Meet Salem City Council Candidate For Re-Election Caroline Watson-Felt

SALEM, MA — Caroline Watson-Felt is seeking a second term as the Ward 2 representative on the Salem City Council.

She is one of two candidates running to represent the ward in Tuesday's general election.

Watson-Felt told Patch that among her priorities if re-elected include pedestrian and traffic safety, affordable housing and city resilience amid the effects of climate change.

Patch sent a series of candidate profile questions to candidates in contested races with these being Watson-Felt's responses:

Campaign website/social media page:

carolineforsalem.com; facebook.com/carolineforsalem; instagram.com/carolineforsalem

Share some details about yourself, your ties to the city, your career in public office and/or professional life.

I'm a proud lifelong Salem resident, public school mom, communications and change management strategist, and nonprofit leader, who has been working, or volunteering, for the betterment of Salem for 25 years. I've been honored to represent the residents of Ward 2 as City Councillor for the last two years, and I'm asking for the opportunity to keep the work going.

Why are you seeking this elected office?

Two years just isn't enough. As the currently seated councilor, I'm proud of the work we've done as a Council in the last two years, and how I've worked to address the concerns and needs of Ward 2 residents, and there is so much work still in process or planned. There's momentum now from these first two years but so much more to do. I'm humbly asking to be re-elected so that I might continue to represent residents and continue to make progress on the issues that affect them.

What are the key issues facing Salem and how would you address them, if elected?

As the Ward 2 councilor, my priorities are: pedestrian safety and traffic and parking issues, affordable and stable housing, and the resiliency and preservation of our built environment in the face of climate change.

I've been proud to work on, and/or support ordinances and efforts in City council that make progress on these important issues but there's so much more to do on these. I've worked on and supported traffic calming measures and called for the safe redesign and enhancements at some of the most dangerous crossings in the downtown; I've worked on and/or supported measures to slow the conversion of condos and protect renters as well as supported specific developments that will help to meet the dire need for steeply affordable housing for our most vulnerable residents — seniors and people experiencing unstable housing, and I've supported the demolition delay ordinance (a preservation tactic that has an effect on both our housing market as well as environmental concerns), as well as supported programming and education that build up and work to protect our coastlines and manage the inundation of flood waters and supported the Municipal Green Building ordinance.

On all of these issues there is so much more work to do, much is underway as we actively work to address these serious issues.

What are the critical differences between you and the other candidates seeking this office?

I think the key critical difference is my experience: professionally, as a long-time engaged Salem resident, and as a seated Councilor. I have participated in our government and in our community engagement and nonprofit organizations for 25 years. As my slogan says, I'm "rooted in service, rooted in Salem." I’m proud of my balanced approach to moving Salem forward, for everyone.

If you are an incumbent, what do you consider some of your accomplishments while in office and what are your priorities for the next term?

I've outlined my key priorities and some of what I've done to move those forward in an answer above, and I'll add that I have been proud to support additional efforts such as the recent Wage Theft Ordinance as one example. Also, I feel it’s important to say that I consider the productive collaboration of this Council as an accomplishment for us all.

We have really worked in concert for the betterment of Salem and I'm proud of how we show up, representing the unique needs of our constituents while balancing the needs of our community as a whole.

Describe the other issues that define your campaign platform.

I'm addition to my aforementioned priorities, there are a lot of issues that I'd like to tackle next year — one particular item is how we manage and put some safety controls around our experience as a thriving tourism destination. The teams from the city including the volunteers, hired contractors, and the Salem PD continue to work hard on these issues while also running the events that keep visitors engaged but I think we need to look at how our tours are managed in our shared spaces, some controls around mask wearing and intimidating behavior of buskers, our noise ordinance and our communications to ensure our residents can safely co-exist with our growing numbers of visitors.