Salem Mayor's Debate Packed With Sharp Criticisms, Challenges

SALEM, MA — A series of feisty exchanges between challenger Steve Dibble and incumbent Kim Driscoll in Tuesday night's second Salem mayoral debate included a series of disagreements on everything from student coronavirus vaccine orders to housing development to even public restrooms downtown.

At the crux of many of the disputes was Dibble's contention that Driscoll has amassed too much influence in the city over her four terms as mayor, while Driscoll touted her ability to build consensus and gain support for her initiatives to pass through the Salem City Council, of which Dibble is a Ward 7 member.

"Boy, it is time for a change in the mayor's office," Dibble responded in an abrupt shift on a question about cannabis tax revenue. "It's time for a change on the School Committee. It's time for a change on the City Council as well. The mayor has somehow has a lot of power all over the place."

Dibble added that he'd felt bullied as a City Councilor and accused Driscoll of packing committees with people who will always agree with her.

Driscoll countered that she is proud of much of the progress the city has made during her time as mayor and that it is important to build consensus and alignment in policies and programs.

"I don't want to get into a back and forth about some of the other commentaries you used," she said. "But I am really disappointed in it."

Driscoll several times challenged facts and figures Dibble cited in his statements.

"You build these narratives to be true even when they're not," she later charged.

One area where the candidates disagreed concretely for the second straight debate is on mandatory coronavirus vaccinations for Salem Public School students.

On Monday, the Salem School Committee — of which the Salem mayor acts as the chairperson — voted unanimously to impose a mandatory vaccine order for all students to participate in "high-respiration" extracurricular activities, such as sports, band and chorus, as of Dec. 1.

In doing so, Driscoll and other school committee members asked Superintendent Steve Zrike to come back at next week's meeting — which is scheduled for one day before the citywide election — with information on possibly expanding that vaccine order to include more, and potentially all, vaccine-eligible public schools students.

"The reason we have such low (coronavirus) numbers right now is because of the precautions that we have in place," Driscoll said during the debate. "I hope we will be looking at mandates for vaccines."

Driscoll said during Monday's school committee meeting that the schools and city have to do a "full-court press" to get as many teens vaccinated as possible before potentially dealing with parents of 5- to 11-year-olds who are "vaccine-hesitant and vaccine-ambivalent."

Dibble countered on Tuesday that while he personally is vaccinated, and he encourages them for adults, he does not believe parents should be forced to have their children vaccinated until they have proved safe and effective "for years."

"I take COVID seriously but I think personal rights are important," he said. "My opponent has encouraged mandatory vaccinations for children. It's just the wrong thing to do."

Dibble did say that he agreed with the city's indoor business mask mandate set to run through Nov. 13, with Driscoll noting that was in contrast with previous stances he appeared to embrace on social media.

Another area where the candidates did not see eye to eye was the future of outdoor dining — which Driscoll said she would like to keep, while Dibble said he enjoys it but not at the expense of losing public parking spaces.

While both expressed support for more affordable housing, they differed on how they would go about achieving it. Dibble criticized Driscoll's support for larger developments catering to a higher-income class, while Driscoll said Dibble has been obstructionist to affordable housing options like the long-debated accessory-dwelling units that failed two votes of the city council before passing in April.

"If you pour coffee or pour beer it's really hard to find a place that's affordable in Salem," Driscoll said.

One of the more bizarre exchanges of the night came on downtown public bathrooms, which Dibble said were unnecessarily closed for much of this summer. Driscoll said they were closed while newer ones were being built, but Dibble countered "quality of life is important if you've got to go."

The Salem citywide general election is on Nov. 2.

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(Scott Souza is a Patch field editor covering Beverly, Danvers, Marblehead, Peabody, Salem and Swampscott. He can be reached at Scott.Souza@Patch.com. Twitter: @Scott_Souza.)

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