Progressive Salem

03/06/2026

Volunteers Needed for the Salem-Keizer NAACP Juneteenth Celebration 2026! ✨

We’re looking for amazing community members to help make this year’s Juneteenth Celebration at Riverfront Park a success.

From helping with setup and activities to greeting guests and supporting vendors, volunteers play a huge role in creating a welcoming, joyful, and meaningful event for our community.

📅 Friday, June 19, 2026
📍 Riverfront Park- South Meadow
⏰ Event Time: 11 AM – 6 PM ( one hour time slots)

Volunteer opportunities may include:
• Event setup & cleanup
• Vendor support
• Kids activity area
• Greeting & information booth
• General event assistance

Whether you can volunteer for a few hours or the whole day, we would love to have you be part of this celebration of freedom, culture, and community.

🔗 Sign up to volunteer here:
https://forms.gle/XzGpCrGPofGtswaP9

Bring a friend, share this post, and help us make Juneteenth 2026 unforgettable! ❤️🖤💚

03/06/2026

31/05/2026

Join Progressive Salem for First Tuesday!

Taproot Lounge and Cafe
356 State Street, Salem
4:30 to 6:30
Tuesday, June 2

We will be looking at election results so far.
The election is not over until it is over;
The count continues.

Join like-minded progressive friends for conversation and fellowship.

29/05/2026

The Oregon Secretary of State’s office is looking into allegations that Betsy Vega, the candidate poised to win a seat on the Salem City Council, changed her residence in November without informing election officials. It is unclear where she currently lives and Salem officials are waiting for stat...

26/05/2026

Betsy Vega asked Ward 6 voters to trust her with four years on Salem City Council. During her campaign, she took a pro-landlord approach, opposing the rental protections put forward by her opponent. But there's a public court record and a rental listing Ward 6 deserves to know about.

In 2024, Vega was sued in Marion County Circuit Court by her landlord for unpaid rent. Case No. 24SC17403. Not an allegation or opposition spin — a verified court filing, failed mediation, and final judgment, all on the public record.

Read the documents here: https://limewire.com/d/MWo2r

Vega fell behind on rent beginning in April 2023. Betsy moved out in October 2023, and failed to pay rent owed. She claimed she'd paid $400 cash for March. Her landlord denied it. The court didn't buy her version, entering judgment against her on September 5, 2024.

Court exhibits included text messages where Vega admitted she couldn't pay since April, was trying to get a bank loan to cover rent, and wrote: "Honestly, I don't have a place."

The judgment lists her address as 160 Chemawa Rd N in Keizer — not Ward 6. The rental where she fell behind is in Ward 2.

When she filed to run for Ward 6, she listed a Coral Ave NE apartment to establish residency. That apartment was listed for rent on January 9, 2026 at $1,302/month and removed January 31, while Betsy was actively campaigning.

Oregon law requires candidates to reside in the district they seek to represent. Residency is not a technicality. It is the foundational promise that the person asking for your vote actually lives among you and intends to stay.

In the last court case we posted, filed in 2025, Polk County Sheriffs deputies attempted to personally serve Vega in West Salem. It also listed a Keizer address.

What is going on with Betsy Vega's residency? It's clear to us that Betsy does not have a history in Ward 6, but does she even reside there today? An inquiring Salem ought to know.

23/05/2026

Hey folks, in case you missed it, Betsy for Salem is racist.

This mailer modifies her opponent Mai Vang's clothing to be yellow. "Yellow" was an artificial label used first in the 1700s invented specifically to "other" Asian people and mark them as abnormal. It was bundled with dehumanizing pseudoscientific ideas that linked Asian physical features to disability and deficiency. It evokes a fearmongering narrative that portrays Asian immigrants as a threat — culturally, economically, and morally. It is a tool of a deliberate racial hierarchy designed to position Asian people as inferior to white Europeans. Calling someone "yellow" isn't just an inaccurate color description — it invokes a history of exclusion, discrimination, and violence built around that invented category.

The mailer also harps on racist stereotypes of Asians being bad drivers. Even "minor" stereotypes contribute to a climate where Asian people are seen as a monolithic "other," which feeds broader discrimination and prejudice. "Asian" encompasses people from Japan, Vietnam, Korea, India, the Philippines, and many more — treating them as interchangeable denies their individuality and humanity.

Unquestionably and without reservation, we loudly disavow this racism in Salem City Council elections.

There's only one term for this: disgusting racism.

We will fight for Mai Vang.

23/05/2026

"We help business people in our community innovate, grow and make the Salem area a great place to live." And we endorse candidates who send 95% of their money out of the Salem Area. 🤡

20/05/2026

Thank you, Salem!

Some of the leads we’re seeing are very large and probably won’t change enough to also change the presumptive winner. We believe Vanessa Nordyke and Linda Nishioka have probably won their races due to the size of their leads at this time.

For candidates Dave Inbody, Mai Vang, and Micki Varney, these continue to be very close races. We have been closely monitoring ballot returns for the last week. We’ve also done an incredible amount of Get Out The Vote, so we know voters who supported Progressive Salem candidates have voted on Election Day. We think there are enough ballots outstanding where these races are too close to call.

According to the Marion County Clerk, tonight’s results are about half of what was received in the City of Salem. We urge your patience and to keep pulling for Dave, Mai, and Micki. 🤞💙

07/05/2026

Where can we get some of what Julie is smoking?