Stacia Kraft: Salem City Council Candidate Profile

SALEM, MA — Stacia Kraft is a first-time candidate for the Salem City Council Al-Large.

The 61-year-old mother of three is a musician who graduated from the New England Conservatory of Music.

She told Patch she wants to use her creative and collaborative background to bring her background in civic activism to the planning and development decisions for the city.

Campaign website

Staciakraft.com/

Why are you seeking elective office?

I love Salem and want to use my creative and collaborative skills to represent the people of Salem. We need to put divisive politics aside and employ civic leadership that values constituents, focuses on quality of life issues, and genuinely embraces our diversity.

The single most pressing issue facing our city is _______, and this is what I intend to do about it.

Planning & Development. Create a long-range Master Plan for the city. Amend the Flood Plain & Wetland Ordinance. Pass an Inclusionary Zoning Ordinance. Improve protections, guidance & incentives for Historic Preservation throughout the city.

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

I am an activist who has conceived, collaborated and established many civic projects: Salem Community Gardens, Plummer Home Garden Project, Derby Square Market, Leslie's Retreat Reenactment Celebrations, Salem High School PTO. Maybe I'm not the smoothest public speaker, but I definitely get things done. I am proud to have received the endorsement of Boston's HousingWorks for my work with Not for Sale.m on the issues of affordable housing.

If you are a challenger, in what way has the current board or officeholder failed the community (or district or constituency)

The council failed to pass the Inclusionary Zoning Ordinance, and improve the Floodplains & Wetlands Ordinance or pass the Temporary Moratorium for projects in these areas until it was completed.

How do you think local officials performed in responding to the coronavirus? What if anything would you have done differently?

Overall, it was like feeling our way in the dark, but everyone tried to do their best. I thought last year's messaging around Haunted Happenings was confusing. Filling the high school with COVID persons before alerting parents on the status of students was also problematic. So, I guess communication is usually at the heart of many of the problems. Eventually, though, Salem worked out a reliable system of business with the new reality of the pandemic. The results speak for themselves.

Describe the other issues that define your campaign platform.

Affordable Housing, Environmental Conservation, Education, Historic Preservation, Transportation

What accomplishments in your past would you cite as evidence you can handle this job?

I have led several large city projects that in some cases made the city revenue, and created initiatives that are still going strong. Also, I coordinated the Not for SALE.m sign campaign which amplified the voice of many marginalized residents.

The best advice ever shared with me was:

Love your neighbor as yourself. It really always comes down to this.

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

I’m not related to Bob Kraft. Lol. My husband’s family are farmers and steelworkers from western New York and mine are public school teachers.