Posted inChamber of Commerce City Council Fresh Start Salem

Edgiest moments from Salem City Council Candidate Forum

Here's one unarguable takeaway from last night's City Council Candidate Forum: If you take the intense in-your-face vibe of either the Republican or Democratic presidential debates (especially the Republican) and flip it upside down, like turning matter into antimatter, you'll end up with something closely akin to Salem's oh-so-decorous candidate forum. Held in the Library's Anderson Room, and sponsored by the League of Women Voters of Marion and Polk Counties, along with the Salem City Club, the forum accurately reflected Salem's dual political personality: calm on the outside, seething on the inside.  So as I took notes about what the…
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Posted inFresh Start Salem

My (not so) secret plan to sway Salem’s May election

I'm a big fan of House of Cards, the Netflix series that features devious political machinations in Washington, D.C.  Sometimes, though, the sneakiest thing to do in politics is be absolutely open and upfront. That's so unusual these days, nobody will believe what you're saying! He must have a secret agenda... Well, believe it or not, here's my not-so-secret plan to sway Salem's May election for Mayor and four City Council positions. People power. Especially, social media people power.  I designed a Salem, Let's Blast Off to a Fresh Start ad for Carole Smith, my choice for Mayor, that ran in…
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Posted inChamber of Commerce Fresh Start Salem

Salem’s May 2016 election: Fresh vs. Stale is voters’ choice

Fresh is better than stale, right? Sure applies to bread. Also, to political candidates. Such as the people running for Mayor and four City Council seats in Salem's upcoming May election. Salem voters have a clear choice between two groups of candidates. Fresh or Stale? The three Chamber of Commerce-backed candidates (along with Councilor Brad Nanke, who is unopposed for re-election) promise more of the same. Top-of-the-ticket guy Chuck Bennett, the Chamber's choice for Mayor, makes this clear in the positions I've heard him take. How depressingly stale is this? -- More ignoring of what ordinary citizens see as best…
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