd Community Health Council and is the Vice-Chair for 2005/07. He is also Secretary for the East Dwyfor and North Meirionydd New Hospital Campaign Committee.

Cllr Griffiths joined the Police Authority in 2004 and is currently the vice-chair of the Community Policing Panel.