Christopher Cummings

Housing The homeless crisis continues to be a stain on our community. The suffering on our streets and in our parks needs to be ended swiftly. Strides have been made over the years but some on the City Council have dropped the ball. Our city has resources available to us that were not there a few years ago. The solution is to have the initiative necessary to connect resources and people to where they need to go. Criminal Justice / Public Safety I know our law enforcement is doing they best they can, but they need the full support of the Salem City Council and the public. With Salem facing an officer shortage, investments need to be made with the Salem Police Department. By providing the department with sufficient resources that allows for more officers on the force and better training, we can all begin to feel a little safer in our community. Housing With Salem on track to reach a housing crisis, work must be done rapidly. By approving more housing developments in suitable locations, we can increase inventory and lower the cost of housing overall. Fast tracking the permit process for developments would also allow for quicker development. This also calls for increased communication between the Planning Commission and a better alignment of our goals.