Posted inChris Hoy City Council City of Salem

Payroll tax debacle could hurt progressives on City Council

It looks likely that the effort to gather 4,000 signatures of Salem registered voters in order to force a referendum vote on the employee payroll tax approved by the City Council on a narrow 5-4 vote is going to succeed. A Salem Reporter story says that Let Salem Vote has already gotten 4,000 signatures and is seeking 6,000 since some signatures will be invalid. Throughout Salem, in front of grocery stores and at popular events, people with clipboards have been collecting signatures in an attempt to bring the issue of a Salem payroll tax to a public vote. As of…
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Posted inCitizen involvement City Council City of Salem

Salem mayor and city councilors explain position on allowing payroll tax vote

The Salem Reporter (which I consider a subscription bargain for local news) had a great idea: ask Mayor Hoy and the other eight members of the City Council why they voted the way they did on the employee-paid payroll tax that ended up being approved on a contentious 5-4 vote this month. Journalist Abbey McDonald did a great job with "Salem councilors explain their votes for and against the payroll tax." I was particular interested in a question about why the City Council members either supported or opposed having Salem citizens vote on the payroll tax in the November election,…
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Posted inChris Hoy City Council City of Salem

Let Salem Vote seeking signatures for referendum petition on payroll tax

I believe in the value of voting. Most people do. That's why so many were upset when the Salem City Council approved an employee payroll tax on everyone who works in Salem, resident or not, without putting it on the November ballot, as virtually everybody who testified about the tax urged. Predictably, given the intense widespread outrage over this action, a group was formed to challenge the council's decision. Let Salem Vote has filed a petition for a referendum that would put the payroll tax on the November ballot -- where it should have been from the start. Here's how…
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Posted inCity of Salem

Avelo Airlines coming to Salem airport. Hopefully it will stay.

Big news today for fans of commercial air service returning to the Salem airport: Avelo Airlines was revealed as the mystery company that the City of Salem has been negotiating with -- which included using $2.4 million in taxpayer dollars to get the airport ready for the airline. Avelo is advertising Salem as the newest addition to the cities they serve. However, initially Avelo will only offer twice-weekly flights to Las Vegas and Burbank in southern California, as described in a Salem Reporter story. Flights would begin Oct. 5 to Las Vegas, with twice-weekly flights on Thursdays and Sundays, according…
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Posted inChris Hoy City Council City of Salem

Shame on City Council for approving payroll tax by ignoring citizen input

Last night five of the six progressives on the Salem City Council approved a payroll tax that everyone who works in Salem has to pay, even if they don't live in Salem. It was a shameful decision. And I've chosen to use that word, shameful, because Mayor Chris Hoy, one of those who voted for the payroll tax, got irked at Councilor Gwyn when she said to her fellow councilors, "Shame on you, shame on you." (Thanks to Salem-Keizer Proletariat for reporting that comment in an informative post about the meeting.) I didn't attend the meeting, nor did I watch…
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Posted inNational politics

Biden is right to send cluster bombs to Ukraine

War is bad. Unless it is a just war. Then war is good. Ukraine's war against Russia is a just war, since Russia invaded Ukraine in February 2022 and shows no sign of stopping that unprovoked aggression. That's why I support President Biden's decision to send cluster bombs to Ukraine. Cluster bombs have been banned by over 100 countries, but not by the United States or Russia.  Russia has used them against civilians in Ukraine. Ukraine, on the other hand, only will use them against the Russian military.  Today I heard a CNN interview with Wesley Clark, a retired U.S.…
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Posted inCity Council City of Salem Environment

Time for Salem to ban fireworks, sale and use

Yesterday the City of Salem banned the use of fireworks, as did two fire districts adjoining Salem. Now the City Council should implement a permanent ban on the sale and use of fireworks. The reasons given for yesterday's ban only scratch the surface of what's wrong with fireworks. Sure, high temperatures, low humidity, and wind gusts make setting off fireworks especially dangerous in terms of starting fires. But those conditions are the new normal for early July in this era of rapidly accelerating global warming. Yesterday, Tuesday July 4, was the hottest day on record for our planet. The average…
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