Voters in south Salem will soon elect the next person to represent them on the Salem City Council.

Councilor Deanna Gwyn, a real estate broker, is seeking a second term on city council. Dave Inbody, a state health director, is challenging her.

Election guide: Read more about the 2026 city election here and find your ward here.

Ward 4 covers the furthest parts of south Salem, starting along Interstate 5 and west toward South Liberty Road. The ward is also roughly bordered by South Kuebler Boulevard and southern city limits.

City council elections are nonpartisan, and the office is a four-year, volunteer position.

Candidates are campaigning as two slates that are politically opposed, with more progressive candidates backed by Progressive Salem and conservative candidates backed by Marion + Polk First. Gwyn is part of the conservative slate and Inbody is part of the progressive slate.

Salem Reporter sat down with both candidates to talk about their thoughts on key issues for voters, including homelessness, public safety and the city’s budget. See their perspectives below.

Background

Gwyn

Gwyn has spent the last 40 years living in Salem. She first moved into Ward 4 around five years ago where her family built a house.

After spending her sophomore year at McNary High School, she transferred to McKay shortly after it opened and graduated as one of the school’s first senior classes, she said.

While having a career in real estate, Gwyn never “anticipated having government or a city council type position.”

She first was elected in 2022, narrowly beating Dynee Medlock. Concerns over homelessness and a need for more police officers spurred her run, she said at the time. 

“People who do it for one term, it’s like you’re just getting your feet on the ground and then move on,” Gwyn said. “I just feel like we still have work to do. We’re making good progress. We’re doing good things, and I want to keep up the momentum.” 

The experience and connections she made during her first term as a city councilor qualify her for a second term, she said.

Last year, Gwyn was one of five city councilors the state’s ethics commission found violated public meetings law by participating in an illegal serial meeting that led to former City Manager Keith Stahley’s resignation. An investigation found that Gwyn had taken a call from Mayor Julie Hoy where Hoy discussed Stahley’s future at the city and potential resignation.

In December, Gwyn conceded to the violation and was given a letter of education.

Councilors voted in November 2024 to censure Gwyn and Hoy after the two voted in favor of a land use decision benefitting one of Hoy and Gwyn’s campaign donors. Gwyn at the time defended her vote to Salem Reporter, saying she based her decision on zoning law and planning regulations, not personal relationships.

Public safety, homelessness, traffic safety and development are several of the most important issues for Ward 4 residents, according to Gwyn.

Inbody

Inbody moved to Oregon almost 20 years ago from Iowa to take a job in Deschutes County’s health department.

He eventually became a deputy director. He then started working at the Oregon Health Authority, where he’s now the agency’s operations director working with Medicaid.

“I’ve always been interested in the policy side of government work,” Inbody said. “First at Deschutes County, because it was the local stuff, and then now at the state … looking at more broad-based legislative implications and working on a federal program, you get to see that balance between what’s happening at federal level, the state level and then applying it at the local level.”

He said he decided to run for city council because of the lack of traffic infrastructure around south Salem – specifically the lack of both sidewalks and discussion with local residents about how new housing developments will impact them.

“I really started to see it when I started walking around, going door to door … there was almost this sense that, ‘Well, they’re just going to do it right? It doesn’t matter what I think or what I say.’ And I think when government gets to that point, that means that we’re not representing anymore,” he said.

Development, city budget stability and government implementation of solutions are some of the biggest issues for Ward 4 currently, he said.

Homelessness

WHAT’S AT STAKE: How Salem city council races could impact local homeless policy

Gwyn

Thanks to expanded outreach teams and a pilot fire department crisis response team, the city is addressing homelessness by “connecting people with services and getting them the help that they need,” Gwyn said.

She supports those expansions.

As the teams continue, she wants to see data on the results they bring in.

“I want to know if someone is coming into a homeless shelter and we’re seeing what’s called a positive result, what does that mean? And are some of those folks rotating back into the system, and if so, how many times and how often?” Gwyn said.

After doing a ride-along with the crisis response team, she was very impressed with how the team, made up of a paramedic, EMT and mental health professional, handled situations with homeless people and those going through addiction.

“I could see folks that are dealing with people that have mental health issues and drug addiction … being cynical and kind of hardened, and they haven’t. I mean, if anything, it’s the opposite. They have such compassion,” she said.

If reelected, she would want to continue exploring other ways for the city to address homelessness. She referenced one example of a program in Austin, Texas called Community First, which provides affordable and permanent housing.

Inbody

To address homelessness, Inbody wants the city to have a clear long-term plan to meet its goals, while still acknowledging the issue’s urgency.

Within homelessness, there are components of public health, mental health, law enforcement, safety and substance use, he said.

“I think sometimes there’s some cherry picking on which of those issues we want to talk about, because they lend themselves to certain positions, and if we let any one of those things fall, we’re not going to be successful,” Inbody said.

Since homelessness is such an immediate concern for many in Salem, he said the city should prioritize it similarly. 

Although many related issues, like behavioral health, overlap with other governments’ services, he said the city’s role should be working to identify where needed support and services are and connecting with those.

For the city teams working directly with Salem’s unhoused population, Inbody said he would want to see data on how staff are spending their time on the team, the skills they use and any changes that could make them more successful.

Public safety

Gwyn

Public safety has been Gwyn’s top priority “since day one,” she said during Salem Reporter’s Town Hall in March.

She supports the police and fire departments, and said she was excited last July when the city brought ambulance service back under the Salem Fire Department.

“They’ve been performing well, they have outperformed Falck on all, on everything,” she said, referring to the city’s previous ambulance service. “I know that people are getting good care, and they’re getting it timely.”

She also supports increasing staffing at the Salem Police Department, which has seen largely flat staffing levels over the last 20 years as the city’s population has grown by tens of thousands.

“I don’t think it’s rocket science to say we probably need more cops on the street,” Gwyn said. To make progress on police staffing, she said it requires council conversations and collaboration on prioritizing the issue as the city continues to see its costs rise faster than tax collections.

Specifically, she would like to see the police department bring back its team of bike officers that patrolled downtown Salem to build on community policing efforts. Last year, the business community offered a donation to the city to fund the bike team, but the donation was ultimately used to expand police homeless outreach.

Traffic infrastructure is also a top concern for Ward 4 residents, according to Gwyn.

Gwyn referenced a couple of intersections in south Salem that have either taken years to get a traffic light or still lack one. The intersection of South Liberty Road and Southeast Mildred Lane is slated to get a traffic signal in the future, but Gwyn said she doesn’t know if that will be “in two years or 10 years.”

The city is currently developing a transportation plan to improve infrastructure, but that also will be a “several year project,” she said.

Inbody

Inbody said he’s supportive of the way the Salem Police Department has been resourceful with limited staffing to address crime and involve the community in creative ways.

Specifically, he appreciates the department’s use of data to identify where patrol officers are most needed around the city to target higher levels of crime. He referenced Paws on Patrol, a city program which teaches pet owners signs of criminal activity to look out for and report while taking their pets on walks.

“It gives insight to what’s going on across the city without spending much at all,” Inbody said. He said the program is also a good way the department engages the community in government work and makes people feel involved.

Although police leadership is vocal about the department needing more officers, Inbody said he’d like to see clearer data on how overtime is used by the department.

“Before you start asking for more staff, figure out what you’re doing with your overtime, and if the overtime is a reflection of the fact that you’re understaffed, then that’s one thing. But again, it’s a very inefficient way to spend money,” he said.

Due to his years of experience working with government budgeting, Inbody said he wants to see performance measures of the department’s homeless team before he would make a decision on whether or not to continue the team’s recent expansion to four officers.

He said that local, state and federal grants could be options for money to continue that work, along with the Salem Fire Department’s new crisis team and the expansion of the city’s cleaning team that works at homeless camps.

Budget

Gwyn

To Gwyn, the property tax levy, which voters passed in 2025 to fund library, park and Center 50+ services, “saved our bacon” when it came to the city’s budget.

When voters agreed to raise taxes, they proved those services are a priority to the community, she said.

“We’re gonna have to either go back for another levy in year four and advocate for that and, or reduce expenses by having some hard conversations about what has to be cut or eliminated and, or another tough topic is increased fees or taxes,” Gwyn said.

When the city faces a decision about whether to renew the levy, Gwyn said she would continue her stance that any increase in taxes should be decided on by voters rather than city councilors. Using her position as a councilor to raise city taxes would never be her first choice, she said.

If the city is forced to cut services to balance the budget, she said she would prioritize police and fire.

The city is currently considering a change to the operations fee added to utility bills that would charge large businesses more while potentially cutting fees for homes and small businesses. That’s intended to help stabilize city finances in the future.

Gwyn said the city should be fair and strike a balance in how it collects fees from local businesses and larger corporations, and she worries about how potential changes to city fees could strain local business owners.

Inbody

The city’s current financial situation, where Salem spends more than it is making, forces government officials to decide between cutting services or raising taxes to fund the city, Inbody said.

He said the voter-approved property tax levy in 2025 gives city officials a few years to think critically about services and their efficiency.

“That’s a conversation both with city employees, with the business community and with the public, and again, we have the time to do it now,” he said. “But the other part of it is also making sure that when we spend money, then we’re looking at this on the back end.”

If elected, Inbody sees his role as a councilor as providing accountability for the city budget and doing the due diligence to plan long-term for city services. As a councilor, he would prioritize public safety services if the city were to face budget cuts.

When the levy comes around for renewal, Inbody said he would support it if it means the city would otherwise lose library, park and Center 50+ services.

“That’s not the most economically viable or appropriate approach, right? You’re taxing the very people that you want to drive your economy, but again, when faced with nothing else, I would support it,” he said.

Development

WHAT’S AT STAKE: How city council races could impact Salem’s development

Gwyn

One way Gwyn suggested to make housing more affordable in south Salem is for the city to partner with the Fair Housing Council of Oregon and increase awareness of incentives for developers to create low-cost housing.

Gwyn also supports making the online permitting process more efficient for developers to allow them to better plan their projects, along with changing permitting fees to more closely align with the amount of square footage for projects.

Inbody

Before implementing changes to the city’s housing process, Inbody said he would want to create a long-term plan that addressed housing issues specific to different parts of the city.

“Maybe there are certain things that we want to put in place in south Salem, but are they going to be the same as everywhere else in the city? I don’t think that that’s in the best interest of all parts of the city. … Part of that idea is, what is it that we want this to look like 10 or 20 years from now, and what is it going to take to get there?” he said.

During Salem Reporter’s Town Hall, Inbody said he supports making changes to the city’s zoning code and creating incentives for developers to build affordable housing in south Salem.

Campaign finance and endorsements

Campaign finance data is from the Oregon Secretary of State as of Monday, April 27.

Gwyn

Total raised: $25,957

Total spent: $12,819

Cash on hand: $16,838

Top five donors: Marion Polk First PAC, $7,032 cash and in-kind; Mountain West Investment Corp, $5,000; PAC West Public Affairs, $4,037 in-kind; Oregon Realtors Political Action Committee, $3,000; Salem Fire PAC, $2,500. 

Major endorsements: Salem Police Employees Union, Salem Professional Firefighters Association Local 314, Mid-Valley Association of Realtors.

Inbody

Total raised: $14,777

Total spent: $9,618

Cash on hand: $22

Top five donors: Oregon AFSCME Council 75 (statewide government employee union), $1,000; AFSCME Local 2067 (city of Salem employee union), $1,000; Laura Kenny, $1,000; Progressive Salem, $720 in-kind; Democratic Party of Oregon, $650.

Major endorsements: Oregon AFSCME, Progressive Salem, Basic Rights Oregon, Oregon League of Conservation Voters.

Contact reporter Madeleine Moore: [email protected].

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