Hollie Oakes-Miller (left) is running against Jose Gonzalez (right) to represent Ward 5 on Salem City Council.
Salem Reporter wanted to know what issues were top of mind for this year’s crop of candidates for Salem City Council. We provided each candidate written questions intended to elicit their understanding of challenges the city faces and how they would overcome them. We will be publishing their responses ward by ward in the coming days.
To represent northeast Salem, Jose Gonzalez and Hollie Oakes-Miller are both running for the first time. Current councilor Matt Ausec chose not to run for re-election.
The election is on May 19.
Name: Jose Gonzalez
Age: 44
Home: northeast Salem
Employer/position: Tu Casa Real Estate/owner
Years at current job: 23 years
List leadership positions you have held in any nonprofit or civic organizations in the past five years.
Chemeketa Community College President Leader’s Council, Marion County Economic Development Council, S.M.A.R.T. Statewide Board of Directors (early childhood literacy), CAPACES Leadership Institute Mentor, M.E.R.I.T. Board of Directors (micro business support), Latino Business Alliance board president, Oregon Community Foundation Mid-Willamette Leadership Council, Farmworker Housing Development Corp Board of Directors.
List any government service in the past five years, including boards/commissions and any leadership roles.
City of Salem Budget Committee, Oregon Real Estate Agency Board Member (Governor Appointee), Oregon Health Insurance Exchange Board Member (Governor Appointee)
What are the two defining issues facing Salem City Council right now?
1. Now, and for months to come is our recovery from the coronavirus. Some jobs are not coming back, so we need to be there for our unemployed, underemployed and small businesses.
2. Helping the most vulnerable. The homeless issue is not going away, and we also have hundreds of children in Salem not knowing where their next meal is coming from.
List the three steps you would take to address those issues.
RECOVERY:
1. Find out which other councilors are on board (if majority does not agree, nothing happens)
2. Bring people together to find out gaps in assistance from federal, state, county & others.
3. Ensure support only goes to those that need it. I will not stand for those who take advantage of the situation.
VULNERABLE:
1. Find out which other councilors are ready to get their hands dirty, and not just sit behind a desk.
2. Talk to people experiencing homelessness, including families with children, to find out what they really need to make it through the day. I also need to know what makes them smile. When I went through my hard times, after years I finally smiled one day. Then the next day I smiled twice… so on. We need to lead them back into society slowly, everything else is just a band-aid.
3. Gather a strong group of community members EVERY week taking real action, monitor the results until our community feels we have a handle on it. There will always be people without shelter, the goal is to give them every opportunity to get off the hard concrete as soon as possible.
How would those steps lead to a better life for Salem’s residents?
When we help people who are suffering, the least fortunate among us, it will trickle all the way up. That’s the only real way, every other way is a short cut or fraud.
The Salem City Council is often described as being made up of progressives and conservatives. What should voters know about your general posture towards issues that would place you in either one of those bloc?
Sorry Salem Reporter, I’m glad you are here for our community and I have been a longtime subscriber, but here’s the problem with this question. It only divides my city and my community. I’m running for the sole purpose of bringing Salem together. I asked nobody for permission to run for city council, just my family and with God’s permission. Someone was smart to have city council races be non-partisan. Northeast Salem is made up people from all political sides and I want to make sure everyone feels welcome and not left behind. I want to do the right thing for Salem and some decisions will be progressive and others will be conservative, common sense will guide me.
What key change or improvement would you like to see Salem make in the next 20 years?
Bring the power back to the people of Salem. Right now, pretty much everyone I spoke to who is not part of Salem’s inner circle feel totally powerless. They do not know who to talk to about the problems they see in their neighborhoods or how to get their ideas to the decision makers. We have traditional tools like neighborhood associations and brand-new tools we’re all now using for social distancing. We will not have the Salem we want if we don’t get enough people feeling truly valued. Not just at election time.
In 300 words, please provide an example or examples of a project or issue you were directly addressed in a leadership role. We are looking for examples of how your involvement resulted in specific action to resolve or improve a local issue.
When the economy crashed in 2008, I looked around and saw my community struggling. I began volunteering where I could. I had a show on a community radio station, did career days at local elementary schools, helped at United Way and so many other places. Now here we are again in 2020 in the same situation. Back then my good friend and co-worker Baltazar Molina and I began looking for people who had genuine intentions to help others. We found an amazing group (Lucy Escobar, David Rheinholdt, Ruben Barberan, Cindy Quintanilla) and without a plan what began as a group of friends helping our community became the Latino Business Alliance. It’s become a registered nonprofit in 2010 helping new entrepreneurs in the Willamette Valley. This changed my life, you see I was born here but my first language was Spanish. I learned English in Kindergarten and because I only spoke Spanish with my parents, I basically lost my ability to speak it. I had to relearn it because in front of me was a real opportunity to help. Now over 10 years later we’ve helped thousands of local people learn how to provide for themselves in this country. We meet monthly, have a yearly event and nowhere else in Salem will you find a group like this. Some don’t speak any Spanish; some don’t speak any English and some like me don’t speak either well! Just kidding, but most times our meetings are packed, and it’s like a dream. My parents, even though they couldn’t imagine it at that time, were right when they told us this country gives anyone an opportunity. That’s all I needed, and I will continue to pay it forward!
In 300 words, please provide an example of a decision you made or action you took later proved to be unsuccessful or misguided. We are looking for an example of how you deal with failure or mistakes.
Look, life in this world is hard, sometimes really unfair. I can sit here and share my struggles, like the time I lost everything or the time we were technically homeless, but I’m not. You see, every single time I hit bottom I would not let that break me. I got up, little by little, day by day. I saw my parents get up and work hard every single day against all odds. They’re my inspiration. So, when I make a mistake, I never see it as a failure. I admit my mistake, learn from it and keep going. Then I try to help others not make the same mistake. They only listen to me if I’ve taken the time to build trust with them first. No one is a failure. Life is too short to think like that.
In less than 100 words, describe why you want this office and how your candidacy would improve Salem.
I want a strong voice for northeast Salem, and my neighbors agree. I’m not running for me; I’m running for everyone whose voice hasn’t mattered. I’m not afraid to speak truth to power, I’m not afraid to stand up for others and I’m not afraid to tell our community the truth. Good news or bad. That’s what Salem deserves and will get with me.
Name: Hollie Oakes-Miller
Employer/position: Portland Community College/part-time faculty
Years at current job: 8
List leadership positions you have held in any nonprofit or civic organizations in the past five years.
communications facilitator, Salem Democratic Socialists of America.
lead organizer, Ecosocialist Working Group, Salem Democratic Socialists of America.
lead organizer, Womxn’s March Salem 2020
What are the two defining issues facing Salem City Council right now? List the three steps you would take to address those issues.
Houselessness and Housing Justice
We learned last year that the city spends nearly $5 million per year to police our houseless neighbors even though there is no evidence that pushing people around the city actually solves anything. I would advocate that we redirect funds to expand and implement proven housing-first solutions.
I would work to expand the amount of shelters in Salem. We need more no-barrier, low-barrier, youth, and culturally competent shelters if we hope to get our diverse houseless population off the streets.
I would advocate for making zoning changes that would allow for tiny house communities, year-round camping areas for car, RV, and tent camping, and allowing accessory dwellings on single family lots.
Climate and Disaster Preparedness
This current crisis has shown us how unprepared Salem is for any type of disaster. We know that we could have a major earthquake at any time and that climate change could bring us many other types of disasters such as increased occurrences of flooding, drought, and water quality issues. I will work to get our community prepared for future disasters and crises at all levels.
Salem is one of the only major cities in Oregon that does not have a climate plan. I will advocate that we implement a climate plan for Salem as soon as possible and help the city to get on pace with the magnitude of the challenges we face to avoid the worst of climate chaos.
I will advocate for increased public transportation both within Salem and for those who commute to surrounding areas to work. I will also work to make our city more bike-friendly and walkable.
How would those steps lead to a better life for Salem’s residents?
The houseless crisis is the number one concern of the majority of Salem residents and the current city council has in many cases chosen to make the problem worse rather than working on real evidenced-based solutions. Helping our houseless neighbors to get off the streets and into housing will make our city more equitable, humane, and safer for everyone.
Imagine if Salem had been prepared for any of the crises we face, how different things would be for our communities and especially for those who are either on the front lines or are members of our most vulnerable communities. Had we been more prepared we would have had more supplies and resources on hand, and better coordination among the city, state, and federal agencies and organizations who lead disaster response. Being prepared for and resilient to crises and disasters is better for everyone and makes our city safer and more equitable for everyone.
The Salem City Council is often described as being made up of progressives and conservatives. What should voters know about your general posture towards issues that would place you in either one of those bloc?
I am running as a voice for the working class and poor people in Ward 5. I am a working-class grandmother who has lived in Ward 5 for over 15 years. I currently teach courses on climate change, environmental science and resources at Portland Community College. I am a community organizer with Salem Democratic Socialists of America, where I serve on the steering committee as communications facilitator. I also lead Salem DSA’s Ecosocialist Committee and I work in coalition with many other groups to advocate for climate and environmental justice, racial and gender justice, healthcare for all, housing and economic justice, and public education.
What key change or improvement would you like to see Salem make in the next 20 years?
I would like to see Salem transformed into a community that works for everyone while also addressing the climate and economic crises that we face. I feel that too often city leaders get caught up in a false binary that leaves us with “this or that” solutions instead of coming up with solutions that can alleviate multiple problems at the same time. For example there are many things the city could be doing to make our community more resilient to climate change while also reducing our carbon footprint such as integrating permaculture practices into city planning, creating food forests, urban and community gardens, preserving old trees and planting new ones, transitioning to zero waste, expanding public transportation, and moving infrastructure back from areas prone to flooding. Growing more food locally also helps us to feed more people locally, which makes our city more equitable. Expanding public transportation allows us to end our reliance on single passenger vehicles which we must do if we are to meet our climate and environmental challenges, and to also reduce local and regional traffic which are also a problem for our city. City leaders should also make the city more friendly to the working class and poor by creating community wide common spaces with 24 hour restrooms, showers, laundry, storage, meeting rooms, and cooking and dining areas. Places where people can meet up and spend time together without having to purchase anything.
In 300 words, please provide an example or examples of a project or issue you were directly addressed in a leadership role. We are looking for examples of how your involvement resulted in specific action to resolve or improve a local issue.
As the lead organizer for Salem DSA’s Ecosocialist Committee, I have worked in coalition with many other local organizations to tackle one of the largest local climate and environmental injustice issues in Marion County, the Covanta Marion incinerator. Covanta Marion is the largest greenhouse gas emitter in Marion County and 19th in the state. It is under contract by Marion County and operates with very little oversight into the environmental impacts of burning waste. The area around the incinerator, which includes most of Ward 5, has higher populations of historically oppressed and vulnerable community members who are continuously exposed to pollutants from this incinerator. Neither Covanta Marion nor the county offers any meaningful format for community engagement with regards to these issues, and the county’s contract with Covanta Marion is a huge disincentive to transition to zero waste models that could allow us to divert up to 90% of our waste stream away from landfills and incinerators. As part of our work to move away from this outdated waste management method to zero waste alternatives, the Ecosocialist Committee has been working to educate the public about impacts of waste management and possible solutions which have been proven to reduce the waste stream by up to 90%, reduce impact on the environment, save money, and create more good union jobs. In February of this year, we organized and co-hosted a panel discussion on the topic, and I was the lead organizer as well as a panelist for the discussion. In March of this year, another coalition partner and I were featured on KMUZ’s climate change program. I will continue to advocate for transitioning our community to zero waste as a proven waste management strategy.
In 300 words, please provide an example of a decision you made or action you took later proved to be unsuccessful or misguided. We are looking for an example of how you deal with failure or mistakes.
One of the groups I collaborate with is the local homeless coalition, who have been very vocal in opposition to local ordinances around homelessness including sit/lie, camping bans, and bans on personal property in public spaces. At the Dec. 2, 2019 City Council meeting we had agreed to speak out about an ordinance covering all three issues. Unfortunately, it ended up that most of us, including myself, only spoke out about sit/lie, and that night the city council voted to ban public camping and having personal property in public spaces. This led to the inhumane and unsanitary conditions around the Salem Center that went on from right before Christmas to the onset of the COVID-19 crisis which caused the city council to once again allow camping in two local parks that previously hosted our houseless neighbors. Myself and those in the homeless coalition were devastated when the camping ban was imposed and horrified when the houseless crisis escalated in every way that we had predicted it would. I am still actively working to right the wrongs that occurred at that city council meeting, including running for city council Ward 5 as a strong housing justice advocate.
In less than 100 words, describe why you want this office and how your candidacy would improve Salem.
I care deeply about our community and feel that it is critical that the city council represent, and be accountable to, the majority population in Salem which is working class. I will prioritize the needs of the working class and poor in all decisions and advocate for strong social safety nets and living wage union jobs. I will work to achieve a more equitable community by reducing barriers that act to exclude the voices of the working class and poor from city leadership. I will work to ensure that city processes are accessible and transparent to our community.
