Ward 6 candidates emphasize housing, transportation and protections for vulnerable residents

Two candidates for Ward 6 on the Salem City Council outlined priorities including housing affordability, transportation improvements and protections for vulnerable residents during a televised candidate forum. Caitlin Jalapa and Marlee Warner each described their backgrounds, community work and specific areas they said they would push if elected.

The race matters to North Salem voters because both candidates highlighted neighborhood-level issues — housing, traffic safety and climate-related flooding — that they said affect daily life and require local action ahead of the preliminary election on Sept. 16 and the general election on Nov. 4. "If you live in North Salem and you vote at Bates Elementary School, you can vote for me," Jalapa said during her remarks.

Caitlin Jalapa, a candidate for Ward 6, framed her campaign around affordability and safety. Jalapa said she grew up in the North Shore and earned two degrees from Lafayette College, including a Bachelor of Mechanical Engineering and a Bachelor of Arts in Art History. She described work on local civic groups and said she is active in transportation planning: "I attend the transportation commission meetings. I attend the bike committee meetings, and I'm actually working on a bike parking ordinance with a few members of our community right now," she said. Jalapa also cited food-security work at Mack Park Farm and volunteer work supporting youth at Naglee. On protections for vulnerable residents she said, "I also wrote, the final draft of the trans the resolution to protect the transgender and non binary community, which was passed by our city councilor unanimously earlier this year."

Marlee Warner, also running for Ward 6, emphasized long-term community involvement and public-health experience. Warner said she has lived in Salem since 2002, described years of neighborhood volunteer work and said she has served as the CEO of a statewide nonprofit public health agency. Warner listed local priorities she said constituents have raised while canvassing: traffic safety at several intersections in Ward 6, expanded use of speed bumps on side streets, rerouting 18-wheelers away from neighborhoods, concerns about soil contamination at abandoned sites and cemeteries, and clearer guidance on navigating the North Street bike lanes. "People have also asked about soil contamination from abandoned buildings and cemeteries and the need for cleanups to happen in yards and parks," she said.

Both candidates stressed resident engagement in development and street redesign decisions. Jalapa argued the city should avoid "paralysis by analysis" and treat urgent issues — including the housing and climate crises — with more urgency. Warner highlighted neighborhood-level fixes and community programs, saying she has worked with the Salem Ota Cultural Exchange Program and local school- and family-focused organizations.

The forum provided only candidate statements and personal plans; no council action or formal resolutions were taken at the session itself. Voters in Ward 6 will decide nominees in the Sept. 16 preliminary election and, if necessary, choose among finalists on Nov. 4. Jalapa closed by urging turnout: "September 16 is our preliminary election, and November 4, hopefully, you can vote for me again in our general election." Warner concluded her remarks with a similar reminder and a request for votes for the Sept. 16 primary.

Details from the forum: Jalapa said she earned her Eagle Scout rank in 2012 and volunteers most Saturdays at Mack Park Farm markets; Warner described moving from downtown rentals to homeownership in North Salem and detailed neighborhood concerns she has heard in door-to-door outreach. Both candidates cited transportation and traffic-safety improvements and said they would press for more resident involvement in development decisions if elected.