Jerry L. Ryan is married to Pamela (Lovely) Ryan and they reside at 11 Locust Street with their three sons; Colby, Austin and Gavin who attend Collins Middles School and Salem High School. Jerry represented Ward 4 as a City Councillor from 2008 through 2013 and has served two terms as Council president – 2011 and 2013. He also served as Councillor-At-Large from 2016-2017. Jerry is a lifelong resident of Salem, growing up as the 12th of 14 children of the late Dr. James T. Ryan and Ann (Butler) Ryan. Jerry attended Sheridan School, Bates School, Middle School West and graduated from Salem High School in 1992. He went on to earn a B.S. in Finance from Bentley University in 1996. Jerry works for Eastern Insurance as a Customer Service Team Leader.
Why are you running for Councilor and what particular skills can you bring to the position?
I am running for Councillor because I love Salem and want to be involved in keeping Salem a great place to live. As a former Ward Councillor and Councillor-At-Large I believe that I have the experience to hit the ground running to provide representation to all the residents of Ward 6 as well as all the residents of the City of Salem.
What are some of your proposed solutions towards resolving the housing crisis in Salem?
There is no easy answer to resolve the housing crisis. I believe we need to continue to keep the lines of communication open with all stakeholders and explore all solutions. Salem is a desirable place to live which is causing increases in housing costs. I do not believe that building more homes is going to solve the issue alone and that there needs to be a multi prong approach to address the housing crisis.
How do you see Salem impacted by the climate crisis and what new initiatives would you take to lead Salem's resiliency efforts?
Salem, like other coastal communities, is going to be impacted by rising sea levels. We need to scale back from building on the water's edge and need to help residents secure flood insurance at a reasonable cost. I also believe we need to keep trying to get residents to go solar. I have solar panels on both my homes and love them. We need more programs to help the residents become educated in the climate crisis and provide them assistance when they want to make improvements to their homes to help address the issue.
Please outline some ideas you have that can enhance civic engagement at the city level.
Salem is a great City to live in. It is filled with many active organizations that keep moving Salem forward. In comparison to other local Cities, the residents of Salem are active citizens, just based on the number of candidates running for public office. Currently the City Council meets on the 2nd and 4th Thursday's of the month. Perhaps the Council should consider meeting on Sunday nights so more residents may attend the meetings.