Join Us for an Evening with Vanessa Nordyke—Salem’s Next Mayor!
Salem is growing, and we need a leader who’s ready. Join us for an evening with Vanessa Nordyke—current Ward 7 City Councilor, child advocate, and proven community champion—as she shares her vision for Salem’s future.
Vanessa has the experience to tackle our biggest challenges: affordable housing, public safety, and smart growth that preserves our community’s character. As Executive Director of CASA of Marion County and former Assistant Attorney General, she’s spent her career fighting for those who need it most. From serving on the Citizens Budget Committee to advocating for mental health and veterans’ services, Vanessa has been working for Salem families for decades.
Support the future of Salem in an evening of fun and hope.
This is a family-friendly event. Refreshments provided with cash bar.
Meet up with your Progressive Salem friends at First Tuesday, December 2nd, 4:30-6:30 at the Taproot Lounge and Café, 356 State St., Salem. Join us for a conversation with Mai Vang, Ward 6 Council member, who faces re-election in May.
Learn how you can get involved with her re-election. Hope to see you there!
Linda Nishioka has served Salem’s Ward 2 with dedication and a depth of experience since joining the City Council in August 2022. Her transition from a distinguished healthcare career —including 22 years as Department Director for Willamette Ear, Nose, and Throat and nearly three decades in dentistry — brought valuable leadership and problem-solving skills to our city government.
Throughout her tenure, Linda has championed critical community priorities including livability, housing, public safety, and responsible development, while tackling complex challenges like homelessness. Her prior service as Vice-Chair of Salem’s Downtown Advisory Board demonstrated her commitment to the city’s vitality long before taking elected office. She currently serves as City Council President.
As her current term continues through December 2026, Progressives in Ward 2 are excited to see Councilor Nishioka pursue re-election. Councilor Linda Nishioka has filed for office and returned signatures, the first Progressive Salem candidate to qualify for the May 2026 ballot.
We look forward to supporting Linda as she builds on her record of community service and bringing her practical, solution-oriented approach to the continued challenges facing Salem’s residents.
A presentation by Tina Calos, Kirk Leonard, and Chris Hoy
Saturday, August 2, 10 am at the Marion Democrats HQ
The program will introduce new members and prospective members to Progressive Salem’s mission by describing the recent Mai Vang campaign and how the group succeeded in supporting her election to the Ward 6 City Councilor position. Veteran members will also learn from our recent success.
Our program is for all comers, but we hope new members to Progressive Salem will plan to come to learn more about its vision for our group. And of course, we always welcome others who are prospective members and are interested in learning more about our group and its mission. We hope the program will inspire you to get involved with our upcoming campaigns in a way that suits your interests.
On Saturday, August 2, at 10:00am, Progressive Salem will host a program at the Democratic Headquarters, 245 High St NE. This program is entitled, “How we win an Election,” and will feature Tina Calos and Kirk Leonard. The program is designed to introduce new members and prospective members to Progressive Salem’s mission by describing the recent Mai Vang campaign and how the group succeeded in supporting her election to Ward 6 City Councilor position.
Tina Calos will present some regional demographic and political information to establish the progressive potential of Salem’s registered voters. Kirk Leonard will present the process Progressive Salem followed to elect Mai Vang, from finding her, to developing a campaign team, developing a strategy to win, executing on the plan including creating printed and digital materials and efforts to get out the vote.
Our program is for all comers, but we hope new members to Progressive Salem will plan to come to learn more about its vision for our group. And of course, we always welcome others who are prospective members and are interested in learning more about our group and its mission. Please put this date on your calendar. We hope this wil inspire you to get involved with our upcoming campaigns in a way that suits your interests.
Progressive Salem’s focus in this election was to elect progressive candidate Mai Vang to fill conservative Mayor Julie Hoy’s vacated Ward 6 seat on the City Council. It appears that we were successful at doing so. Unofficial results show Vang with 45% of the vote, main competitor Deanna Garcia with 38%, and distant third Logan Lor with 17%. Since this is a special election, there will be no run-off in November, meaning that Vang will become Salem’s Ward 6 councilor.
This is an important win for Progressive Salem as we solidify a 6-3 progressive majority on the Council.
Progressive Salem assisted Vang in a variety of ways: sending out three targeted mailings in Ward 6, helping her with canvassing and phoning, offering campaign advice and providing input into her Voters’ Pamphlet statement. Both of her campaign managers are Progressive Salem members.
Progressive Salem was happy to celebrate Mai’s winning campaign by co-hosting a watch party with the Marion County Democrats at their downtown headquarters on election night. We welcomed Mai’s parents and sister, all the way from their home in Missoula, Montana. What a proud moment for them!
Other Races We Care About:
Almost all the other ballot races went Progressive Salem’s way:
The Salem Livability Levy passed 56% to 44%.
The Chemeketa Community College bond measure passed 52% to 48%.
Three of the four progressives running for Salem-Keizer School Board won their races: Lisa Harnish, Mel Fuller and Karina Guzman Ortiz.
What’s Next for Progressive Salem?
Progressive Salem will now turn its attention to a number of concerns that were temporarily shelved during the campaign. These include:
Expanding our membership
Improving our membership’s facility with social media
Fleshing out our finance/funding committee
Developing a stronger community within Progressive Salem
Offering political education presentations
Other efforts aimed at making our organization stronger and more able to meet future challenges.
The members of the Board and of Progressive Salem’s four committees look forward to working with you to promote a progressive agenda in Salem as we prepare for next year’s election challenges.
Your voice matters! Join our GOTV blitz before polls close Tuesday at 8 PM!
Hit the streets with our energetic team and connect with neighbors face-to-face! We’ve got routes of all sizes ready for you to make a real difference in this crucial election.
Rather stay cozy? No problem! Grab your phone and join our virtual phone bank from your living room! We’ll be calling Ward 6 neighbors together – quick training sessions Sunday and Monday night will get you ready to roll.
Time is running out! Get all the details and sign up here:
Mai Vang’s race for City Council is a perfect example of the struggle between someone who genuinely wants to serve her community and someone who is financed by Big Money – similar to the struggle we’re watching play out at the national level.
There are a lot of folks on Progressive Salem’s mailing list who donated at one time but have not renewed their memberships for this year. If this is you, please consider doing so now. Go to the DONATE page on our website and renew your $25 annual membership.
And if you already have renewed your Progressive Salem membership, please consider getting involved and/or making an additional donation. Think of it as an act of resistance!
Time is running out! Get all the details and sign up 
