Progressive Salem

Author: Dan

  • Presentation: Fascism in the United States

    Thursday, March 26 at 7:00 PM
    Marion County Dems Office
    (245 High Street NE)

    Professor Seth Cotlar will speak on the history of fascism in the United States from the 1920s to the present.  Professor Cotlar, a history professor at Willamette, will speak about the national history of American fascism, and will share some of his research on the history of the Oregon Republican Party and the 1930s-vintage fascist and White Christian Nationalist named Walter Huss who led a 20-year grassroots insurgency that resulted in him getting elected chair of the Oregon Republican Party in 1978.  Professor Cotlar’s  presentation promises to be educational and relevant to current events in our nation.

    We hope you will join us Thursday evening.

  • April 12: Meet the candidates for Salem mayor

    MARK YOUR CALENDAR! Plan to come to the first-ever all ages mayoral forum at the Salem Public Library on Sunday, April 12th at 2 pm. Bring the whole family! Send in a question using the QR code below.

    Meet the candidates

  • Join Progressive Salem for First Tuesday; meet Vanessa Nordyke and Micki Varney

    Vanessa Nordyke
    Micki Varney for City Council

    Taproot Lounge and Cafe
    356 State Street, Salem
    Tuesday, March 3, 4:30 to 6:30

    Special guests:

    Micki Varney, candidate for city council

    and Vanessa Nordyke, candidate for mayor

    Join like-minded progressive friends and meet Micki and Vanessa in a small group setting

  • Please Join Us for Canvassing Every Weekend Until May

    Canvassing for Progressive Salem

    This is how we win — by knocking on doors and talking to friendly voters who vote Progressive. We’ll be doing it every Saturday and Sunday until the election in May.

    On Saturdays at 10 am
    Meet at the Marion County Democrats Headquarters
    245 High St. NE Across from the Transit Mall
    We canvass for Vanesa Nordkye for Mayor and for Linda Nishioka, Mai Vang, and Micki Varney for City Council

    On Sundays at 1 pm
    Canvass for Dave Inbody in Ward 4

    If you are new to canvassing we can pair you up with an experienced canvasser. Please join us!

  • Progressive Salem Founder Tina Calos Hands Over Leadership to Chris Hoy

    Tina Calos
    Chris Hoy

    After founding and leading the political action organization Progressive Salem for more than a decade, Tina Calos will step back and turn over the Chairpersonship to Chris Hoy.

    Progressive Salem was founded in 2015 after a group of Progressives led by Calos successfully elected Tom Andersen to the Salem City Council in 2014. Andersen won a tough victory in a three-way race and in 2015 became the only Progressive on the Salem City Council that had been dominated for years by special interest candidates.

    “Tom was our proof of concept,” said Calos. “In his race we proved that organized people could beat organized money.” By recruiting motivated volunteers to go door to door and talk to voters, Progressives showed that they could win, even when being heavily outspent by their opposition.

    Progressive Salem took that winning formula and went on to win 16 City Council elections, beginning in  2016. In every race our candidates were outspent, sometimes two to one or three to one or more, with big contributions by developers, realtors, homebuilders and other special interests.      

    Our latest win was in Ward 6 last year when Mai Vang bested two opponents for an open seat. Vang’s win preserved a solid 6-3 Progressive majority on the City Council.

    Having led Progressive Salem for over a decade, Calos is handing over leadership to former Salem Mayor Chris Hoy, who has been an active member of the Progressive Salem Board and has helped to lead the Candidate Support Committee. He was active in encouraging Dave Inbody to run this year as a Progressive Salem candidate in South Salem’s Ward 4.

    This year Progressive Salem is also supporting Vanessa Nordyke’s run for Salem Mayor and the re-election of councilors Linda Nishioka (Ward 2), Mai Vang (Ward 6) and Micki Varney (Ward 8).

    “I hope to continue Tina’s strong leadership and winning record,” said Hoy. “She proved time and again that organized people can beat organized money and that will continue to be our mantra.”

    Progressive Salem members are already out knocking on doors for all five of their candidates even though the filing deadline is weeks away. “We think 2026 is our year,” says Hoy. “But we have to work hard to make it happen, and we will.”

  • Fascism and the US: A discussion with Professor Bill Smaldone

    Bill Smaldone, Professor of European History at Willamette University led a timely discussion January 31 on fascism’s defining features, how they appear in past and present, and what ordinary people can do when democratic norms come under strain.

    A video of the presentation and discussion is available here.

  • Progressive Salem Supports Mai Vang’s Re-election in Ward 6

    By Kathleen Trepa

    Elect Mai Vang in Ward 6

    Mai Vang was elected to Ward 6 in the May 2025 special election and is running for re-election for a full term.

    A Willamette University Law School graduate and daughter of Vietnam War refugees, Mai brings a strong sense of family, cultural diversity, the value of community and the belief in the American dream to Ward 6 and the City Council. Mai has already shown she leads with her heart and values. 

    Mai’s primary goals are to focus on transportation improvements, including traffic calming, pedestrian safety, and access to bus routes and bike lanes. She is committed to improving 911 response times in Ward 6. She supports the construction of the previously approved local Fire Station and funding the necessary police and fire resources to effectively serve Ward 6. She also champions the Community Violence Reduction Initiative. 

    Housing affordability is a critical issue in East Salem, which is home to many minority and lower income neighborhoods. Mai’s dedication to supporting renter protections and rights is driven by her personal experience as a renter; she will propose a city task force of property owners and renters to explore options to protect affordable rental housing.

    Helping people keep their homes is a more cost-effective and humane strategy than only funding intervention efforts once people become unhoused. As a result, she supports the re-establishment of the City’s Social Services Advisory Board with an annual $400,000 budget. Fifteen percent of Salem’s population lives below the Marion County poverty line, and the bi-annual Point In Time homeless count shows that the majority of Salem’s unhoused are from Salem. Mai believes the City should and can do more to help keep her neighbors housed. 

    Join Progressive Salem in supporting Mai’s re-election campaign. To learn more, please visit electmaivang.com.

  • Join Progressive Salem for First Tuesday, February 3

    Taproot Lounge and Café

    356 State Street, Salem

    4:30 to 6:30

    David Inbody, candidate for Salem City Council, Ward 4

    David Inbody, will be our special guest.  David is running for election to represent Ward 4 in May.  Ward 4 includes most of Salem south of Kuebler.  This seat is currently held by Deanna Gwyn, a Republican and real estate agent, with a narrow perspective. 

    Meet David, learn about his background and what he can bring to Salem, and how you might help with his campaign.

  • Progressive Salem membership meeting rescheduled; now Jan. 21

    The Salem City Council has scheduled a meeting for special meeting for this Wednesday, January 7.  The meeting will be during the time we had originally scheduled for the Progressive Salem membership meeting.  Several of our candidates are current members of the city council.  In order to include them in our meeting, we are rescheduling.  The new meeting date is Wednesday, January 21.  We will met at 7 pm at the Democrats office in downtown Salem.

    New, rescheduled meeting date: 

    Wednesday, January 21 at7 pm

    Democrats’ office,

    245 High Street NE

    (directly across the Street from the bus station)

  • Happy Thanksgiving and Hmong New Year!

    Hello Salem!

    With Thanksgiving around the corner, I wish you and your family the very best.  A great time to spend with family, appreciate and count our blessings, and acknowledge the colonial history that is deeply tied to our Indigenous people.

    This time of the year is also Hmong New Year!  Hmong New Year is not a specific day but rather a time period that follows the lunar calendar.  Hmong New Year is celebrated between mid-October to the end of December.  Each Hmong community celebrates it differently but all have some sort of community event.

    Hmong New Year is to celebrate this year’s harvest, give thanks and appreciation to our ancestors who continue to look after us, and also to welcome good fortune into the new year.  It was an honor to be invited as a speaker for Oregon Hmong New Year this year.

    Nyob zoo xyoo tshiab (Happy Hmong New Year!)!
    Mai