EDITOR’S NOTE: With our mayor’s debate set aside, what should we do instead?
At Salem Reporter, we consider our Town Halls to be a service to the community.
We’ll be hosting one next week, focusing on the reading crisis in local schools.
What we won’t be hosting, it appears, is a debate in the mayor’s race.
How that came about is a bit puzzling.
You may recall that in the 2024 election, Salem Reporter teamed up with the Salem City Club to conduct the debate between then-Mayor Chris…
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Go ahead with the event. It’s a good venue. Anything else would be allowing our lying mayor’s passive aggressive manipulation to win.
Please go ahead and schedule the debate. Give all known candidates 2-3 date selections along with a deadline to respond definitively re availability. Then schedule the debate with or without a definitive response from candidates. Inform the candidates ASAP of the date and give them a deadline for suggestions about format, etc. with caveat that suggestions are welcome but moderator(s) make final decision. Continue public updates regarding candidate response. Hopefully Mayor Hoy will decide to participate, but, if it becomes a one candidate public interview, so be it. (I believe voters would be better served if presidential debate schedules and terms were much less dictated by candidates.)
If Mayor Hoy chooses not to participate in a debate with another candidate, that is her prerogative. It is telling, however, that she is now raising concerns over the previous debate with then Mayor Chris Hoy as one that did not “… in my opinion, offer a fair playing field,” and “… did not keep the atmosphere collegial or conducive to a fair exchange of ideas.” I don’t recall those being issues at the time, nor am I aware that she requested another outlet or venue where such an atmosphere and fair exchange of ideas would be fostered.
Go ahead with the event, not as a debate, but as a forum. The issues that would have been debated can still be raised, requiring candidate Nordyke to publicly go on the record about the critical challenges facing the Salem community. The people deserve to hear directly, face to face, from any potential leader of our city.
I would be wildly disappointed if I didn’t get to hear the opponent’s point of view. It seems to advantage the mayor not to host any forum as we already know where she stands on issues, having seen her in action. I would like to know more about Nordyke so even if it is just a one on one interview where we get to hear the type of questions you would ask at a debate, I would appreciate it. I believe the point of a debate or any forum leading up to an election is to understand the candidates point of view. I personally don’t love how debates tend to be more about theatrics and how well you can articulate or frame a narrative. I would rather have substantive responses – like during an interview when the interviewers provide me the questions in advance so I can bring my best, most truthful and thoughtful responses. I would choose to not play into silly passive aggressive behavior. Move forward with a forum that allows Nordyke to share her platform with the public.
Hi Les, I wanted to thank you and the SR news team for making a continued impact in reporting the news in Salem, and giving local residents the opportunity to hear from elected officials. One idea your team could do is partner with the League of Women Voters of Marion and Polk County, Salem City Club, and Capital Community Media to conduct interviews of all candidates for the May Primary. The LWV has done an amazing job of interviewing candidates and presenting those interviews for residents on YouTube. Another idea would be instead of a Mayors debate, have an open conversation for all candidates from Ward 2, 4, 6, 8, and the Mayor. That would give the city an unmatched ability to hear from all candidates about their thoughts on the future of Salem, how they would implement policy, and navigate future big budget issues, like a new levy for the library. Thanks for all you do!
Like Andrew’s idea of partnering with the League of Women Voters, Salem City Club, etc. as well as opening the conversation for all candidates. I would also like to see it on CCTV. Thanks for the idea.
It would be very valuable for the community to have free access to a public debate/forum, even if only one candidate shows up!
Mayor Hoy’s behavior is unprofessional and disrespectful. If a politician does not value the platform of a local public debate to connect with constituents and set themselves apart from their opponent on policy it makes me wonder how they are campaigning. That being said, I would like to see the debate venue retained and a town hall forum held with City Councilor Nordyke as the guest. Folks could submit questions through Salem Reporter and Mr. Zaitz could moderate.
Yes. Exactly.
I agree with others who suggested to schedule the debate and if one candidate or the other decided not to attend, that would be their personal choice. Having Mayoral and council member candidates all on the stage would dilute the purpose and extend the time needed to be thorough.
Voters need to have the opportunity to hear the views and platforms if Mayoral candidates without having to pay $45!
Have your event and put an empty podium on the stage for Hoy if she chooses to skip out.
Please have an event. Both of your ideas sound fine. Both candidates responded, just one in the “no response is a response” fashion. Thanks for what you are doing.
Plan the event and let any invitee who shows up to participate.
I would do an “empty chair” debate with or without Mayor Hoy in attendance. The Elsinore is a wonderful venue, your reporters are very professional, it’s free to the public, and she had more than enough opportunity to answer questions last time. Mayor Hoy performs very poorly in a debate situation and she must know that. If she chooses to avoid even participating, the voters will see that, too. Thank you for all your newspaper does to help educate the community. We deserve a mayor who WANTS to debate and offer innovative ideas, not avoid and belabor the process with extra demands.
Debates are important. Give the candidates one more try to accept a mutual date. Though a forum type event with separate meetings for each candidate is a second option, getting the public to tune into both is more of a challenge than getting both candidates on stage at the same time. For the debate, don’t give the candidate the questions, but inform them of the topics that will be covered. Many years ago, I directed city council candidate debates in the CCTV studios. If finding a venue is too difficult this could be an option. It could be broadcast much like the city council meetings and be available as a recording program for those who missed the live broadcast.
Move forward with a debate; if Mayor Hoy is too big of a coward to participate, then still let Councilor Nordyke have the opportunity to respond and address questions that matter to community members.
Pick a date and hold the “debate.” If there is nobody behind one of the podiums, that is neither your or Nordyke’s fault/problem.
Precisely this
The “empty “ podium is a great idea. What a photo opportunity that would be!
Hold the debate. Any candidate willing to show up should be given the opportunity to answer questions in front of the public they are seeking to represent. The public should not be denied this opportunity to hear from the candidate willing to show up. The candidate willing to show up should not be denied the opportunity to answer questions before the public. The candidate unwilling to face us should not have veto power over our right to hear the other.
I was very disappointed to hear that Mayor Hoy was considering a “virtual” debate. At many city council meetings, including yesterdays, she appears to read from her phone. This occurs during council deliberations and really leaves me wondering if she is receiving instructions about what to say. If so, who is sending these texts? A virtual format would just allow for more of this and give voters no real sense of a candidate’s independent thought process or the depth of their knowledge about the workings of our city. I very much like the above suggestion to host a forum that invites all the folks running for council seats.
I believe messages received via text, email, etc. to public officials during a meeting are a public record. Especially if they are then read as part of deliberations, discussions, etc.
I agree. However, when a public records request was submitted about a year ago when she was appeared to be reading from her phone during council discussion, the response was there was nothing responsive to the request. So, even though she sits next to the City Attorney (cough) and the City Manager, no one sees her on her phone reading out loud and she claimed she didn’t receive any texts related to Council dialogue.
I think public forums with a live audience is important for both hearing candidates views on the issues and reinvigorating community engagement. Part of being an elected official means they agree to talk openly to voters. Collaborating with other groups like the League of Women Voters, who is planning how to do election coverage now, would be worth exploring. KMUZ Radio also conducts some candidate conversations and airs the League’s interviews as well. But both of these methods do not engage the community directly. I like a live audience. Also, I think all the open city council seats are important. Please consider having a forum that invites all city council and mayoral candidates. Perhaps two forums to give each candidate enough time.
Move ahead with the debate. I’m guessing Mayor Hoy will show up once she realizes skipping the debate isn’t a very bright political strategy.
I say what you and your team thinks is best. You are professionals and I would respect your teams decision. My personal, unprofessional opinion is have the debate. Whoever shows is allowed to speak. Could you please log my response as Schoon? Thanks
Host the debate and if the mayor doesn’t show up, ask Nordyke the same questions you would have asked both of them.
I like the idea of a variation of a “Meet the Press” format, holding a live discussion with one willing candidate at a time to address questions.
The tricky thing about this kind of ‘non’-decision is that it’s hard to address and therefore also hard to challenge or change. Those who use the void created by a lack of clarity and feedback, (as our mayor employs regularly to get what she wants), can tell themselves they’re the good guys – after all, the other people are doing just what I want and canceling so they agreed, right?
There are some great suggestions in this forum. I like a town hall format with an invite to all mayoral candidates with questions from citizens and media. Don’t say no to a democratic forum to discuss the future of our community Salem Reporter. We need you now, more than ever! Thank you for this opportunity!
Have the debate between the mayoral candidates. If Ms. Hoy chooses to not show up, leave an empty chair on the stage.
You are inviting candidates to a public forum. It is their choice to attend or not. It is wise for a candudate to let you know if they will attend or not. It is not appropriate to cancel the event.
Nice hit piece designed for clicks.
Mayor Hoy is a much busier woman today than she was 2 years ago so to give a short response time regarding your “debate”, I’m quite sure she had much more pressing and higher priority matters to deal with in that moment.
This also comes across as crying by the Salem Reporter that another local news source, one that has personal relationships with both candidates was selected to be the moderator for the debate between the two.
If you want real local news, What’s Happening Salem and Salem Business Journal are the places to find it. If you want biased hit piece, click bait, you are on the right page.
Hold the debate. Julie can come if she wants. I attended the last debate and she was treated kindly by her opponent and the moderator.
Schedule and hold the event. If Mayor Hoy chooses not to come, keep an empty chair. When it would be time for her to answer, ask the question to the empty chair, leave enough time that the silence for an answer registers, and move on.
I apprecaite the opportunity to express my opinion here. I thought the way you handled the previous mayoral debate was very professional and fair to both candidates. I like the open forum and would prefer to have you host one again, with or without both candidates.
I would definitely schedule a debate for whomever chooses to show up. The public deserves a chance to hear directly from both candidates in a week moderate format. Send both candidates the date and time. Let them know that two podiums will be set up.
The show must go on! Let’s have the event anyway, Vanessa Nordyke can answer the public’s questions.
I say go ahead with the event without her! Maybe she’ll change her mind when she sees how much the citizens of Salem want this🤞🏻
Please, schedule the event, issue invitations, and host any candidate who wants to appear. Shame on the Mayor for trying to block the event by her lack of cooperation.
Continue the event. Kitzhaber won the governorship 2014 by hiding during his scandal; a local-level repeat should be prevented, particularly if someone is hiding because they’re unpopular. People deserve to know if someone is a coward who is afraid of being questioned by the public and of being held accountable.
I’d also say that information on local politics to me are pretty inaccessible through my normal media channels. I’m trying to engage more but it’s not exactly easy finding extensive policy platforms. Mayor Hoy has the opportunity to have voters learn about her work as Mayor and what policies she intends on running on and what her solutions to issues in the local community are. All I know about her is that she supports a repeal of a small payroll tax. A lack of community engagement doesn’t exactly make me feel comfortable selecting someone on the ballet running for a community leadership role.
Please go ahead and have a podium available to Mayor Hoy so she can decide up to the last minute to participate. I thought the last debate was well done and the Elsinore was full. We the people appreciated seeing the mayoral candidates, and will again even if only one shows up. Thank you.
Please accept my thanks for the SR’s important reporting on issues and developments in and around Salem. I agree with most of the other comments on holding the debate even if the Mayor does not show. Further I recommend you document with pain staking and irrefutable evidence based detail the steps you have taken to contact the mayor, secure an answer and/or accommodate her potential critiques of the format/venue. I believe the public needs to know that if the “debate” enjoys only one candidate that the Mayor cannot claim ignorance or relegate the no show to administrative fumble. She needs to own that she does not want to participate and let the voters decide.
I appreciate the solicitation for input. Keep up the great work. Bob Magnuson
Absolutely go ahead with the debate. If Hoy is a no-show, that’s on her. She got a request with a deadline and ignored it, so there’s no way she should be allowed to dictate what you do. If she had suggested an alternative way to meet the public’s need to see the candidates in action, that might have been worthy of consideration, but no response to Salem’s main news medium is unacceptable.
Have the debate. If Julie Hoy refuses to show up, that’s on her. Have the debate; stick to your principles! Refuse to back down because of Hoy’s cowardly (non)response!