Mayor Dominic Pangalo delivered the State of the City address to the Salem City Council on Jan. 6, 2025, outlining a policy agenda that focuses on affordable housing, schools, transportation and climate resilience.

Pangalo said the city broke ground on projects that will create 185 new affordable housing units in 2024 but that the need remains large: "one recent study found that Salem needs 2,200 new housing units over the coming decade to stabilize rents and prices," he said. The mayor described planned actions for 2025 including zoning changes to reduce parking requirements, new rules to slow condo conversions, financing mechanisms to bolster the city’s affordable housing trust, use of publicly owned vacant land for housing, and streamlining internal review processes for housing projects.

The mayor illustrated demand with a case study of a longtime resident, whom he identified pseudonymously as "Sandra," who found housing outside Salem after a rent increase priced her out; the mayor said Laurie Stewart, the city's housing stability coordinator, and staff assisted residents in 2024, helping over 700 residents in crisis and providing a free housing stability service used by more than 100 people.

On education, Pangalo pointed to measurable gains in Salem Public Schools: he said Salem now ranks first among the Commonwealth’s 26 gateway cities for the number of accountability targets met, that Salem High School and Bates Elementary achieved double-digit gains, and that two local schools were named among 57 state-recognized "schools of recognition." The mayor announced plans to relaunch the Salem Youth Commission, strengthen the children's cabinet and continue the Salem High School building project using state funding.

On transportation and infrastructure, Pangalo listed priorities including sustaining the Salem Skipper shuttle, advancing the South Salem train station project, safer roadways under Vision Zero goals, sidewalk repair and tree plantings; he said the city planted nearly 300 street trees and launched a sidewalk repair initiative in 2024. On climate, he said the city will pursue the state's "climate leader" designation, advance an offshore wind port project and reduce municipal emissions.

The mayor highlighted several programs and fiscal items: Salem Power Choice, the city's shared electricity program, has saved ratepayers nearly $22 million since inception; the city provided ARPA-funded heating assistance to nearly 800 families last year; the mayor cited a 1.8% increase in the median single-family tax bill for 2024, calling it the lowest on the North Shore and noting the city's historic bond rating and reserve growth.

Pangalo opened the event by announcing Salem’s first poet laureate, JD Scrimgeour, who later read a poem titled "16/25." The mayor closed by framing 2025 as a year to write a new chapter for Salem while addressing housing, schools, climate and transportation.