Salem city councilors were inaugurated last night, Thursday, 9 January. It was delayed from the mandated “10 a.m. on the first Monday of January following a municipal election,” as written in City Charter, Section 17. The delay was because of the court case “Jerry L. Ryan vs. the City of Salem,” which contested the validity of several ballots from the recount and examined whether the voting rights of one individual were impinged. We hope to have a blog post working through some of the nuance of that case in the coming days.
We are thrilled to welcome the new councilors: Patti Morsillo, Ward 3; Megan Riccardi, Ward 6; Ty Hapworth, At-Large; Conrad Prosniewski, At-Large. And, we welcome back the re-elected councilors: Robert McCarthy, Ward 1, who was also elected council president, so double congrats; Christine Madore, Ward 2; Tim Flynn, Ward 4; Josh Turiel, Ward 5; Steve Dibble, Ward 7; Domingo Dominguez and Arthur Sargent, At-Large.
In an unusual move, the council allowed City Clerk Ilene Simons to address the room. She discussed the trial briefly, but spent most of the speech thanking people for their efforts (poll workers, those involved in the recount), knowledge (her staff), representation (lawyers), and support throughout (city workers, friends and family).
Mayor Driscoll gave a short state of the city address, wherein she noted that Salem was “vibrant, strong, and growing.” She mentioned explicitly the interconnected thorny issues facing Salem (and the metro region more broadly): housing, traffic and transportation, and jobs and the economy. She promised the new council that a package of measures to address housing was forthcoming, some familiar, some new. She reiterated that no one measure was going to solve the housing crisis, but taken together, they can help.
Driscoll outlined exciting transportation initiatives: community ride share; on-demand shuttle; micromobility networks. She mentioned that the city was close to procuring the second ferry, hoped to wrap up the expansion of off-street paths and trails, and continued push for a South Salem commuter station.
She also set a goal to raise $26M to off-set enhancements and upkeep for public spaces, alleviating the burden on taxpayers and recognizing the value of our public spaces.
The mayor closed with a request that this council operate in a spirit of collaboration, civility, and teamwork. She promised to expand communication between the co-equal branches of government, and ended with the sentiment that public officials should be critics, but not merely critics; they should also be visionaries.
Finally, thanks to Dustin Luca and the Salem News, we have the committee appointments:
Ordinances, Licenses, Legal Affairs: Christine Madore as chairperson, Steve Dibble, Patti Morsillo, Conrad Prosniewski, Arthur Sargent.
Administration and Finance: Josh Turiel as chairperson, Domingo Dominguez, Tim Flynn, Ty Hapworth, Megan Riccardi.
Community, Economic Development: Dominguez as chairperson, Hapworth, Madore, Morsillo, Riccardi.
Government Services: Flynn as chairperson, Dominguez, Prosniewski, Sargent, Turiel.
Public Health, Safety, Environment: Dibble as chairperson, Hapworth, Morsillo, Prosniewski, Riccardi.
President McCarthy