Housing Is Key Issue In At-Large Salem City Council Race

SALEM, MA — Spend any time around Salem politics and you will hear elected officials trying to find a balance to make the city more affordable and keeping Salem livable. And that debate has extended to the 11-candidate field in the race for four at-large city council seats that are up for reelection this year.

"The diversity of Salem is one of our treasures. If we are not able to figure out how to remain a place where everyone can live, we will lose the richness of our diversity and our identity as a community," said at-large City Councilor Domingo J. Dominguez, who is running for reelection. "In Salem we need to be flexible enough to allow developers to provide new housing options, but we cannot displace our current residents. We need to be transparent and inform the community about what is happening and why, and use housing formulas that include low income projects and mixed housing projects. We need to develop a long-term plan for housing in Salem and stick to that plan."

Incumbent Thomas H. Furey is not running for reelection, but the other incumbents — Dominguez, Elaine Milo and Arthur Sargent will have plenty of company in the preliminary election on Tuesday. Melissa Faulkner and Gary Gill did not respond to requests for comment, but the nine other candidates had plenty to say. The preliminary election will thin the field of at-large city councilor candidates to eight, who will appear on the ballot in the Nov. 5 general election.

Click on a candidate's highlighted name to see their complete candidate profile on Salem Patch, including the other issues facing the city.

Milo said the city needs more commercial development to supplement the tax base. She pointed to her support of a tax increment financing deal for Jaqueline's Cookies, which created 50 new jobs.

"This may not be an issue that gets attention on a daily basis, but our city depends on this to supplement our residential rates. We need to promote sensible economic development to increase the commercial tax base," Milo said. "These are excellent examples of ways in which we can encourage businesses to expand their contribution to the tax base with minimum impact on our infrastructure and city services."

Sargent says the city needs to be careful when it makes zoning changes, and should use the rules to prevent over-development.

"Zoning changes can affect parking, traffic, congestion, property values and city services. They can also affect our infrastructure, add traffic lights and create new traffic patterns," Sargent said. "Over-development puts more pressure on our aging water and sewer system, resulting in more breaks and more repairs for ratepayers and taxpayers to pay for. "

Jeff Cohen is proposing stronger condo regulations and inclusionary zoning to mitigate gentrification.

"People who work in Salem should be able to live here and, unfortunately, are already being priced out of the City," Cohen said. "Too many tenants are being asked to leave their home so (landlords) can rent at higher price or convert to condos without knowing their rights, so (I) will propose a series of tenant rights."

Ty Hapworth says the city should require developers of the big projects that have become the norm in recent years to "chip in toward things like infrastructure, access to transit, safe and connected bike lanes, amenities such as green space and public art, and most importantly, a fair percentage of affordable homes.

"Salem, like many cities in the area, is experiencing a crisis of affordability. The lack of affordable homes threatens the ability of young people, working class families, and seniors to live in Salem," Hapworth said. "The Council could take common sense steps now to deliver solutions to these problems. Unfortunately, they have been unable to do so, with some even questioning if an affordability crisis exists (spoiler: it does)."

George McCabe was the Ward 6 City Councilor from 1984 to 1987, and served as City Council president in 1986. He was also an at-large city councilor from 1988-1996.

"The council's deliberations on the zoning changes to allow for a minimal amount of affordable housing units has been tough to watch and read about," McCabe said of the ongoing debate. "The council runs better when people can respect each other and work together. That's not happening now and there is definitely some government fatigue in Salem right now. I'm hearing it from voters all the time."

Alice Merkl said the fighting on city council means the city can't keep up with the rapid changes.

"What we need is a working, functioning City Council that gets the job done," she said. "Too often issues andordinances get held up in the City Council for very long lengths of time. This results in empty buildings that sit for years in decay, Traffic and Parking Commission ideas taking months to initiate, and many other hurdles to keeping our city vibrant and thriving."

Retired Salem Police Captain Conrad J. Prosniewski says his work gave him a street-level view of the impacts city policies had. That includes everything from more traffic to increased homelessness.

"This City is at a juncture where our future depends on our ability to all work together as a team, city leaders and staff included. I hear the phrase 'old Salem versus new Salem' frequently and believe it only create divisiveness," he said. "We are all one Salem and should be working together without putting labels on ourselves. Our one responsibility should be striving to keep our culture and identity moving in a positive direction with sincere and effective leadership."

Maribel Steadman said she will "fight for affordable housing making application process easier for our seniors, our veterans and our low-income families." Steadman she sees affordable housing part of the bigger puzzle of improving quality of life in Salem.

"The single most pressing issue facing our city, for me, is the quality of life, which encompasses the challenges we are facing regarding our public schools, the increasing property tax, homelessness, home affordability, drug addiction and poor roads and traffic maintenance," she said. "If elected, I intend to research the root causes of each issues and try to help resolve them using available resources, grants, programs and teamwork with the other elected officials."