Former Mayor Chris Hoy pulled no punches on Monday night during a city council meeting when he called on Mayor Julie Hoy to resign immediately, telling her that Salem has a right to a mayor the city can trust. 

“And that’s not you,” Chris Hoy said, addressing the mayor who defeated him in his 2024 reelection bid.

Chris Hoy’s three minute public lambasting of the mayor was met with a smattering of both claps from one side of the room and boos from the other. He accused the mayor of lying to force the resignation of former City Manager Keith Stahley, based on the findings of a recent state ethics investigation.

Julie Hoy sat silently and stared at her predecessor as he told her that she was not fit to serve. She has filed to run for reelection and will face Councilor Vanessa Nordyke in May 2026. 

The two Hoys are not related and have had a contentious relationship since they both served on the previous city council, Chris Hoy as mayor, and Julie Hoy as a city councilor representing Ward 6, east Salem. The apparent animosity between them intensified last year during a heated and expensive mayoral election where Chris Hoy unsuccessfully sought a second term.

“I feel a duty to be here tonight to speak mayor to mayor. You were elected to provide leadership. Instead of leadership you have repeatedly claimed that you were learning and don’t know how to do the job to which you were elected,” Chris Hoy said. “You are the mayor of Oregon’s second largest city and its state capital. Claiming ignorance has been and continues to be a disservice to the residents of Salem. During your time as a city councilor and now as mayor, you have repeatedly made choices contrary to your oath of office.” 

Last Friday, the Oregon Government Ethics Commission found that Julie Hoy, Nishioka, and four city councilors broke state public meetings law. 

Chris Hoy listed out all the reasons he believed the mayor should resign, including the finding from that investigation that Julie Hoy told Council President Linda Nishioka a majority of the council wanted to remove former Salem City Manager Keith Stahley in February. 

That wasn’t true, the investigation showed. No other city councilor told Hoy they wanted the manager gone.

Julie Hoy has maintained she never told Nishioka a majority of the council wanted Stahley to resign. During an ethics commission meeting last week, Julie Hoy said the council president lied to investigators.

At the end of the council meeting three more residents spoke out against Julie Hoy saying she was unfit to serve and should resign given the findings of the recent investigation. 

Stahley’s abrupt resignation cost the city $256,000 paid out for Stahley’s severance package. 

The Marion County Democrats Central Committee submitted to the council an online petition signed by 382 Salem residents calling on the mayor to resign if she fails to apologize for lying to Nishioka. The petition was released along with a memo from the central committee which said those who signed believe Julie Hoy “has not demonstrated adequate capacity to represent the public good.” 

“If the mayor will not own up to her mistakes and publicly apologize to the city she serves,” the memo said. “All of us believe Mayor Julie Hoy must resign.”

There was a small group of people sitting in the audience holding signs calling on the mayor to resign. One sign read, “I think Julie is lying.” At the end of the meeting, a couple more people spoke during public testimony in favor of the mayor’s resignation. 

Outside of public testimony, the matter of the ethics investigation did not come up at Monday night’s meeting in discussions between councilors. No councilor has called for the mayor to step down.

Chris Hoy also brought up Julie Hoy’s previous ethical dustups including promoting a local tire company for a city contract and not recusing herself during a land use matter involving one of her top campaign donors. 

On Monday night, Chris Hoy focused on Julie Hoy being untruthful as grounds to call for her resignation. 

“You have lied and the residents of Salem can no longer trust you. As a result you have lost the privilege of being the mayor of this great city,” Hoy said. “You can no longer hold the office to which you were elected. You must do the one honorable thing you can do right now. Resign. Resign immediately.” 

The two Hoys have traded barbs for some time. During a mayoral debate in May 2024 Julie Hoy said Chris Hoy was out of touch with the east Salem ward where they both live. 

She also said that he was routinely dismissive of others, including city employees and his colleagues on the council. Chris Hoy denied being dismissive and changed the subject to Julie Hoy’s attempt to get the city to enter into a contract for tire purchasing on behalf of a local business. 

Julie Hoy’s promotion of the business led to a public ethics warning from Stahley early last year. 

Contact reporter Joe Siess: [email protected] or 503-335-7790.

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