What the mayor, city council election results mean for Salem

In the wake of the 2024 Primary Election, Salem is set to have a new mayor and three new councilors come January.

Though neither mayoral candidate has conceded or declared victory, Ward 6 Councilor Julie Hoy is on track to unseat Mayor Chris Hoy. Ballot returns posted late Thursday night showed Julie Hoy with a substantial lead.

Salem has what's known as a "weak mayor-council government," meaning the authority of the mayor is less expansive and more power is shared with the City Council. The mayor is a voting member of the City Council and presides over it.

The mayor is an unpaid, volunteer position. The winner takes office in January for a two-year term.

Julie Hoy ran on promises to "get back to basics," fund public safety first, not raise taxes and stop unsanctioned homeless camping. She said the city is spending millions on homelessness services and wants to see the county shoulder more of the financial burden. She also promised to make Salem more friendly to businesses and housing.

The push by Salem City Council last year to implement a doomed payroll tax may have been at the detriment of Chris Hoy's campaign.

Council passed the employee-paid payroll tax in July in a 5-4 vote to avoid making cuts due to a revenue shortfall. A referendum sent the issue to voters in the November election, when it was resoundingly defeated.

Julie Hoy, who voted against the tax while on council, made the unpopularity of the payroll tax a big part of her campaign.

"That might have been the turning point for me," she told the Statesman Journal. "I (thought), 'You know what, I need to do something more because this ... this shouldn't be happening. Especially when I don't believe that we really know what's going on with the budget. It's just been status quo for so long."

Chris Hoy said his support in passing the payroll tax stemmed from knowing the general fund was limited, and the city would face hard decisions and sacrifices — like cuts looming for parks, police and libraries — if it didn't find more revenue.

"We knew it wouldn't be popular, but we also know that people were demanding services," he said. "Now they've spoken and we're going in different directions to figure something else out... It's easy to be against things. Leadership takes being for something."

Voter turnout was low in Marion County compared with previous years. Unofficial results released Thursday showed a 15% turnout of registered voters. In the May 2022 primary race, turnout was 34%.

Hundreds of thousands spent in mayor's race

The record-breaking campaign season brought a showdown between Julie Hoy, who owns Geppeto's Italian Restaurant with her husband, and Chris Hoy, a retired undersheriff elected to mayor two years ago.

In a Facebook post, Julie Hoy thanked her supporters and said while there were a few votes to be counted, she was confident in her victory.

"I will operate as Mayor just as I have as a candidate — I will look for the community to show up and participate in this process, to make sure that city government fulfills the priorities of the people," she said.

Chris Hoy did not respond to multiple requests for comment.

The mayoral race was one of the most expensive local contents in recent Salem history, with most of the money going to Julie Hoy's campaign. By Election Day, donors gave her $292,628 in cash and in-kind contributions. Chris Hoy, despite initially being outraised 10 to 1, garnered more donations and collected $59,035 in contributions.

It was not the mayor's first time being outraised by an opponent. When then-Ward 6 Councilor Chris Hoy first ran in the 2022 election, he was outspent by tens of thousands of dollars. Despite the disparity, he won the 2022 race by 11 points.

What changed on Salem City Council?

Despite the shakeup in the mayoral office, the ideological split in council looks to remain the same.

The mayor and Salem City Council are nonpartisan positions but typically fall between "progressive candidates" and "business candidates," with the latter tending to draw large donations from developers and political action committees.

Councilors Linda Nishioka and Micki Varney, who typically vote with the progressive side, along with Councilor Deanna Gwyn, remain in office and are up for re-election in 2026.

Councilor Vanessa Nordyke ran uncontested and secured a second full term representing Ward 7.

The remaining three races had no incumbent running.

Two progressive candidates have leads in their races. Paul Tigan led substantially in the Ward 1 race against Celine Coleman, and Irvin Brown has a slight edge over Michael Hoselton in Ward 5.

In Ward 3, Shane Matthews had a slight lead over progressive Nathan Soltz.

If those patterns hold, the ideological split wouldn't change much. The unknown factor of who is elected in Ward 6 would determine whether progressives would have a 6-3 lead or a 5-4 lead.

What's next for Julie Hoy's council seat?

Julie Hoy's victory opens up the Ward 6 council seat. Chris Hoy previously held the seat before opting to run for mayor in 2022. Technically, he could opt to run for the open seat, but he has not commented on the possibility.

Chris Hoy was elected to Salem City Council in 2017 following the sudden resignation of the Ward 6 councilor. He won reelection in 2018.

He also was appointed to serve as a state representative until the end of 2022.

Half of the city council seats and the mayoral seat are up for election every two years, meaning the Ward 6 election would not take place until May 2026.

City officials said because the vacancy would last more than a year, the seat would be filled by special election at the next available date, per the the city charter rules.

Because of filing deadlines and the date of the expected vacancy, the next available special election is May 20, 2025.

"Prospective candidates will be able to obtain a candidate petition from the City Recorder’s office in January 2025, however, prospective candidates are encouraged to contact the recorder’s office beforehand to discuss the requirements for the petition and signatures gathering," city officials said.

Council cannot appoint a temporary replacement for the vacancy but may appoint a “guest councilor” who would not have voting privileges

What's next for election results?

The last day for Marion and Polk counties to certify the election results is June 17.

"Once those results are shared with the City of Salem, we prepare a proclamation and canvass of votes as a report to council that goes on the council agenda announcing who has been nominated for office," city officials said. "We expect to place the nominee report on the Council Agenda in June."

Their names will be on the November ballot but will be unopposed.

The candidates that won the primary election are considered “councilor nominees” or “mayor nominee.” After the general election, they are referred to as “elect.”

Councilors and the mayor’s terms of office continue until the successor assumes the office, which occurs during the first council meeting in January. Councilors and the mayor will take an oath of office at the meeting.

For questions, comments and news tips, email reporter Whitney Woodworth at wmwoodworth@statesmanjournal.com call 503-910-6616 or follow on Twitter at @wmwoodworth.

This article originally appeared on Salem Statesman Journal: What Salem mayor, city council election results could mean