Kyle Davis
City Councillor At-Large

 

I am so deeply grateful to this incredible city and all of my incredible neighbors. Thank you to each and every one of you that entrusted me with your vote. Renters, waiters and people in their 20’s aren’t supposed to run for office and they aren’t supposed to win. Thank you for coming on this journey with me to break the rules and give communities with a lack of representation a seat at the table. 

I am committed to everything that we set out to accomplish together. Now I trust you to hold me accountable, to not let me forget why I ran and make sure that I continue to be the loud activist, passionate about helping people that you helped to elect. 

I wanted to share an important lesson for future campaigns and leaders that no neighborhood should be left behind. When I was first considering this run, I was advised that there was “no point in the point” - that I shouldn’t waste my time engaging with voters in our most diverse community due to historic low voter turnout. I rejected this advice because I refuse to perpetuate a pattern and I believe every resident counts. It turned out to pay off last night when I received over 90 votes from that precinct in an election where I won by just over 100 votes. There are so many people and families in that neighborhood in need of our advocacy and I was proud to run a language inclusive campaign that respected their concerns. 

A special thank you to my wonderful family, particularly my mom who knocked on countless doors and made countless phone calls in not just one campaign but two and has supported me unconditionally through all the roller coaster rides of my life. It was an incredible experience to run alongside my friends Henry Gulergun for school committee and Chris Malstrom for ward 1. They made running for office feel anything but lonely and their love for this city and strong desire to make a difference kept me inspired and energized. I can honestly say that I would not be here without the support and friendship that I received from them or Henry’s wife, Lydia who kept me sane through the craziness of campaigning and became my brain when mine was too overwhelmed to work. Shoutout to my friends Veronica Miranda and AJ Hoffman for their amazing victories as well. Congratulations to Filipe Zamborlini for running a fantastic, progressive campaign. I look forward to our many future conversations and learning from his experience both lived and professional when it comes to housing to make sure that I have the tools to be the best and most effective councilor I can be. It is far from the end of any of their stories and the election being over means it’s time for the real work to begin. 
Thank you again from the bottom of my heart. Now let’s create a more equal and thriving Salem! 

The Salem Patch had a great article about the election. Click below to read.