Incumbent My Vang emphasizes street safety, homelessness response and housing incentives in Ward 6 re-election interview

My Vang, incumbent Ward 6 city councilor and candidate for re-election, told a League of Women Voters interview that she has focused her council work on traffic safety, homelessness response and increasing housing supply while protecting renters.

"Local government is a very important part of our daily lives. It is small but mighty," My Vang said in opening remarks, noting she moved to Salem for school, is the daughter of refugee parents and is currently the only renter on the council.

Vang said traffic safety was the issue that first drew her into neighborhood advocacy. She described the council’s current revision of Salem’s five-year transportation plan as a key opportunity to reprioritize projects and credited her office with bringing "leading pedestrian intervals" to Lancaster, which she said "essentially gives pedestrians a three-second head start" at crosswalks to make them more visible.

The candidate outlined three teams the city uses to address homelessness and related public-space concerns: a homeless service team, a clean team whose coverage was expanded from four to seven days a week, and a pilot "reach team" designed "to ensure that the right resources gets to the right person at the right place at the right time," she said.

On housing, Vang said the city has made progress incentivizing developers to add affordable units and that incentives are appropriate when they are part of a broader strategy. She added that keeping existing renters housed is equally important: "How do we ensure that our renting residents have that breathing room to stay in their homes while we try to figure out how do we make ends meet long term?" she asked.

Asked whether the city should use general funds to provide a revenue guarantee for passenger air service, Vang said she would support such a measure only "if the conditions are right and that there is a commercial airline that wants to come to Salem" and if reports show a clear community benefit; otherwise, she said, general-fund dollars may be better spent on other local priorities.

On environmental resilience, Vang said she is not an arborist and will rely on experts when shaping tree-preservation policy, but added that Ward 6 includes "heat islands" that make tree canopy expansion a priority for livability.

Vang also described Ward 6 as centrally located near the Lancaster corridor and downtown, with community amenities including McKay Park, Weathers Park and D Street Field.

In closing remarks she asked Ward 6 voters for re-election and provided campaign contact information transcribed as electmyvang.com. The program reminded listeners of voter deadlines, including an April 28 registration cutoff and ballots arriving beginning April 29 ahead of the May 19 primary.

The interview was produced by Capitol Community Media in partnership with the League of Women Voters.