Where to learn more about Salem candidates for school board, city council
Voters in the Salem area will select four school board members in the May 20 election, as well as fill a Salem City Council seat.
All elections are contested, with two candidates campaigning for each school board seat, and three seeking the city council spot.
A number of free upcoming local events offer voters a chance to meet candidates and learn more about their goals if elected. And some events have already been taped or aired and are available to watch.
Salem Reporter will also have in-depth pieces about each race closer to when ballots are mailed out around April 30.
Who’s running
Salem-Keizer School Board
All voters within district boundaries can vote in all four races.
Zone 1: Lisa Harnisch (incumbent), Anthony Mitchell
Zone 3: Angelo Arredondo Baca, Jennifer Parker
Zone 5: Karina Guzmán Ortiz (incumbent), Jason Kroker
Zone 7: Mel Fuller, Jeremiah Radka
Salem City Council Ward 6 – East Salem
Only voters in Ward 6 can vote.
Deanna Garcia
Logan Lor
Mai Vang
Upcoming candidate forums
People’s Candidate Forum
The annual student-led forum, organized by Latinos Unidos Siempre, will feature school board candidates.
Saturday, April 19 at 1 p.m.
Open to the public, location shared upon free registration
Spanish and ASL interpretation provided
Streamed live on Capital Community Media.
The event is student-led and “held to uplift the needs of marginalized students including Black, Indigenous, students of color, LGBTQIA2+ students, working class students, immigrant students, and systems impacted students attending the Salem-Keizer School District,” a press release from the organization says.
Salem Area Chamber of Commerce Forum
The Salem Area Chamber of Commerce held a forum for school board and city council candidates on April 14, 2024. All candidates participated except for Vang, who was on her honeymoon. Watch a video of the event here.
Neighborhood association forums
East Lancaster Neighborhood Association & North East Salem Community Association are jointly hosting a forum for Ward 6 council candidates.
Tuesday, April 29, 6:30-8 p.m.
The Jory Apartments Community Room, 909 Park Ave. N.E.
Submit questions for candidates to [email protected] by 5 p.m. on April 22.
The North Lancaster Neighborhood Association will host a candidate forum during its meeting Wednesday, May 7, at 6:30 p.m. at Blanchet Catholic School, 4373 Market St. N.E. Garcia, who is running for council, is also NOLA chair. School board candidates Harnisch, Mitchell, Parker, Guzmán Ortiz, Kroker and Radka were confirmed to attend as of mid-April.
Organizing another candidate forum open to the public? Let us know by emailing [email protected].
Contact reporter Rachel Alexander: [email protected] or 503-575-1241.A MOMENT MORE, PLEASE– If you found this story useful, consider subscribing to Salem Reporter if you don’t already. Work such as this, done by local professionals, depends on community support from subscribers. Please take a moment and sign up now – easy and secure: SUBSCRIBE.
Rachel Alexander is Salem Reporter’s managing editor. She joined Salem Reporter when it was founded in 2018 and covers education, economic development and a little bit of everything else. She’s been a journalist in Oregon and Washington for a decade and is a past president of Oregon's Society of Professional Journalists chapter. Outside of work, you can often find her gardening or with her nose buried in a book.
