MAYOR CHRIS HOY vs JULIE HOY:

     I do not know either mayoral candidate. I have not followed closely their separate public careers, though I heard a short speech by Mayor Chris Hoy at a town hall for another candidate. 
     When SCOTUS made its ruling on Citzens United back in 2010 nearly all spending limits for campaigning were  removed. Those campaign limits remaining could be avoided by various political action groups.That ruling, along with the 1978 corporate personhood ruling allows virtually unlimited campaign spending. What could possibly go wrong? We can refer to one particular party in slavish deference to MAGA for the answer to that question. Money buys power. Power gets concentrated. And now our future as a popular democracy is in jeopardy. 
     That axiom applies down ballot as well. Should Phil Knight, or some other local billionaire wish to fat-finger local politics, they merely write a check. Sometimes, as in our last gubernatorial election, Sir Knight started by sponsoring a 3rd party candidate for governor as a spoiler, then moved his backing to the Republican candidate. Fortunately his money did not buy a win. When a non-paid political office is in danger of being spoiled by a massive difference in campaign funding I get suspicious. As of April, 2024, Mayor Chris Hoy had a campaign balance of not quite $21,000, Julie Hoy had not quite $194, 000. What qualities does Julie Hoy have to offer that that much money can be raised so quickly? Is this money from local interests, or are out-of-state corporate spoilers stirring the political waters? Until very recently, this was merely a distasteful example of how the people have been removed from the political picture. Now that the suspicion has grown stronger that the Supreme Court Justices on the conservative side have an uncomfortable relationship to generous billionaires, this is no longer idle speculation. And so I ask, what is it that the Mayoral challenger has to make such massive funding worthwhile? Are there developers who wish to get favorable treatment? Could players in the Koch underworld wish to big-foot Salem government? These are important questions which I hope all Salem voters will consider strongly as they fill out their ballots.

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