What’s making news in Salem you might have missed
Good morning…
Readers like you have provided great questions for the mayor’s debate coming this Tuesday.
The incumbent, Chris Hoy, and Julie Hoy, a Salem city councilor, will meet on the stage at the Elsinore Theatre Tuesday. The event is being conducted by Salem Reporter and the Salem City Club.
Here’s just a sampling of contributions from readers:
•When compared, your descriptions of Salem in the Voters’ Pamphlet appear to describe two different cities, one moving forward, the other moving backward.
•I would love to have a question about the vote that symbolically killed the West Salem micro shelter a couple years ago and has helped ensure that West Salem’s only refuge for our homeless neighbors is Wallace Marine Park, where people die routinely.
•I would very much like to see a question about the huge amounts of money being raised for a small city mayoral campaign. It surely has to be addressed – “Would you support campaign finance reform at the city level?”
•How will you work to implement and advocate for youth involvement in city government?
These specific questions won’t be asked but they have helped inform our team about where to go. Here’s how we did that.
Abbey McDonald, our City Hal reporter at Salem Reporter, worked with Cindy Condon of the Salem City Club to draft questions. We then worked through the questions with these goals in mind.
First, we wanted to stay away from broad questions. A general question gets a general answer. Such responses typically don’t yield useful information for voters.
Second, we wanted to test the candidates’ knowledge of city issues important to citizens. That’s where the submitted questions were helpful.
Third, we want candidates to provide the community specifics about what they plan. “I want to make the community safe” is a slogan. Actions to make that happen reveal information.
The candidates will not know the questions until they hear them posed on Tuesday night. They will have to think quick on their feet – they have two minutes to answer.
You can still get tickets – they’re free – online for the debate, which starts at 6 p.m. Tickets help the crew at the Elsinore have the right amount of staffing on hand for a smooth evening.
(Reserve your free ticket by clicking HERE.)
Can’t attend? Our friends at Capital Community Media will broadcast the debate live on Channel 21 with repeated broadcasts later. The debate also will be online on Youtube.
There’s high interest in this race. Our intent is to give voters useful information to make an informed choice. (A reminder: We make no endorsements.)
From all of us at Salem Reporter, we hope to see you there.
And with the ballots about to go in the mail, reporters have been busy gathering information about key local races.
Reporter Abbey McDonald so far has published detailed profiles for the two contested races for Salem City Council, one for the seat representing southeast Salem and another for the seat covering west Salem.
Managing Editor Rachel Alexander explores the unusual race for Marion County clerk, which drew three candidates this year, and Reporter Ardeshir Tabrizian shares profiles of two people running for Polk County Board of Commissioners.
We also published a “How To” guide to the election, explaining ballots, deadlines and more. And Rachel Alexander explained how we are organizing our coverage in her Editor’s Note.
You can expect more robust election coverage in the next few days, including our reporting on the debate, a closer look at the mayor’s race, and the flow of campaign money in local campaigns.
Though election season is busy, we’re not taking our eye off of your local governments.
Budget writers in Salem, for instance, think they figured out how to save summer parks programs from being cut and Marion County commissioners approved money to design better sewer service in the Santiam Canyon.
Ardeshir Tabrizian dug into crime statistics for Salem, reporting on trends and changes in recent years. On a related front, we were at the city’s first Spanish-language town hall dealing with gun violence. While there, Rachel Alexander talked with the mother of the teen shot to death in Bush’s Pasture Park not long ago.
We also reported on plans for a new community center that will equip young people with the skills they need to become entrepreneurs. This story captures how individuals can make a difference in the community.
Later this week, I’ll publish an Editor’s Note sharing the results of our Salem Reporter News Survey. More than 700 of you participated.
One message was clear: You count on our news team to hold public officials accountable and to challenge government secrecy. Message received.
And we randomly selected five people who responded to the survey to award as a thank you a $25 gift card from our friends at Governor’s Cup Coffee Roasters. We say “Enjoy!” to Caryn C., Alice V., Mike H., Tonya L. and Mary Ann B.
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As always, thank you for reading and feel free to reach out to me anytime at [email protected] with ideas, questions or concerns.
–Les Zaitz, CEO and editor
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