SALEM — Salem’s first mayoral debate of the 2026 election, Hosted by the Salem Area Chamber of Commerce, opened with a rare point of agreement that drew applause from a room of employers: both candidates said they oppose the proposed Cherriots employer payroll tax and said they are not planning to pursue higher taxes or fees on Salem businesses in the next 18 months.
Incumbent Mayor Julie Hoy and City Councilor Vanessa Nordyke met Monday at the Salem Area Chamber of Commerce’s Forum Speaker Series luncheon at the Salem Convention Center. Chamber CEO Tom Hoffert moderated, laying out ground rules on decorum and warning that disruptions would lead to removal.
The candidates’ dual rejection of new business-related taxes quickly became the day’s clearest throughline, even as the debate moved into the issues that have dominated city politics and downtown commerce: homelessness, public safety, housing development and trust in government.
A unified answer on Cherriots
The chamber’s most pointed business question focused on a proposed 0.7% employer-paid payroll tax that the Salem Area Mass Transit District has said would begin in January 2027.
“No, absolutely not,” Hoy said, adding, “Now is not the time.” She argued Salem should prioritize public safety and basic services over new revenue measures tied to transit expansion. “Maybe someday we can afford the Taj Mahal of transit systems — but now is not the time,” she said.
Nordyke also answered “no,” saying she opposed advancing a payroll tax without a vote of the people and reiterated her earlier opposition to Salem’s previous payroll tax attempt. She connected the question to cost pressures already facing residents and businesses, calling Salem’s affordability situation an urgent backdrop for any tax discussion.
Late in the forum, Hoffert asked directly whether either candidate planned to advocate or propose increasing taxes or fees on the private sector or Salem businesses in the next 18 months. Both responded with a single word: “No.” The room applauded again.
Business climate: specifics vs. continuity
On what Salem should do to keep businesses, attract investment and encourage new ventures, Nordyke leaned into a “reduce friction” agenda: streamline permitting, signage and licensing; run a buy-local campaign; recruit companies relocating from Portland; and end downtown parking assessments.
She argued that, with the city now collecting revenue from paid parking, the downtown assessment amounts to an unnecessary burden on businesses.
Hoy emphasized continuity and relationships, pointing to coordination with economic development partners and the chamber. She pushed back on the idea that ending the downtown parking assessment was owned by any one elected official, saying the council expected the assessment to be phased out as paid parking revenue matured.
Hoffert added that the chamber had urged the city in October to forgo the assessment and said he planned to raise the issue again at the city council meeting later that day.
Public safety and homelessness as an economic issue
The first policy question of the debate — homelessness, drug use and mental illness — set the tone for how each candidate linked public conditions to Salem’s business environment.
Nordyke said enforcement must be paired with shelter capacity and services, warning that “telling people where they can’t camp doesn’t do much good if there aren’t any places for people to go.” She said she supported Salem’s camping ban and pointed to work to expand the city’s sanitation and homeless services teams, along with a crisis response unit of medical and mental health professionals supported by Salem’s police and fire chiefs.
Hoy responded with a personal story from downtown on Christmas Eve, describing a bank employee cleaning human waste from a doorway and nearby trash in an apartment entryway. “It’s unacceptable,” she said, framing the issue as a test of accountability and order in public spaces while also calling for help for people dealing with addiction and mental illness.
On Wallace Marine Park, Hoy described the park as a “passion” issue and praised business-backed funding for additional homeless services officers and the sanitation team. She argued environmental damage and public safety concerns demand stronger action alongside services and accountability.
Nordyke said the city’s response requires far more than a small expansion in staffing and warned that enforcement without alternatives risks displacement into nearby neighborhoods and business corridors.
The “sign code” moment
Both candidates, in different ways, returned repeatedly to the practical details that often surface in small business complaints: signage, permitting and surprises late in the development process.
Nordyke said she has heard concerns from business owners about complicated sign regulations and argued city staff should work with businesses earlier, translate requirements into plain language and reduce the risk of costly mistakes.
Hoy sharpened the point with an example from recent development, questioning why a restaurant would open without prominent exterior signage and criticizing the city’s approach to categorizing certain displays. “That, to me, is ridiculous,” she said.
The exchange reflected a broader debate theme: whether Salem’s regulatory environment is merely cumbersome — and fixable through better communication and streamlining — or whether it has become a deeper cultural problem inside city processes.
Ethics and trust: the sharpest clash
The most direct confrontation came when Nordyke questioned Hoy about recusal standards in land-use votes involving campaign donors.
Hoy said she would not recuse herself if she had no financial benefit at stake. “If I am not going to benefit financially, there is no reason not to participate in that vote,” she said.
Nordyke argued that the appearance of conflict can matter for public trust and that a stricter standard can protect the city’s credibility — a point that can carry weight for employers and developers watching how Salem does business.
A business-focused takeaway
For the business community, the forum’s most concrete result was the easiest one to quote: both candidates promised no new business taxes or fees in the near term and rejected the Cherriots payroll tax proposal.
Beyond taxes, the candidates offered different routes to a healthier business climate: Nordyke’s list of procedural and cost-focused changes, and Hoy’s argument that stabilization, public safety and continuity are prerequisites to growth.
