This screenshot from the Salem Reporter home page nicely sums up the race for Salem mayor that will be decided in the May 19 election.
Here’s excerpts from the Salem Reporter profiles of the two candidates that illustrate the differences between them.
Vanessa Nordyke
— Mayoral candidate and Salem City Councilor Vanessa Nordyke says she’ll prioritize ordinary people over the rich and powerful if elected on May 19.— She’s backed by Progressive Salem, which is supporting a slate of progressive candidates in city races.
— She has cast the upcoming race as a contest between moneyed interests and the rest of the community in a pivotal election that could chart the city’s course as Salem gains some hard fought financial stability and contends with concerns over homelessness, public safety and affordability.
— During her campaign for mayor, Nordyke has emerged as confident, outspoken, and always willing to accept invitations to appear publicly. She consistently maintains a social media presence, sharing her thoughts on local affairs and often livestreaming from community events or following council meetings.
— Over the course of Nordyke’s six years on council, she has struck a more populist tone, frequently speaking about the need for more affordable housing projects and pushing for a crisis response team that brings civilians, not police officers, to mental health incidents. The fire department launched a pilot crisis team this year in partnership with Marion County, which paid for a mental health professional.
— She said she’s been consistent in her approach that the city’s budget challenges are the result of state tax law and the city’s obligation to pay into the state pension system, not overspending. She joined other councilors in asking voters to approve a tax levy last year to avoid deep cuts, and campaigned for it. Nordyke acknowledged at the Town Hall that Salem could need to increase taxes in order to pay its bills in the future.
— Nordyke says progressive policies have offered practical approaches to both homelessness and public safety, top concerns for voters who have indicated in surveys the city is headed in the wrong direction. She pointed out that it was a majority progressive council that instituted the city’s camping ban in 2020. She also said the current council has consistently supported public safety.
–Some other levers she said could help the city shore up more revenue include the closing of two urban renewal areas, which would free up money currently earmarked for specific projects to fund general city services. Money from paid parking downtown and the shifting of the city’s ambulance system in-house over the summer also give the city more financial wiggle room. She said those things all “shave down the margins,” and along with cutting vacant job positions, are good ways to help close the city’s long-term budgetary deficit.
— When asked to contrast herself as a politician with her opponent, she had choice words for the mayor. “Now, you want to talk about disservice to your constituents?” Nordyke said. “Refusing to engage in public debates, taking money hand over fist from developers, and willingly violating the city charter. Now, that is a disservice. Dragging us all into an ethics violation. Lying. If you want to talk about disservice, there is no comparison. None.”
…………………………………………………………………………………..
Julie Hoy
— Salem Mayor Julie Hoy says she can stay the course on the city’s newfound financial stability by focusing on core services and public safety should voters reelect her on Tuesday, May 19.— As she defends her seat against a challenge from Salem City Councilor Vanessa Nordyke, Hoy and her supporters say the mayor offers Salem voters a steady-handed fiscal conservative who balanced the city’s budget, and addressed issues related to public safety and homelessness through shrewd pragmatism.
— Hoy is firmly supported by the city’s business and developer community who view her as a vehicle toward a more economically viable and financially stable future.
— She is backed by Marion + Polk First, a group supporting conservative candidates for local office.
— Hoy has a practice of ignoring or declining interview requests from Salem Reporter and only occasionally responds to written questions. She is the sole candidate seeking city office who did not respond to a request from the news organization to be interviewed about her campaign, and who skipped Salem Reporter’s March 31 election Town Hall. She claimed the news organization’s prior mayoral debate in 2024 was unfair to her.
— Hoy successfully campaigned for mayor in 2024 on a platform of no unnecessary tax increases.
— She rode a wave of discontent after Salem voters overwhelmingly rejected a payroll tax that the previous council, led by then-Mayor Chris Hoy, no relation, voted to impose in 2023. Hoy told voters at the time that the city was squandering taxpayer dollars on homeless services and other unnecessary programs. If elected, she promised to get to the bottom of things and set city finances straight.
— Shortly after becoming mayor, and after an outside commission of local business leaders reviewed the city’s books, Hoy changed her tune. She joined her liberal colleagues on the council in telling residents that the city was in fact squeezing more services out of scant resources compared to its peer cities like Eugene.
— She also voted to ask Salem residents to back a property tax increase to save city services like the library, Center 50+ and parks and recreation. Voters approved the five-year tax increase in May 2025, tossing the city a financial lifeline to avoid deep cuts.
— Hoy’s stance as the election approaches is that she will continue to prioritize core services like police and fire and focus on being good stewards of taxpayer dollars. “Additional taxation should pause. Residents and employers are stretched thin. First demonstrate disciplined, transparent use of existing revenues and measurable outcomes,” Hoy said in her chamber questionnaire. “Once voters see us do the hard work to live within our means, then we can have a conversation about what additional services, if any, they would like to pay for.”
— On homelessness, Hoy’s general perspective on the issue is in line with other conservative council candidates, calling for compassion paired with accountability. However, she and others have rarely expounded on what that would mean practically for people who refuse services.
— In her first months as mayor, Hoy also acted to get rid of then-City Manager Keith Stahley, a state ethics investigation showed.
— After an unfavorable review of the city manager’s office identified issues with Stahley’s job performance, Hoy reached out to her colleagues on council in an effort, she said, to bring attention to the matter. After speaking with each councilor individually, Hoy told Council President Linda Nishioka that the majority of councilors wanted Stahley to resign, the state’s ethics commission concluded. Nishioka then met privately with Stahley to warn him, prompting him to resign. A months-long ethics investigation found not a single councilor told Hoy they wanted Stahley gone. Nishioka told investigators that Hoy wanted to see Stahley removed even prior to her election as mayor in 2024.
Discover more from Salem Political Snark
Subscribe to get the latest posts sent to your email.