Councilor Cara Kaser announced she planned to resign from city council on Nov. 2. (Courtesy/City of Salem)
Councilor Cara Kaser, who represents Salem’s downtown ward and a portion of west Salem, has announced her intent to resign from the Salem City Council two months before the end of her term because she moved to Silverton.
Her resignation isn’t official until it’s accepted by the full council. The next meeting is on Monday, Nov. 9. There are four meetings remaining until the end of the year and a slate of fresh candidates take office in January.
Kaser, chief information officer at the state’s economic development agency, Oregon Business, was elected in 2016. At the end of last year, she announced she wouldn’t run for re-election.
Virginia Stapleton won a majority of votes to the seat in May and is scheduled to start on Jan. 11.
In her resignation letter, Kaser said she wanted Stapleton to fill in for the remainder of the year either through an appointment or as a guest councilor. Guest councilors are allowed to sit in at meetings but can’t vote.
Kaser told her colleagues it was a remarkable experience serving on the council.
“The state of Oregon and our country have undergone extraordinary changes since I was elected in 2016 and Salem is no different,” she wrote in an email dated Nov. 2. “I cannot pinpoint a time in Salem’s recent past where our community has been faced with as many challenges as it has been over these last four year. My term on the council has presented some of the most challenging and rewarding decisions of my life.”
SUPPORT ESSENTIAL REPORTING FOR SALEM – A subscription starts at $5 a month for around-the-clock access to stories and email alerts sent directly to you. Your support matters. Go HERE.
Have a tip? Contact reporter Saphara Harrell at 503-549-6250, [email protected] or @daisysaphara
