Meet Salem City Council Candidate For Re-Election Patti Morsillo

SALEM, MA — Patti Morsillo is seeking re-election to a third term as the representative for Ward 3 on the Salem City Council.

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

Morsillo told Patch that among her priorities if re-elected will be housing, traffic and climate change.

Patch sent a series of candidate profile questions to candidates in contested races in the general election with these being Morsillo's responses:

Campaign website/social media page:

Pattiforsalem.com FB: PattiForSalem

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

I have been a resident of Salem, with my husband Lindsay, for 35 years. We purchased our 2-family home on Broad Street 34 years ago, a lovely neighborhood with easy, walkable access to downtown. We have two adult children who graduated from the Salem Public Schools and are both pursuing their passions. Anna is a musician, museum docent and services manager, and is pursuing a graduate degree in Public History. Stephen is a mechanic on an IMSA racecar team, living near Charlotte, North Carolina.

I was born and raised in Schenectady, New York and graduated with Bachelor's and Master's degrees in Computer Science. Work as software engineers brought us to the Boston area and as we looked for a city to live in, Salem won our hearts. And Salem has only gotten better over the years.

My time in Schenectady has shaped my views as a City Councilor. Schenectady was the headquarters for the General Electric Company for many decades, and it seemed like everyone had a family member who worked there. And then in the 1970's GE decided to move its headquarters to Connecticut, and its manufacturing overseas. Schenectady had no other industry, and the move caused decades of decline. Schenectady had put all of its eggs in GE's basket, with no guarantee for the future.

Cities must always look ahead in order to grow and thrive. They need to respond to changing markets and needs. We are lucky in Salem to have so much to offer: history, tourism, architecture, great neighborhoods, a beautiful coast with stunning public parks, and easy access to Boston. Responding to and fostering opportunities for future growth, like the offshore wind marshaling facility, puts Salem on the right path for stability into the future. This new industry will create hundreds of jobs, both on-site and through supporting businesses. As a city councilor, I am proud of the path that Salem is taking and will continue to support other opportunities that will keep Salem financially secure.

Why are you seeking this elected office?

Though I enjoy researching and discussing policy, I love to dive into resolving constituent concerns. From noise complaints to speeding in neighborhoods, requests for handicapped parking to snow clearing, there is nothing better than solving problems that constituents report. Last fall, residents on Southern Highland Ave reported a loud, low hum. I was able to track it down to a commercial bakery, which had just installed a new dehumidifier which was critical to operations. We then worked out a compromise, turning it off at night, until a custom muffler was installed.

Whatever the issue, I do not hesitate to ask questions and do the research required to solve the issue, including amending our ordinances to better serve our residents. We have so many talented city employees who are there to help with issues, and I am grateful for the respectful relationships that I have nurtured with members of city departments and boards.

I was honored to be unanimously elected as president of the City Council in 2022, my third year in office. This was a pivotal year in updating our City Council rules to reflect the embracing of technology to allow hybrid meetings. This has proven to be a successful method of increasing public engagement, allowing public comment to be made in-person or via Zoom, the online meeting platform. I also focused on reviewing and updating all of our rules to make our meetings more efficient and engaging to the public.

We changed to Roberts Rules instead of Cushing's, which was severely outdated, and improved the rules to be more inclusive of gender and physical ability. While this gets into the weeds of how the Council works, it's important to keep rules for the body updated when they become outdated or create barriers to any person who wishes to be a member of the body or to interact with the Council.

And, finally, I advocated for the creation of the Committee of the Whole, which is utilized for the discussion of larger issues that impact the whole city. This enables all Councilors to offer amendments and have a full voice in the discussion before bringing the item back to the full Council for a vote. This is a more efficient way of handling these items, and has proven to be quite successful.

As a two-time Chair of the Committee on Ordinances, Licenses, and Legal Affairs, and as President, I have demonstrated that I can successfully run effective meetings and work in a congenial manner with my colleagues and the public. My goal is to get to consensus first, through respectful discussion. Once we have achieved consensus, working towards making the modifications necessary to gain unanimous (or near-unanimous) approval is easier. Our discussions have been calm, informative, open, and above all respectful of each other’s viewpoints.

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

Salem is facing many of the same issues as cities all over the region: housing, traffic, climate change.

We are working hard to figure out how we can address housing issues here in Salem. Salem certainly can’t solve the entire problem, but we can do some things for our residents. Addressing the issues of tenant evictions due to condo conversion through our Condo Conversion ordinance is one way. Unfortunately, we need approval from the State House in order to effectuate any protections for tenants in 2- and 3-family homes, which are the type most under threat in Salem. Passage of an Inclusionary Housing ordinance to address affordability appropriate for Salem residents in new construction built by private developers is also important.

Finding ways to support the creation of more deed-restricted affordable units, to keep our Salem residents here is another tool, which is being addressed through the new Right of First Refusal program between landlords and the city. But make no mistake, the reason we are looking for tools to create affordability is because there is such a shortage. Supply and demand, that basic economic principle, is the underlying issue regionally.

Traffic is a perennial complaint no matter where you live. Creating safer roads for all users: drivers, pedestrians and cyclists is a priority. By making sidewalks safer and addressing speeding traffic, more will feel comfortable walking downtown or to school, or to the library. Getting cars off the roads for short trips, whenever possible, not only helps the environment, it is healthier and creates less congestion on the roads. And it allows those who must use a car to get places with more ease.

Being a coastal community, Salem has embraced the work required to prepare for rising sea levels. The City Council will soon be discussing a new Coastal Resiliency Overlay ordinance that addresses building in coastal and inland floodplains. Guiding property owners in design for the future is the aim of the ordinance, which will set standards for raising structures above flood levels based on future flood maps. Balancing property ownership rights with the need to address climate concerns is the focus of the work.

This work follows the Wetlands Ordinance update, and I hope will be followed by an ordinance to address stormwater management and actions that result in impacts to it. Things like clearcutting property, or excessive pavement, impact how stormwater runs onto other property or into drains instead of being absorbed by plants and trees.

All of these issues are being addressed in communities around Salem and around the country. How we plan now will determine how well we do economically in the future.

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

I can only speak for myself, and have spent the last four years being the most transparent Councilor I can be.

I work hard to help my constituents. I made a promise four years ago to keep my constituents informed and engaged, and have accomplished that through my weekly newsletter. I discuss issues pertinent to the ward and larger issues and events in the city of Salem. And I ask for feedback on items before the Council. I can honestly say that emails I receive about items discussed in the newsletter are extremely helpful in informing my vote.

I have engaged neighborhoods in informational meetings regarding construction projects, allowing developers or business owners to present plans and discuss schedules and impacts on neighborhoods. And I provide project updates in my newsletter in order to keep everyone informed and to allow neighbors to plan. Construction is never easy, and any way developers can make the work more transparent and work with the neighbors, the better things go. Because of previous issues with blasting and rock crushing, I now work with the Planning Board to require communication between developers and neighbors through an opt-in method for site work schedule information. This has worked well with the construction of Tropical Products, for example.

I take this job seriously. I look at data, read articles and reports, and talk to experts. I then communicate the information I have gathered, with links to materials, to my constituents, and ask for their input. I encourage my constituents to attend meetings or to write to boards or to the City Council with questions or comments.

What else would you like voters to know about yourself and your positions?

Representing Ward 3 has been an honor. I approach my job with respect: respect for my constituents and neighbors, respect for the office, respect for city staff. I work towards consensus, finding the common ground and getting to agreement through compromise. Working collaboratively with my constituents, my colleagues on the Council, and with city staff is always my approach. I strongly advocate for solutions to my constituents' problems, whether at the local or the state level.

I ask you for your vote on Tuesday, November 7.