How to Shed a City Manager*

 *for the low, low price of $256,000.

The shambolic firing of Salem City Manager Keith Stahley by Mayor Julie Hoy. 

To her backers, Julie Hoy's name and civic ignorance made her the ideal candidate to replace Ward 6 City Councilor Chris Hoy after he elected Mayor.  She was elected by a narrow margin in 2022.  As a Councilor, her stubborn and vocal disbelief in the City's General Fund deficit and refusal to support any revenue measures were instrumental in forcing the City to make painful cuts to services, and made her an attractive candidate to beat Chris Hoy in the 2024 Mayoral race.

Hoy's particular antipathy for Stahley can be traced to April 2024, just after she beat Chris Hoy in the race for Mayor, when Stahley failed to respond in the proper spirit to her efforts to promote a Salem tire shop for a city contract.  See McDonald, A. "Julie Hoy's efforts to promote tire business prompted city ethics warning." (11 April 2024, Salem Reporter.)  That episode no doubt informed the subsequent decision to audit of the City Manager's office, which resulted in an unfavorable audit report.  See Alexander, R and Siess, J. "Report faults Salem city manager's leadership, urges changes." (19 December 2024, Salem Reporter.)  In the weeks that followed the report, Hoy engaged in questionable communications about Stahley's leadership with Councilors Gwyn, Matthews, Nishioka and Varney (a majority of council).  These communications are now before the Oregon Ethics Commission, which has yet to make a probable cause determination.  As a result of said communications, Nishioka, who happens to be Council President, paid Stahley a visit to let him know that the Mayor had told her she had a majority of Council ready to ask for his resignation.  Stahley submitted his letter of resignation a couple of days later.  

News of the resignation broke the next day during the lunch hour.  See Siess, J. "Stahley out as Salem city manager." (10 February 2025, Salem Reporter.)  That evening, in executive session, the City Council voted to accept Stahley's resignation.  On the third day, the issue rose again.  See Siess, J. "Mayor Julie Hoy set in motion events that led to Keith Stahley's abrupt resignation." (13 February 2025, Salem Reporter.)  Our first post on this story, soon to be deleted, followed "Councilor Micki Varney breaks the silence about city manager's resignation", and the February 15 press release from the City Attorney's office:

 City Attorney's Office Statement

Questions have been raised concerning potential public meeting violations relating to the events leading up to the resignation of former Salem City Manager Keith Stahley. Those concerns are based on an inaccurate understanding of those events.  As City Attorney I was asked for guidance from members of Council concerning this matter. Based on my knowledge of this matter and 18 years advising the City concerning Oregon public records law, I am confident that no public meetings laws were violated and all members of City Council acted consistent with advice from the City Attorney concerning Oregon public meeting laws:

• Mayor Julie Hoy had individual communications with different members of City Council concerning Keith Stahley's performance and potential separation from the City.
• Prior to those communications, Mayor Julie Hoy consulted with me, as City Attorney. I advised the Mayor that one-on-one conversations with other members of Council did not violate public meeting law or constitute "serial meetings." It is my understanding that the Mayor did not attempt to coordinate a collective decision among members of council through her individual discussions with councilors.
• As part of her effort to communicate with members of City Council concerning this issue, Mayor Julie Hoy spoke on the phone with Councilor Nishioka.
• After meeting with Mayor Julie Hoy, Councilor Nishioka decided to discuss this subject with Keith Stahley.
• At that meeting, Councilor Nishioka asked Keith Stahley if he would consider resigning.
• Councilor Nishioka never said that she was City Council's "duly authorized representative" or implied she was speaking on behalf of City Council.
• Keith Stahley emailed his resignation letter to the City Attorney on Sunday evening, February 9, 2025. By Monday morning the 10th, he had removed his personal effects from his office, including removing his nameplate from the door and left his City-issued mobile phone and key on his desk. He informed staff he would not be in the office on Monday.
• Keith Stahley was only eligible for severance benefits if the Council asked him to resign or terminated him.
• Stahley's resignation letter stated that Nishioka said she was "the duly authorized representative of City Council" acting on Council's behalf. That language is straight from Stahley's employment agreement concerning severance benefits. Stahley used that exact language apparently because it was consistent with the language in his employment agreement concerning his eligibility for severance, not because Nishioka ever uttered those words.
• Prior to the City Council meeting on Monday, February 10, 2025, Council conducted an executive session to consider Keith Stahley's resignation. The discussion that occurred at that executive session is confidential and may not be disclosed, even by members of Council. That executive session was the first instance where Council collectively discussed Mr. Stahley's resignation.
• At the City Council meeting, Council accepted Stahley's resignation and deemed his resignation to be at the request of Council. City Council took that action, in that manner, to allow Stahley to receive severance benefits, in recognition of his service to the City and the circumstances of his resignation.

Our comment was not posted here, but directly to the CANDO Archive FB page, which has since been repossessed by the neighborhood association.  (See here.)

Go Joe Siess and Salem Reporter--we sure aren't going to get the whole truth on Mayor Julie Hoy's shambolic firing of the City Manager without their continued pressure. It is now clear that Hoy either violated Oregon Public Meeting Law in determining that a majority of Council secretly agreed he should be axed (the latest statement from City Attorney Dan Atchison* notwithstanding), or she lied to or misled Councilor Nishioka to that effect. Councilor "who will rid me of this terrible priest" Nishioka should have put the public interest over her own long before now and said what she knows. Councilor Nishioka, we are WAITING. 

 

*Atchison wants us to believe Stahley lied in his resignation letter, that Nishioka did NOT represent to him that a majority of Council wanted him out, and by implication that resigning was his own idea (voluntary), which would mean he was NOT entitled to a quarter million severance under the Contract! So, Mr. City Attorney, are you saying, in effect, that Council GAVE AWAY a quarter million tax payer General Fund dollars to a former employee who was FRAUDED into resigning because they felt--what, generous? guilty? And without ANY PUBLIC INPUT in the middle of a General Fund BUDGET CRISIS?

These people. Anyway, thanks Joe and Salem Reporter. [15 February 2025]

Our next post on FB: 

We had all better hope and pray we don't have a situation that calls for City Leadership any time soon--because we obviously ain't got any right now. (Sorry, Dan) You fired the paid guy, Mayor and City Council, it's past time to step into the void you created and face your constituents! We need answers! And if we lose the Salem Public Library (Salem, OR) or Center 50+ or Parks because of a failure of confidence in your obviously amateurish judgment, you have only yourselves to blame! [16 February 2026]

Then, along with Nishioka's "press release" on February 16, in which she denied telling Stahley she represented the City Council, we posted to FB:

Among the many observations to be made about this self-contradictory statement [of Nishioka's] is that if I, the President of the City Council, go to speak to the City Manager and "communicate" that "Mayor Julie Hoy told me that a majority of councilors believed [he] should consider resigning", I can't credibly claim I did not "tell [City Manager] I represented the City Council", now can I?

The next day, Salem Reporter published, "City reverses course, saying councilor never asked city manager to resign" and we posted:

What's on our mind? Direction via indirection. How powerful people let it be known what the answer wants to be. So the City is crawling all over itself to craft a version of events that explains how the City Manager Keith Stahley voluntarily resigned in the utterly mistaken belief he had been told to do so, after the Council President came to him and told him that "Mayor Julie Hoy had told me that a majority of councilors believed he should consider resigning" (President's very own words, not City Attorney's crafty interpretation). This, friends, is called direction via indirection. The classic example is Henry II, who let it be known he was unhappy with a certain "turbulent" or "meddlesome" priest. In that case also, no one could agree just what was said. A contemporary account has it that his minions understood the priest was to be dispatched 12th century style after he said, "What miserable drones and traitors have I nourished and brought up in my household, who let their lord be treated with such shameful contempt by a low-born cleric?" More recent examples of direction via indirection abound, ref. the First Reign of King Donald. We all know this is how people with power operate, what's galling is that City Leadership (Mayor, City Attorney, Council President) try to pretend otherwise. 18 February 2025

After six weeks waiting for the City to respond to public records requests and for Joe Siess to sift through it and gather official comment, as much as is likely ever to be shared with the peasants public was shared.  See Seiss, J. "Records reveal Nishioka wanted to sue Hoy after Stahley resigned." (25 March 2025, Salem Reporter).  The consensus over on Reddit was that Julie Hoy, who has been utterly silent on the matter, should resign. See r/SALEM, City Council Beef.  But that is not something that people like Julie Hoy do, certainly not before it is known whether this affair will be what kills the livability levy in May.  If it does fail, and there are drastic cuts to library, Center 50+ and parks services, she might  take some responsibility, but she probably won't, and she certainly won't resign.   

Whatever Happened to CANDO?

When Michael announced last summer that we were planning to retire from the (let's face it) moribund "development organization" called CANDO, Councilor Nishioka was the only one who seemed surprised.  I mean, anyone paying attention had to have known it was coming, but of course few were.  If you're a neighborhood association, this is what it means to be moribund.  

The City of course knows that monthly in-person and video-conferenced public meetings that are the raison d'etre of neighborhood associations are an inefficient and unnecessary medium for routine communications, but the neighborhood association structure is not there for communication.  It's there for one reason only:  to give a platform to single family homeowners seeking to thwart unwanted development in their neighborhood.  CANDO, consisting as it mostly does of renters, workers, homeless and businesses (including churches, GOs, NGOs and for-profits), mostly lacks this essential constituency.  Moreover, its businesses have their own quango groups, like the Downtown Advisory Board (DAB), Main Street Salem and the Chamber.  You'd better believe that when City Council wants to hear from central area constituents, that's who they listen to.  We know this because we've attended hundreds of City Council and Budget Committee meetings and because we worked for CANDO for 10+ years.  

Leading any group, and by leading is meant scheduling meetings, planning agendas, running meetings, taking and publishing minutes, executing decisions (writing letters), responding to complaints, filing reports, administering funds, applying for grants, all that takes a certain amount time and effort, depending on your standards.  There's often someone willing to take the chair,  but few volunteer to do the scut work.  That's what we did--the scut work.  We started the CANDO Archive not because we wanted more to do, but because we kept getting the same questions, over and over, about CANDO's homeless residents and why wasn't the City "doing anything about it."  People read what we wrote.  Some disapproved, of course, but there was more interest in CANDO's FB page after we started posting pieces from the Archive, and it attracted >800 followers.  By 2015 it was clear to us that "the issue" for central area residents wasn't preventing unwanted development, but homelessness. 

Today, of all our work, the only thing worth saving is the Archive.  We had planned to continue publishing through FB page, which was repurposed to CANDO Archive last fall after no one wanted to take it over, but--things change.  

 

The repurposed CANDO FB page

"CANDO, Salem Oregon is now CANDO Archive. There are no plans to change the content or administration of the page, but the semi-official connection with City-sponsored development organization has ceased. Like other City-sponsored neighborhood groups, CANDO has long been, to quote Mayor Bennett, moribund.  At CANDO’s Annual Meeting on October 15, two board members retired and two were reelected to the Board. No other individuals were nominated. There were no nominations for office at the regular meeting that followed. Given the absence of duly elected officers willing and able to shoulder the responsibility for routine administration, the regular meeting of the Board is suspended until further notice. Contact Irma Coleman, Neighborhood Program Manager at icoleman@cityofsalem.net with questions or to volunteer."  [31 October 2024 FB post]

 

Neighborhood Program Manager (liaison to the City's 17 neighborhood associations who  enforces rules, doles out funds, etc.) Irma Coleman apparently decided to put CANDO on life support.  In January, she held a meeting at the library where a whopping 19 people showed up (really, 19 is a huge meeting for most NAs).  In subsequent meetings, state Rep. Nancy Nathanson (Dist. 13, Eugene)'s legislative assistant Spencer Rosenau was elected to be the new chair (those polisci majors do need to pad their resumes) and longtime CANDO resident, SKSD teacher and former CANDO chair and board member Rebekah Engle came out of retirement to vice the helm and repossess the FB page for CANDO.  From the absence of minutes of those meetings, it would appear that Irma was unable to snag anyone to fill the labor-intensive position of secretary/treasurer, which should come as no surprise.  If CANDO had any quality of life that was worth sustaining, we would wish them luck, but life support in this case is really just a waste of City resources and citizens' time.  We know.  

"I couldn't do it" Lozier tells Alliance leadership

PARODY 

 

Special Meeting of Homeless Alliance Executive Committee December 3, 2024

With less than 30 days in which to find someone to replace outgoing director Elaine Lozier resigned abruptly in early November, effective December 31, the Homeless Alliance called a special, invite-only meeting of its leaders to "strategize" the transition to an interim director. 

~~~~~~~~~~

Jeremy:  Noon o'clock! Well howdy, everybody!  I hope you all had a happy turkey day and long weekend!  Got those leaves raked yet, Dan?  Thinking about Christmas yet Rhonda?  Of course it's not too early!  I love Christmas, why I was just--

Chris: Move approval of the agenda.

Jeremy: --telling my--what? Oh yeah, the agenda.  Let's wait a couple more minutes, just in case we're missing anybody.  I just love seeing everybody...Elaine, do we have quorum?

Elaine:  We have quorum. 

Jeremy: Alright then!  Any objections to the agenda? No? Well give me some of those "ayes"  will you?  

[unintelligible]

Jeremy: As you all know, Elaine is leaving us soon.  Yes, it's very sad.  Still, if we don't find a replacement before she goes, it's gonna be each one of our keesters on the line, and I know none of you wants that, ha ha! 

[unintelligible]

Jeremy:  Take a look at this 'job call' I drafted using Elaine's posting from last year.  Gosh!  Was it just last year?   

[unintelligible]

Jeremy:  What's that?  Oh, well, anyhow, I added a couple things needing someone's immediate attention, like how to do performance evaluation, we need a work group. That's a big one!  Probably shouldn't have promised it for last October, but who's looking, ha ha.  The important thing is, we got rid of the data Nazis!  Who needs 'em?  Do numbers tell us how many people are homeless?  I suppose not!

Rhonda:  I find it hard, not knowing, really, why Elaine is leaving, to judge what we should be asking for, but it looks to me like we're asking an awful lot.  And I'm thinking about what it's going to cost--every transition costs the organization, I'm not convinced an interim is the proper strategy.

Jeremy:  How about we soften the language, so as not to scare people, and kind of let them find out as they go, like Elaine did, heh heh.  Maybe something like, able to conduct genuine conversations with people about difficult topics, hear different opinions, identify common ground and understand varying viewpoints?

Cathy:  I've been here from the beginning and may be considered something of an expert in this area, and I think that really captures what the Alliance is trying to accomplish, because every one of us made a commitment to this work, this very vital work, this life-saving, life-changing work of compassion and caring for our homeless neighbors.  We are the guiding light for our communities and I am never, ever going to give up this work.   

Kathy:  Why are we going the interim route? 

Jeremy:  Good question!  We're doing it just in case.  

Chris: The reason is we have an immediate need.  We can't wait for just the right person. 

Elaine:  You can keep afloat without an ED, you know.  In fact, you've been doing it for some time now! Ha ha, just kidding.  Seriously, though, there are things that are not listed in the position description that we don't have coverage for, things that are not getting completed.  I wouldn't recommend changing the PD, I'm just saying it's not a reflection of the practical reality.  The day-to-day operations is where the difficulty lies.  It's not practical to have one person do both that and the CEOing.  Maybe someone could do it, but I couldn't.  

Leilani:  I thought we talked about an interim as a way to buy time to decide whether and what we wanted in an executive director.  I think it's kind of ridiculous that Elaine can't just say why she quit, but is willing to hint at it.  Obviously, the reasons are not just "personal", but related to the work.

Rhonda:  I'd like to know from Elaine what's not in Jeremy's list, what's not getting done.

Jeremy:  Gosh!  So many good ideas!  Thank you!  Alright, I'll fix this thing up and get it posted tomorrow. We might find just the right person right away, someone with compassion and foresight and all that HUD stuff, or we might not.  Cross your fingers and toes and remember, we are proven leaders on housing and homelessness and we've got to think positive, you never know.  We were so lucky to have found a servant leader in Elaine it just could happen again.  Maybe Santa will bring us a new director, ha ha!   

Elaine:  Okay, you want to know why I quit?  It was too dang much paperwork and not enough CEOing.  Staff reports, grant writing, meeting notices, responding to public records requests and HUD inquiries and complaints about public meeting law violations and not being able to get assessments or help from the Help Line, you name it, I got it.  Yeah, I knew when I took the job that I had no staff, but I had a mentor and I changed everything.  I changed the culture, remember?  I got rid of dissenters--do you have any idea how many useless committee meetings you were paying for?  All those stupid charters, pft!  I re-visioned that ridiculous strategic plan, and when you balked at giving me the staff I deserved, I forced the issue by taking over the operations of the coordinated entry program.  Okay, so that wasn't maybe the best call, maybe I didn't know just how bad a shape our data situation was in, but it's no longer my problem.  It's up to you where you go with this position.  I'm not going to continue to waste my talent for servant leadership on what amounts to menial housekeeping duties that no one appreciates. 

Jeremy:  Danielle?

Danielle:  We, the electeds, made a commitment to this effort.  We can lean into needs like grant-writing.  Marion County has a whole team doing HUD grants.  And remember Jan indicated she was willing to be involved in the transition. She's been handling the state funds, so the gap is HUD.

Cathy:  Jan is amazing. Jan understands our HMIS data and HUD rules inside and out.  I'd like to be on the interview panel.  I was on the interview panel before.  I'm on all the panels.  In fact, I've been here from the beginning and Danielle is right, every one of us made a commitment to this work, this very vital work, this life-saving, life-changing work of compassion and caring for our homeless neighbors.  We are the guiding light for our communities and I am never, ever going to give up this work.   

Jeremy:  Okay, I'll get this puppy posted tomorrow.  Thanks everyone.  Anyone have any updates or kudos?  We've got 15 minutes, c'mon lets hear some happy talk!  It's Christmas! 

Why have homeless camps shifted to Lancaster Drive?

Outreach and Livability Services and friends, City of Salem, Oregon

"Lady wanted to know why homeless camps have shifted to Lancaster Drive. "

"Ever year, same thing.  Week afore Thanksgivin', it's what 'bout dem homeless, why's d'city jes lettin' 'em multiply under bridges.  It's lak nobuddy ever hearda winter er the river raisin. 

"I tole her d'poleece er downtown.  

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ 

Get me the latest data on homeless per capita by ward, please.

Good question, but I'm afraid that calculation is not available at this time.

Well, get me the city-wide numbers, then.  I want the newly homeless year over year, last three years, compared to the total stably housed at least six months, all housing providers, by program, if you please. 

Also a good question, but also not available.

What about that regional group the City's supported the last four years?  The Homeless Alliance.  Doesn't somebody have their numbers?  

Good question.  No.  

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~   

Neighbors are scared, kids walking to school feel unsafe, and businesses are looking to relocate. I feel like Mayor-elect Hoy and I were the only ones raising this issue, but "[t]hey are now aware they have to do more and I'm hoping people will see the difference.  It will not go away completely, but they should see a difference [on Lancaster Drive] going forward."

                                                                                                    Jose Gonzalez, City Councilor, Ward 5

 ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

“While it’s important to understand that the density of homeless persons on the east side of Salem has grown, few people have stopped to ask why.  The only person in the Statesman article that came close to addressing the “why” was the young homeless woman, who noted that “there was nowhere else to go.”  Salem, like every western city, has a deep and complex history of redlining race and poverty away from wealthier white populations with high property values. You need look no further than an overlay of current affordable housing projects in Salem for evidence that the practice continues. Some may argue that it’s best to “build within communities,” but mixed income and diverse communities are a HUD best practice.  It’s also true that the desire to keep the downtown free of the homeless and plans for future development are pushing the homeless population to the east side of town. Future development plans along Front Street in particular hope to drive the homeless out of Wallace Marine and the downtown to the east side of town, where poverty is concentrated compared to the rest of Salem.   There have been hushed, private meetings all summer saying the quiet part out loud: “for Salem to prosper the homeless have to go.”   These are all forms of structural racism, which concentrate poverty, reaffirm white privilege, protect and retain social and economic discrimination, and foster inequality.”

                                Jimmy Jones, Executive Director, Mid-Willamette Community Action Agency

Director Lozier Abandons Ship

 

"If your team truly believes that they’re helping the world by amassing piles of money, they may not pay much attention to how poorly the company is being run."  --Michael Lewis

The executive director of the Mid-Willamette Homeless Alliance, which is the seldom sung homeless "continuum of care" organization for Salem, Marion and Polk counties, resigned Friday for unstated "personal reasons."  

The announcement comes shortly after the Alliance Board and related ORS 190 entity (same people, different powers) approved this year's consolidated application to HUD for approximately $4.5M in CoC Program funds, and in the midst of a HUD inquiry into the efficacy of its Coordinated Entry and Street Outreach programs, which are supposed to ensure the most vulnerable have access to homeless housing and services.  Amid repeated complaints by Alliance board and committee members over the absence of reliable program-level data on which to base their recommendations and decisions, Lozier made the controversial decision to assume direct day-to-day operation of the Alliance's coordinated entry system, formerly delegated to the Mid-Willamette Valley Community Action Agency, and persuaded a majority of a divided board to go against budgetary convention and add several full-time positions with one-time funds.  See McDonald, A. "As Salem's homeless services grow quickly, disagreements emerge on overhead spending" (1 August 2024, Salem Reporter.).  Lozier and the boards' chairman, Polk County Commissioner Jeremy Gordon have been accused of whistleblower retaliation in connection with reports of flaws in the Alliance's prioritized housing list, a key component of its Coordinated Entry System, and data-access issues.  Issues and flaws that, to date, have not been adequately addressed.  Lozier's last day is 31 December 2024.  A successor has not been named.

Lozier is a Salem resident and former community health worker.  She moved from an unpaid position on the Alliance board to executive director in June of 2023.  Her predecessor was former Marion County Commissioner and board administrator, Janet Carlson, who retired.  Lozier is paid an annual salary of $120,000.  Before taking the con at the Alliance, she had no management or federal program  experience. 

Housing & Homeless News

 

 Local Housing & Homeless News 

(Cumulative from Nov 2021 to Nov 2024)

Koumoué, C. "Salem microshelter project showing early signs of success."  (17 November 2021, KGW)

Council approved a grant of up to $26K for 10 storage lockers staff report (6 December 2021)

Woodworth, W. "'Less a hotel and more of a home': Shelter opens at a former Super 8 motel in Salem."  (7 December 2021, Statesman Journal) 

Barreda, V. "Volunteers needed for Salem-area warming shelters as overnight temperatures start to dip."  (10 December 2021, Statesman Journal)

City Manager's 12/13/21 Update (City asking for $562K from state, fed emergency mgmt; for  > $5.2M from Marion County etc, completion Sep 2022;  CDBG)

Van Beusekom, M. "COVID-19 much less likely in homeless house in hotels: study."  (14 December 2021, CIDRAP News.)

Harrell, S. "New Warming shelter opens as snow falls in Salem") (28 December 2021, Salem Reporter.) 

Hutcherson, E. "Domicile Unknown." (30 December 2021, Eugene Weekly.)

Barreda, V. "One year in, Police Chief Trevor Womack talks trust, staffing, data and body cameras."  (2 January 2022, Statesman Journal.)

Harrell, S. "Homeless people could soon be protected class under city law."  11 January 2022, Salem Reporter.) 

Woodworth, W. "Homeless camping grows at Marion Square Park in downtown Salem."  12 January 2022, Statesman Journal.)

Harrell, S. "Help count the number of people experiencing homelessness in Salem area."  20 January 2022, Salem Reporter.)

Woodworth, W. "Salem City Council approves 3 sites to house homeless in micro-shelter villages."  (25 January 2022, Statesman Journal.)

Tabriziam, A. "Street outreach team delivers medical care social services at Salem homeless camps."  (10 February 2022, Salem Reporter.)

Harrell, S. "Salem to evict homeless camp at Marion Square Park Thursday."  1 March 2022, Salem Reporter.)

Tabrizian, A. "Salem area gets federal housing funds for homeless, domestic violence victims."  (31 March 2022, Salem Reporter.)

Tabrizian, A. "Once again, crews clear homeless camp at Wallace Marine Park, residents, dispersed."  (31 March 2022, Salem Reporter.)

Woodworth, W.  "Work begins on new Salem microshelter location despite legal challenges."  (11 May 2022, Statesman Journal.)

Alexander, R. "One year in, about half of Village of Hope residents move on to somewhere better."  (24 May 2022, Salem Reporter.)  

Tabrizian, A. "Annual homeless count shows 15% increase in 2022."  (29 June 2022, Salem Reporter.).

Woodworth, W. "Council approves funds for South Salem microshelter village on Turner Road SE."  (22 August 2022, Statesman Journal.)

Tabrizian, A. "New micro shelter village for young adults to open on SE Turner Road."  (23 August 2022, Salem Reporter.).

Tabrizian, A. "Federal grants could help get dozens of Salemites off the streets."  (23 August 2022, Salem Reporter.). 

Tabrizian, A. "City ending homeless rent assistance program to make way for federal housing money."  (1 September 2022, Salem Reporter.). 

Tabrizian, A. "New city team frequents homeless camps for outreach, cleanup."  (7 September 2022, Salem Reporter.). 

Woodworth, W. "'New Salem team is trying a different response to homeless encampments."  (7 September 2022, Statesman Journal)  

McDonald, A. "Salem's community satisfaction survey shows discontent over homelessness, city services."  (20 November 2022, Statesman Journal.).

Woodworth, W. "Unsanctioned camps cleanup closes sidewalks surrounding Marion Parkade in downtown Salem."  (22 February 2023, Statesman Journal.).  

Lynn, C. "Melisa Blake was discharged from Salem Hospital to the streets.  Hours later, she was dead."  (23 February 2023, Statesman Journal.).

Shumway, J  "Oregon House passes $200 million for housing and homelessness, call it a start." 16 March 2023, Oregon Capital Chronicle.).

McDonald, A.  "Local organizations in line for $10 million for more action on homelessness."  12 April 2023, Salem Reporter.).

Shumway, J. "New state-funded homeless shelter opening in former Salem hotel."  (12 April 2023, Oregon Capital Chronicle.).

McDonald, A. "Yet to open, Salem's homeless navigation center could be out of money by 2025."  19 May 2023, Salem Reporter.).

Sharp, N. "Salem won't be getting state help for key homeless services out of 2023 session."  25 June 2023, Salem Reporter.).

Alexander, R., Sharp N. "'A fighting chance': Salem on track to have 1,000 shelter beds this year."  7 September 2023, Salem Reporter.).

Sharp, N. "A guide to Salem's expanding homeless shelters." (7 September 2023, Salem Reporter.). 

McDonald, A. "Warming Shelters to rely on volunteers to keep people sheltered on freezing nights."  (19 October 2023, Salem Reporter.).

Hart, A. "'Street medicine' providers who care for homeless will get federal dollars under new rules." (19 October 2023, Oregonian.). 

Woodworth, W. "Lack of funds hinders Salem Warming Network for homeless people ahead of forecasted freeze."  (27 October 2023, Statesman Journal.). 

McDonald, A. "Community Action plans to end child homelessness in Salem region with new grant."  (21 November 2023, Salem Reporter.).

McDonald, A. "ARCHES seeks volunteers as weekend temperatures forecasted below freezing."  27 October 2023, Salem Reporter.). 

McDonald, A. "Tenants to start moving into Sequoia Crossings." (30 January 2024, Salem Reporter.). 

McDonald, A. "Salem Needs a cohesive strategy, better data to address homelessness, study finds." ( 21 February 2024, Salem Reporter.).

Poehler, B. "Mid-Willamette Valley Community Action Agency to expand homeless shelter in Woodburn." (5 March 2024, Statesman Journal.).

McDonald, A. "What the Supreme Court's Grants Pass ruling means for Salem" (28 June 2024, Salem Reporter).

Woodworth, W. "Millions in state funding saves three homeless shelter sites." (25 July 2024, Statesman Journal.).

 McDonald, A. "As Salem's homeless services grow quickly, disagreements emerge on overhead spending" (1 August 2024, Salem Reporter.). 

McDonald, A. "Building Salem:  Veterans housing opens in Grant Neighborhood" (9 August 2024, Salem Reporter.).

Woodworth, W. "Salem approves grant for downtown security fence to address homeless camping." (12 August 2024, Statesman Journal.).

McDonald, A. "Salem man loses life attempting Willamette River rescue." (19 August 2024, Salem Reporter.). 

McGuinness, H. "From camping to a dog park:  Cottage Grove evictions expose Oregon's homelessness crisis." (23 August 2024, Eugene Register Guard reprinted in Statesman Journal.). 

McDonald, A. "Simonka Place renovation will add space for 11 homeless women, children." (27 August 2024, Salem Reporter.). 

Crombie, N. "Oregon's drug decriminalization experiment Saturday.  Here's Measure 110's story by the numbers."  (27 August 2024, The Oregonian.).

McDonald, A. "Church at the Park to expand adult micro shelter site." (29 August 2024, Salem Reporter.). 

McDonald, A. "ARCHES hopes new day center fence will help clients feel safer, deter after-hours gatherings." (5 September 2024, Salem Reporter.). 

Woodworth, W. "Why the Marion County Transition Center closed and what's next." (6 September  2024, Statesman Journal.). 

Moore, M. "Salem clinic combines medication and counseling to treat opioid addiction." (10 September 2024, Salem Reporter.).

McDonald, A. "Grace House to add more beds for homeless women." (10 September 2024, Salem Reporter.).  

McDonald, A. "What Salem is doing to fight homelessness." (25 September 2024, Salem Reporter.). 

McDonald, A. "The problems and promise of downtown Salem." (26 September 2024, Salem Reporter.). 

Siess, J. "Here's how Salem-area governments spent their Covid relief money."(3 October 2024, Salem Reporter.).

Lugo, D. "Kotek touts gains made on homelessness as Oregon nears some goals, lags on others." (3 October 2024, Statesman Journal.).  

Tabrizian, A. "Salem police cutting downtown, behavioral health teams."  (9 October 2024, Salem Reporter.). 

Mason, A. "Oregon's new Medicaid rental assistance aims to prevent homeless."  (30 October 2024, Statesman Journal.).  

Changes at the Archive

City contacts for questions or comments about CANDO

At CANDO’s Annual Meeting on October 15, two board members retired and two were reelected to the Board.  No other individuals were nominated.  There were no nominations for office at the regular meeting that followed.  Given the absence of duly elected officers willing and able to shoulder the responsibility for routine administration, the regular meeting of the Board is suspended until further notice.  Contact Irma Coleman, Neighborhood Program Manager at icoleman@cityofsalem.net with questions or to volunteer.

 

Although the CANDO Archive will no longer be supporting the City sponsored neighborhood group, we will continue to post occasionally on subjects and in the manner we have posted on previously.  If you would like to us to post a guest blog, drop us a note with your contact information in the comments.

Sarah Owens and Michael Livingston   

10/15/24 Minutes

 

Individual Members: Deb Comini, Woody Dukes 

City, County and State Representatives:  Councilor Nishioka, Ward 2 City Councilor; Councilor Stapleton, Ward 1 City Councilor; Sgt. Jeff Wiedemann, Salem Police Department Community Action Unit (CAU) 

Guests: Tanny Kunz, Greater Northeast Keizer Neighborhood Association 

Organizations: none  

The annual meeting of CANDO was called to order at 6 p.m., on Tuesday, October 15, 2024.  The meeting was conducted by Zoom video-conference.  The Chair and Secretary-Treasurer were present.  

The agenda and minutes of the September meeting were approved unanimously. 

Sgt Jeff Wiedemann, 503-588-6212, jwiedemann@cityofsalem.net, has taken over leadership of the CAU which will be disbanded at the end of the year.  SPD is working with the Union Pacific Railroad on a cleanup along a section of rail downtown.  

Councilor Nishioka reported several developments such as the welcoming of the new fire department chief and transferring control of the City ambulance service from Falck back to the City, and touched on the continuing interest in better traffic control strategies.  Councilor Stapleton reported on efforts to improve pedestrian safety, consideration of eliminating the railroad quiet zone in response to increased fatalities, and “illicit massage parlors”, among other things.      

In interested citizen comments, Tammy Kunz shared that there will be a safety awareness meeting 5-8 pm on December 10 at Keizer City Hall.

The Chair opened the floor for nominations to the Board of Directors.  There being none,  the Chair moved to re-elect members Jim Griggs and Bryant Baird to the Board by unanimous consent.  There being no objection, Jim and Bryant were re-elected to the board.  The Chair then closed the Annual Meeting, called to order a meeting of the Board, and opened the floor for nomination of officers.  There being none, the Chair called for a motion to direct the City to use up to $150.00 of its communications funds to renew CANDO’s video-conferencing (Zoom) account.  There being none, the Chair called for a motion authorizing the maker to apply for a SPIF grant on behalf of CANDO.  There being none, the Chair moved to readopt last year’s annual goal, i.e., to use $500 of its communication funds to sponsor Northwest Human Services’ Mid-Valley Resources at the Silver level, which passed unanimously.  

There being no further business before the board, the Chair adjourned the meeting at 6:33 pm.

Come Back Monday

"But, I cain't GIT a housin' assessment!" 

"You say you're single?" 

"Yes ma'am."  

"Veteran?" 

"No ma'am.  Wouldn't take me."  

"Fleeing domestic violence?

"Howzat ma'am?  Fleein' what?"

"How long have you been living outside?"

"Ten year, I reckon.  Cain't take it no more. Gettin' too old."  

"You have a case-worker?"

"I reckon not, ma'am, been livin' up d'canyon, most of it."

"Where are you now?" 

"Woods."  

"You'll need to be assessed."  

"What fer?"

"Housing.  It's how you get on the list when something comes available."

"What list?"

"The prioritized housing list.  It's like a wait list, but it's called an interest list, don't ask me why."

"Yes ma'am." 

"Let me just check...looks like you will need to make an appointment to get assessed at HOAP on Church Street on Tuesdays or Thursdays between 9 and 3, and at Church at the Park on Portland Road on Mondays through Fridays between 11 and 1."

"I ain't too good wid 'ppointmunts.  How 'bout now?"  

"It's after 2.  You'll have to come back Monday, if you can get an appointment."  

"But I ain't got a ride on Monday.  I only got a ride today, n' I cain't drag dis here laig tree mile n' back nohow.  How 'bout you assess me?"

"I'm not certified to do assessments."  

"Cain't you jes' take m'name 'n stick me onter dat list?"

"No, I can't.  You have to be assessed so they know what sort of housing is appropriate.  

"I reckon I'll take enytin' wid a roof."  

"It's not that simple.  You have to be enrolled in something called "coordinated entry."  And they have to know where to find you when your name comes up, which may take some time, depending."

"Dependin' on what?" 

"On your assessment score, and available housing, and whether you've recently been engaged in services."

"Services?  Like church services?"

"No, like going to HOAP or The ARCHES Project to check your mail."  

"But, I don't get no mail.  Nobuddy gets mail no more."

"You still have to check in from time to time, so they can make a note in they system, so they know where you are."

"But I cain't get in town reg'lar.  It's lack I done told you, ma'am, it's hard fer me to git 'round." 

"I'll see if one of the outreach teams can check on you."  

"Thanky, much obliged."  

"But you'll still have to come to town sometime, because the outreach teams don't make a habit of noting contacts in the system."  

"Law.  I reckon they'll note it well enuff when they find me daid."  

"Is there anything else I can help you with?"  

"No ma'am.  I reckon you've give me no morn' I deserve."      

_________________________________________

Alliance Director Elaine Lozier, responding to the charge that Alliance leadership is ill-equipped to confront serious problems of the sort identified in the recent review of Marion and Polk's Coordinated Entry program:

To fulfill our responsibilities well, and in a manner responsive to the needs of our community, the CoC continues in its ever-evolving process to foster true collaboration among its partners and within its governance. This past year, we have focused on deepening relationships with organizations inside and outside the CoC and clearly communicating common goals and priorities by re-visiting our mission and
purpose, creating a vision and designing a 5 year strategic plan. We also agreed upon shared values for how we will go about our work (Collaboration, Stewardship, Inclusion, Compassion, Leadership, Commitment and Adaptability).

                                                                                                    ---Elaine Lozier, 10/11/24

9/17/24 Minutes

 

Individual Members: Rosa Leonardi, Deb Comini, Woody Dukes 

City, County and State Representatives:  Councilor Stapleton, Ward 1 City Councilor; Sgt. Robert Dowd, Salem Police Department Community Action Unit (CAU)

Guests: Linda Bierly, Salem Parks Foundation

Organizations: none  

The regular meeting of CANDO was called to order at 6 p.m., on Tuesday, September 17, 2024.  The meeting was conducted by Zoom video-conference.  The Chair and Secretary-Treasurer were present.  

The agenda and minutes of the August meeting were approved unanimously. 

Sgt. Dowd reported that he has been assigned to assist with vetting and training new officers and that Sgt Jeff Wiedemann, 503-588-6212, jwiedemann@cityofsalem.net, will lead the CAU as of October, and the Homeless Service Team, including the monthly meeting of service providers, and the unit will be reduced to four officers. In answer to a question, Sgt. Dowd reported that a fully staffed SPD would be 196 sworn officers. 

Councilors Stapleton reported several developments, including that the City had hired a new Fire Department Chief and that a survey about revenue options is underway.  

In public comments, Linda Bierly spoke about the Eco-Earth Globe restoration project, and asked CANDO for support through the Salem Parks Improvement Project.

There being no further business before the board, the Chair adjourned the meeting at 6:27 and opened a work session to discuss the transition to new leadership and the alternative should leadership positions remain vacant after the annual meeting in October.

Alliance CEO: Dis' be Fine

Elaine Lozier, MWV Homeless Alliance CEO

Elaine Lozier is one of those rare CEOs who strives to be a trustworthy, servant leader, whose focus is on integrity, trust, transparency and empathy, and who believes these are what should guide conversations about the challenges facing housing and homeless service providers.  Her boards (she has two with overlapping membership) think she is doing a stellar job after just one year in the saddle (or, if you prefer, since she got her spurs, yeeha!).  So Michael was tickled pink to see she had jest one lil' bone to pick with his recent review of Alliance's Coordinated Entry program.  

He'd said in his review, see, somethin' about her being unwilling to increase the Alliance's contribution to the program.  Now, in all its four years of existence, the Alliance was contributin' jest $36,000 a year, and the cost had rise' to almos' $450,000 a year, which the Community Action Agency, who was operatin' the program, was payin' fer out of its state funds.  The Action Agency had been askin' fer more money fer years (well, not mor'n four, since the Alliance only bin around fer four), and the answer was always "cain't."  Well, the Action Agency, and ever'body else too, know'd it could if it'd wanted to, what with all that state money flowin' in after that 'ar pandemic.  So the Action Agency reckoned it was done bein' the Alliance's pack mule and shook that 'ar pack off.  Miss Elaine say, by way of correctin' Michael, she warn't reluctant to pay more, there jest warn't no more money, that the money that did come in fer the program came later.  Well, if that's right, and mebbe 'tis, I reckon it's a quibble'n detail I cain't unduhstan', 'cause we all knows what the papers said 'bout the millions comin' to the Alliance from the state last year.

'Side from that lil' bone pickin', Miss Elaine say ever'thing fine and dandy.  She's done took over the program three month ago, she's valuatin' systems, she's got some new fangled smarmy goals an' a heap o' plans an' charts an' sech an' I reckon lard knows what all.  An' she tell her boards she confident as ever, tho' I 'member her sayin' awhile back, when Rhonda ask her why she thot Alliances could do bettern' the Action Agency, and she say all cheerful like dat she din't know it could.  But lack I say, she say she plenty confident now she can do better, an' I reckon she would know cause she's a CEO now.   
 

Ms. Lozier's full response can be found in the comments section of Mr. Livingston's review. 

2024 Review of Coordinated Entry

 

8/20/24 Minutes

 

Individual Members: Rosa Leonardi, Deb Comini, Woody Dukes 

City, County and State Representatives:  Councilor Stapleton, Ward 1 City Councilor; Councilor Nishioka, Ward 2 City Councilor 

Guests: none

Organizations: none  

The regular meeting of CANDO was called to order at 6 p.m., on Wednesday, August 20, 2024.  The meeting was conducted by Zoom video-conference.  The Chair and Secretary-Treasurer were present.  

The agenda and minutes of the July meeting were approved unanimously. 

Councilors Stapleton and Nishioka reported on Monday’s night's work session on the City’s budget deficit/revenue options and on recent council activities.  

In public comments, Rosa gave a favorable report on the Stream Cleaning Project whose members recently removed copious amounts of refuse from Mill Creek. (See Statesman Journal photos here.)  The chair reminded the board of the upcoming annual meeting in October and announced that he and the secretary-treasurer, whose terms expire in October, would be retiring.  There will be a work session at the end of the September meeting to discuss the transition.

There being no further business before the board, the Chair adjourned the meeting at 6:29.

CANDO 2023/2024 Finance Statement

Note:  CANDO's contribution to Northwest Human Services's Mid-Valley Resources was covered this year by funds from the City of Salem's Engagement Fund Grant.  Note:  the left margin "Carryover from FY 21/22 funds: $1,335.17" is an error (City's) and should be disregarded.  

 

7/16/24 Minutes

Individual Members: Woody Dukes, Deb Comini, 

City, County and State Representatives:  Councilor Nishioka, Ward 2 City Councilor; Robert Dowd, Salem Police Department Community Action Unit (CAU) 

Guests: none

Organizations: none  

The regular meeting of CANDO was called to order at 6 p.m., on Tuesday, July 16, 2024.  The meeting was conducted by Zoom video-conference.  The Chair and Secretary-Treasurer were present.  

The agenda and minutes of the June meeting were approved unanimously. 

Sgt. Dowd reported that SPD has been advised to “stay the course” with respect to the USSC decision in the Grant’s Pass case and shared information about the next Community Violence Response meeting, the Ironman event, Hoopla and National Night Out.  He also shared a video on how to navigate a roundabout! https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=a4MNLYkmftY

  

Councilor Nishioka reported on Council’s work session to receive the recommendations of the Revenue Task Force, the expansion of the easement for Spec-Keene Stadium, and the need to wait for state action to understand the ultimate practical effect of the US Supreme Court’s decision in the Grants Pass case.      

There being no further business before the board, the Chair adjourned the meeting at 6:43.