Why are you running for Councillor and what particular skills can you bring to the position?
I am running for Councillor because I love my Ward, and have found myself loving it more with each year I live here. I want to ensure that Ward 1 has a strong, steadfast voice on the Council voicing their concerns and advocating for their interests. The foremost responsibility of the Ward Councillors is to act as the mouthpiece of the Ward, a role that not only involves listening and door knocking during campaign season, but also active and continuous engagement with the Ward’s residents throughout the duration of the term to get ahead of problems before they can become an issue. With major projects such as the offshore wind marshaling yard and the Shetland Park redevelopment, our Ward needs now more than ever a Councillor willing to commit to consistent, on the ground engagement with residents of the Ward to ensure smooth transitions and accountability for any and all benefits agreements made with the city and its residents. Over a decade in the hospitality industry has taught me how to connect and work with folks of various backgrounds and has made me a leader determined to bring solutions to the table, not problems. It is this leadership style that helped me successfully lead the Salem Democratic City Committee through the pandemic and it is a style I will continue to bring to the City Council.
Residents are facing housing instability and displacement. Do you have specific plans that would protect renters in the city?
Currently, as Vice-Chair of the Affordable Housing Trust Fund Board (AHTFB), I have worked to advocate for our role in creating policy to help renters, with the first step being the establishment of a rental unit registry the city can use to start collecting data about our rental unit stock. The intention is to use this data to better inform future policy the city can create around tenant protections. This being a more longer-term solution, I will also use my position, both on the AHTFB and if elected Councillor, to research and pursue Salem’s ability to implement a rental assistance program. I believe a program such as this will be critical in the short term to help our city’s renters with exponentially rising rents while the city pursues policies to curb this issue. This program could provide further benefit to the community by providing a financial literacy program much like what is being executed in Provincetown but adjusted to meet the specific demands of our city.
Salem is already seeing the effects of the climate crisis, including flooding during storms and high tides. Focusing on what you would do, what are your top priorities to mitigate the climate crisis?
Ward 1 is one of, if not the Ward most threatened by climate change and subsequent sea level rise. I will continue to push Salem to be a leader in green energy and climate resilience with a focus on creating opportunities for union-backed jobs training to help residents have pathways into emerging green energy fields. As the city looks to the future and how it can respond to climate change with initiatives such as Resilient Together, I intend to work closely with our city’s Sustainability and Resiliency Department, as well as SERC, Salem Sound Coastwatch, and SAFE to make sure that approaches to coastal protection involve robust community participation and thoughtful consideration of environmental and community impact. Most immediately, I would begin working closely with the team behind Resilient Together: The Point to assist in community outreach for the project and ensure that plans for Palmer Cove Park can tie seamlessly into any redesign elements of Shetland to best ensure that the extremely vulnerable Point Neighborhood has reliable protection from the rising seas. I look forward to continued work with these groups as they begin the process for the Derby St Neighborhood, Collins Cove, and The Willows - all three particularly threatened by sea level rise over the next 50 years.
Salem strives to be a diverse, equitable, and inclusive city. What have you done to lead on these ideals and how will you support work in this area?
As a gay man living during a time of increased violence and hatred towards my community, I want to push Salem to be the counterpoint to what is happening in places such as Florida and Texas where our community is being targeted and harassed just for trying to exist. It’s why I’ve strived to wear my own lgbtq+ identity as a candidate with pride and have been unafraid to speak out in support of many of my lgbtq+ community members running for office in our city - at a time where people are trying to silence us, there is the most value in what we have to say. I was also proud to work last year as the city’s Outreach Leader for the first phase of Resilient Together: The Point, committing significant energy into increasing resident engagement with the project. As Councillor, I will continue to work for active engagement with Point residents to help foster synergy between this neighborhood and the city at large while being a strong advocate for them in the face of potential gentrification and loss of affordable housing.
On average, 30% of Salem residents voted in the past municipal elections. Please outline some ideas you have that can enhance voter engagement and elections.
One of the surprisingly frequent questions I’ve gotten from voters at the doors is “Why is it so hard to just look up when/where I can vote with a simple google search?” Our city has come a long way in its work to modernize but there is still a significant amount of room left to go. Currently our election calendar is a PDF that can be downloaded from the city’s website - not an easy “Google” search, and filled with information the average voter doesn't need. I’d like to focus for improvement on how election info can be shared with the public with an eye for creating a website (or page of the city’s website) that provides easily searchable access to information such as: voter registration status, ward/precinct information, polling location, election dates, and basic candidate info without overwhelming the average voter with information they don’t need.
Learn more
Name: Chris Malstrom
Campaign Website: vote4chris.org
Campaign Email: votechrismalstrom@gmail.com
Social Media: @chris4salem - Instagram @votemalstrom - tiktok