Salem Reporter editor wants ideas about how to end divisiveness. Here's mine.

I give Les Zaitz, the editor of Salem's online-only news outlet, the Salem Reporter, a lot of credit for raising good questions in a commentary today, "Salem has to find a way to restore civility, to turn aside the meanness."

After talking about some of the issues that foment divisiveness in our city -- Black Lives Matter protests, student activism with the Salem-Keizer school board, COVID pandemic -- Zaitz asks for ideas.

Nothing in my decades of journalism has prepared me to manage so many crosscurrents at once. I feel like I’m in a row boat trying to cross the Columbia River bar in a raging gale.

With your help and together, we’ll find a way to safe harbor. We have to.

Unless we find a way to do so, Salem is in for even rougher times. Together, let’s find a way to arrest the meanness and anger. Let’s find a way to work together to repair our community – its government, its schools, its businesses and the health of its people.

Share with me your worries about where Salem is headed. Share with me who should be leading right now. Share with me what information Salem Reporter can provide to help you be of service to our community.

None of us can give up. None of us can retreat. None of us can afford to stay sidelined.

Salem, let’s stop the behavior tearing us apart and work, instead, to find shared values and solutions. At Salem Reporter, we’re ready to be your partner.

Les Zaitz is editor of Salem Reporter and can be reached by email at [email protected].

Here's my initial response to the three share with me requests Zaitz lays out. I'll email them to him, as requested. I invite you to share your own ideas with Zaitz.

My worries about where Salem is headed. First, my optimism: if Donald Trump is prevented from inflicting a second term on the country, and Joe Biden becomes president, this will help a lot to tamp down the anger, helplessness, and sadness so many people feel today. 

A basic problem, both here in Salem and nationally, is that the Republican party has tilted rightward much more than the Democratic party has moved leftward. So I reject any notion, which seemed to be somewhat implied in Zaitz's piece, that both sides of the political spectrum have to meet in the middle in a kumbaya moment. 

The stark reality is that most Americans favor core progressive/liberal policies. Locally, there's no doubt that Salem is a liberal town. Results of the past two presidential elections demonstrate this, as does the fact that six of the eight city councilors are progressives. 

But Mayor Bennett leans conservative, and City of Salem leadership definitely can't be accused of being raging liberals. Conservatives also dominate the Salem-Keizer school board after Oregon Right to Life and other conservative groups pumped loads of money into the last low-turnout election for school board members.

Two Latinx candidates ran for school board seats, but well-funded right-wingers beat them. Those candidates would say, "The school board has nobody who looks like me." It still doesn't. This goes a long way toward explaining the frustration of Latinx student activists with the current board.

So there's a disconnect between the progressive attitudes of most people in Salem, and the conservatives who still exercise a degree of power in this town out of proportion to how their ideas and policies are embraced by citizens.

Until power is returned to the people rather than special interests (placing limits on contributions to campaigns for local office would help a lot), anger among those who are on the outside of the halls of power looking in will continue.

Who should be leading right now. Ideally, a Mayor who isn't Chuck Bennett. As noted above, Bennett is more conservative than the city he is mayor of.

Plus, Bennett lacks the passion and charisma needed for effective leadership. Much like City Manager Steve Powers, Bennett is adept at maintaining a low-key don't-rock-the-boat persona that is better suited to calm times rather than the turbulent one we are in now. Hopefully a better mayor than Bennett will be elected in 2022. 

Until then, the progressive city councilors will do their best to fill Salem's leadership void.

A big problem, though, is that the City of Salem has a strong city manager/weak city council model. So City Manager Powers could be a strong leader, but that isn't either his personality or management style. The progressive city councilors, being elected officials, are better suited for leadership, but they lack the "army" to back them up.

They aren't paid. They have no staff. They have no real media presence other than Facebook. Thus those who should be leading Salem toward a desirable future aren't, and those who want to lead can't. 

How Salem Reporter can be of service to our community. First, and most obvious, keep on doing what you're doing. Salem Reporter is doing a great job at covering stories that the Statesman Journal isn't, or is doing a poor job with.

Beyond that status quo, here's a few ideas.

If possible, do more in-depth investigative reporting on local issues, especially concerning city government. For example, I've tried to cast a light on some disturbing goings-on with Urban Renewal funds. Too often Urban Renewal has become a sort of slush fund that benefits the already rich and powerful, not the general interest.

I believe Portland has an independent Urban Renewal agency that is insulated from local politics. Digging deep into how Urban Renewal money is used in Salem could help inform how wisely and appropriately these funds are being spent.

I'd like to see more vibrant and inclusive opinion writing in Salem. Most of what is on the Statesman Journal opinion page these days is boring and safe, not provocative and edgy. Salem Reporter has no opinion section at all, aside from occasional commentaries like the one Zaitz has written.

A while back a fellow activist and I spent some time planning an online opinion forum we were calling Salem Soapbox. It never got off the ground, but the idea is still worth a test flight: offer a place where anyone can submit opinion pieces about issues they're passionate about.

Sure, there would need to be a selection process and some editing. Not every opinion would warrant being spoken from the Salem Soapbox. We simply felt that there should be a way for the voiceless in Salem to have a voice, for issues to be debated, for comments to be submitted.

Regarding comments, Salem Reporter doesn't allow them on stories. There's pros and cons regarding this. Having been a blogger for seventeen years, with tens of thousands of comments on my posts, I fully realize how difficult it is to tread the line between free speech and inappropriate speech. Still, it is something for Salem Reporter to consider.

Lastly, I'll pitch an idea of mine that, like so many of my great ideas, has gotten nowhere in the Great Wide Skeptical World: have an annual roast of sorts where people on opposite sides of a political, religious, or whatever spectrum come together to have fun, drink, raise money for a good cause, and bridge divides.

I've described this idea in a couple of 2017 blog posts:

Salem should have an annual political roast: "A Mingling of the Tribes"
"Mingling of the Tribes" effort could help to heal divisiveness in Salem

Comments

[Bonnie]

I sent a long reply to Salem Reporter today. Hopefully, some of my suggestions will be considered.

[Denise]

I disagree with the opinion of the responder! How do you have a conversation with someone who.starts out stating that the right is completely wrong?? Most people don't lean left. That was shown in the 2016 election and will be shown in 2020. If you live in Oregon even it doesn't lean left! Only Portland and Eugene were blue in the last election!! And people are sick and tired of those 2 cities running this state!! It is sad that each side holds that they are right!! They aren't. But unless something gives it will continue to hurt our country and our state

[Skyline]

"The stark reality is that most Americans favor core progressive/liberal policies. Locally, there's no doubt that Salem is a liberal town."
Another stark reality is that ultra lefties believe that if they repeat something enough times it becomes reality.
Remember; YOU MUST continue to repeat, "Two plus two equals five" for at least 30 minutes daily.
By all means; keep the faith....
HUGS & KISSES!!!
xoxoxoxoxo

[Christine A Chute]

Actually, Clinton carried 8 counties in Oregon and Salem, but not Marion County. (Multnomah and Lane, yes, but also Lincoln, Benton, Clackamas, Clatsop, Washington, and Hood River). Percentage of the vote wasn't even close: 51.7% to 41.1%. People vote; counties and land mass do not.

I hope we Ds and Rs agree on more than we disagree on. Maybe it would be good to start from there. I guess I'd say that, in Oregon, we hold these truths to be self-evident: that all people are created equal and endowed with certain unalienable rights. Among these are life, liberty and the pursuit of happiness. I think we disagree about what some of these terms mean, but can't we come together around the general principle and hash out the details as we go along? Once we get past the basic ideas, it is not helpful to say that one opinion is right and every other opinion is evil or stupid or disingenuous.

[Skyline]

Liberalism is a luxury.
It, like most of it's hot button issues are a matter of choice.
Have you heard or seen ANY liberal issues in the news since the pandemic?
No.
When shit hits the fan, people get conservative REAL FAST.
It's called reality setting in.
And this little episode is NOTHING!
When the Cascadia Subduction Zone Earthquake rips, you won't find a "Liberal" or any one calling themselves that on the west coast.
The luxury era will be over.
What will be on peoples minds?
Food. Water. Shelter. Heat. Sanitation.......
And no toilet paper or electricity blogging for at least a year.
Who will have time for cockamamie liberal nonsense?
Not liberals, that's for sure. They are the ones that are LEAST prepared.

[Mars Parsons]

'Liberal' is a misused term in my opinion. A liberal is tolerant of ideas that differ from their own even if they feel differently. A liberal is magnanimous. In today's radical Leftist environment any dissent to their woke mob mentality is cancelled as racist, white supremacist , oppressive, insensitive and evil.. the stuff of the White Devil. Today's "liberal" is extremist and fascistic.

It is the conservative speaking about traditional values, freedom and hard work who is shouted down and not allowed a voice on college campuses. It is they who are driven away.

Many people are quietly boiling about the utter BS of the current political climate promulgated and foisted upon gullible and conditioned minds by the utterly corrupt lying media and their cohorts, the mis-educational system.

The backlash will be felt in November. We will see how many people want to live under the totalitarian dictates of the radical intolerant and irrational, hypocritical, illogical political Left who have commandeered the formerly sane Democratic Party.

[Skyline]

Totally agree, Mars Parsons.
For a thoughtful and comprehensive analysis, listen to this:
https://www.foxnews.com/politics/trump-in-fiery-mount-rushmore-address-decries-rise-of-far-left-fascism-calls-on-americans-to-rise-up

[Jim Scheppke]

The situation in Salem today is this. The Republican's are a shrinking minority. As of the May 19th election only 24% of registered voters in Salem were Republicans and that percentage is dropping every day.

Democrats now have a double digit advantage in half of the eight City Council wards in Salem and a near double digit advantage in two more. Republicans do not have a registration advantage over Democrats in any ward, though Ward 4 (far south Salem) and Ward 8 (West Salem hills) are pretty close. But this is a big change from the past.

Democrats even hold a small registration advantage in Marion County now. It's only going to get worse for Republicans as the Latinx community is the fastest growing population in Salem and Marion County and when they vote (not often enough at the moment) they vote Democrat.

So a lot of the turmoil that Zaitz talks about stems from Republicans trying desperately to hold on to the power that they have enjoyed in the past. For 14 years Republican City Councilors were in charge of the Salem City Council under two Republican mayors. That only changed in 2017 with the election of Councilor Hoy.

Next year the City Council will have only one Republican (Councilor Lewis). Quite a change! Republican candidates for City Council made a last ditch effort in May to stem the tide by spending an unprecedented amount of money on their candidates and failed miserably. They didn't even come close to defeating the Democrats.

The School Board is another story. There the Republicans are still in charge, but I think that is likely to start to change next year. So I agree with you Brian that there is no need to come together and sing Kumbaya! The Democratic Party's ascendance and dominance will continue in Salem and even in Marion County, and the voters will have spoken. It's called democracy.

[Kurt]

Trump is the most successful anarchist in modern times. Anarchists take down governments when their supporters can no longer tolerate the governments that they live under. Once successful, they are rarely good at actually running the governments that they replace. The left wing Sandanistas in Nicaragua were guerilla warriors that were not up to the task of running the government. The American Revolutionaries had very little influence on the Continental Congress. The skills of revolutionaries are not particularly useful for bureaucracies or for acquiring and maintaining broad support. When Trump got into the White House, he appropriately looked around and asked himself: What am I doing here? His current loss of support seems irreversible, but we will have to wait and see what happens.

Happy Fourth. Regardless of what is coming up, our formerly democratic country lasted for an historically lengthy time and future governments can learn from our experiences.

The County and the School Board are Republican strongholds. It is somewhat ironic that the Republicans that promote real estate sales, business expansion, and religious based policies (Marion County just eliminated family planning and birth control services and the School Board is now led by anti-choice proponents) seems to have attracted a demographic (primarily from our southern neighbors) that continues to reject their policies. Hoisted on their own petard, so to speak.

[Lora Meisner]

Unfortunately, the Republican Party decided a long time ago under Nixon, then Reagan etc. to be racist and divisive. Now that they sold their souls to Trump the most racist and divisive person to inhabit the White House, not much is likely to change (hopefully next year with a new President and Senate). They have decided being in power is more important than our country and its Constitution. I think many/most people have finally had it.......you can't keep large percentages of the population down and deprieved and think that our country can continue to operate as a democracy when you disenfranchise millions of people. I think Senator Merkley said it best, "It [our country] mimics what happens with authoritarian regimes around the world............our only real power to remedy this tremendous corruption of the American promise of equal justice........is an election." He is right, this is the time for Americans to choose Democracy--yes, it's messy--but it beats where Trump wants to take us--like his mentor Putin--to an authoritarian regime.