For the past two years, the Salem City Council has been in a state of utter dysfunction.

We’ve witnessed exceptionally embarrassing, perhaps unprecedented, behavior not once, but twice in public meetings, showcasing a serious breakdown in civility and for longstanding City Council tradition.

The dysfunction has spawned significant mistrust among council members and a contentious environment where both small and big matters turn into political footballs. For instance, proposed measures meant to help tackle the city’s biggest issue, the housing crisis, are not being passed at the speed that addressing the multilayered issue demands.

We cannot, in good faith, endorse candidates who view the Salem housing crisis as a singular issue. It’s a systemic one demanding systemic-level solutions, from monetary resources to zoning changes.

“We can’t solve our homelessness problem, without building more housing. We can’t stabilize taxes on our existing homeowners, without growing our tax base. We can’t save our vacant historic buildings, without providing a path for their productive reuse,” said Mayor Kim Driscoll earlier in the year. “It’s the most fundamental law of economics: supply and demand.”

We agree.

Over the past two years, anything substantive that passed muster required the council majority to pull teeth - well into the 11th hour and only after beating-a-dead-horse debate. The passage of the zoning ordinance creating a permitting pathway to repurpose municipal and religious buildings into affordable and market-rate housing constitutes the most extreme example.

In our eyes, Salem councilors must maintain independent voices and ask tough and important questions – but not obstruct.

We’ve seen a council minority keep important matters – like Gov. Charlie Baker’s appointment of the mayor to the Salem Housing Authority – in the Ordinances, License and Legal Affairs Committee for months. The tactic denies the council majority debate and votes.

In this election cycle, we encourage Salem voters to take a hard look at the effectiveness and motivation of former and incumbent councilors running with histories of deploying delay tactics and/or voting “no” on the most important policies and orders without fail.

Councilors who constantly criticize and vote down policy ideas – yet neither offer reasonable compromises to get themselves or others to “yes,” nor put their own solutions forward, we believe, do not belong on the council.

From the housing crisis and climate change to taxes and traffic and parking, tackling these issues of the city requires creativity, compromise, expertise, collaboration and real leadership.

For the Tuesday, Nov. 5 municipal elections, the Salem Gazette endorses the following Salem City Council candidates:

At-large councilors: Conrad Prosniewski, Ty Hapworth, Alyce Merkl and Jeff Cohen Ward 1: Robert McCarthy Ward 2: Christine Madore Ward 3: Patricia Morsillo Ward 4: Michael Cusick Ward 5: Josh Turiel Ward 6: Megan Riccardi Ward 7: Andrew Varela

As part of its endorsement process, the Salem Gazette editorial team sent questionnaires to the 22 Salem City Council candidates whose names will be on the Tuesday, Nov. 5 election ballot for the four at-large councilor seats and the seven ward councilor seats. All but one candidate responded. Alongside analyzing returned responses, candidates’ remarks and/or voting records in community forums, public meetings and media coverage informed the editorial team's endorsements.