Re-Elect Patti Morsillo, Ward 3 City Councilor

Councilor Patti Morsillo was first elected Ward 3 City Councilor in 2019. She is running for re-election in 2023 to continue her constituent-first approach to City Government.

In 2022, during her second term as Ward 3 City Councilor, Patti was unanimously elected President of the Council. She guided the work to bring the Council back to in-person meetings with hybrid access for residents. She focused on review and update of City Council rules, including a successful vote to change to Robert’s Rules of Order to replace an ancient version of Cushing’s Manual of Parliamentary Practice, and creating a Committee of the Whole to address larger issues more efficiently. Most importantly, she led a professional City Council that worked together collegially, debated respectfully, while focusing on the needs of constituents and forward growth of the City of Salem.

Education and Career: Patti is a Software Engineer, with a Master’s Degree and Bachelor’s Degree in Computer Science from Union College in Schenectady, NY. She is currently working as a web developer for a women-led consulting, branding, and development company. Her background in data and logic guides her approach to her work on regulations and ordinances.

Family: Patti and her husband, Lindsay, have called Salem home since 1988, living in their 2-family house on Broad Street. They have two grown children who attended Salem Public Schools from kindergarten to graduation. Anna is a music producer, educator, singer, museum docent and graduate student. Stephen is a mechanic on a racecar team, living in Charlotte, NC.

Constituent Work: As City Councilor, Patti has advocated for her constituents needs from sidewalk repairs, trash and litter clean-ups and concerns, parks improvements, road resurfacing, utility issues, traffic calming, traffic signs and enforcement, and connections to City resources for Salem’s Seniors, to name a few. She attends many City Board and Commission meetings, especially those focused on issues in the Ward, in order to keep her constituents informed. She continues to advocate for the redesign of Route 107 (Highland Ave), and for the second train station.

Pedestrian and cyclist safety together with traffic calming on neighborhood streets is an important issue in Ward 3 and in the City. Patti has advocated for increased police department enforcement of speeding and crosswalk violations. Salem is a highly walkable city, and the need to help pedestrians feel safe crossing streets or walking along entrance corridors is a priority.

Councilor Morsillo has convened several Neighborhood Meetings regarding new development, construction related issues, and Ward 3 concerns. She advocated for banning rock crushing as a condition for Planning Board permits, which is now a standard condition. She built consensus within City Government, Boards and Commissions to focus on the work needed to update our wetlands protections. The work resulted in a new Wetlands Ordinance, which passed in 2021. The work continues now on a Flood Hazard Overlay District Ordinance update and a new Climate Resiliency Overlay District Ordinance, which will be before the Council later this year.

Arguably the most impactful accomplishment over the past two terms has been Councilor Morsillo’s weekly Ward 3 Newsletter, emailed to six hundred constituents and residents in the City, and read and shared on social media. Keeping constituents informed and engaged is a priority, and she continues to advocate for and provide opportunities for constituents to participate in the process of government. With the lack of newspaper coverage of local news and decline in readership, the need to keep information flowing between City Hall and residents has never been more important. Sign up for Patti’s newsletter here.

City Council Leadership and Assignments: Councilor Morsillo was selected as the Chair of the Committee on Ordinances, Licenses, and Legal Affairs for 2021 and 2023. Patti takes this work in OLLA very seriously, and invites active dialog and consensus building in order to come to agreement on ordinance changes. She is currently a member of the Committee on Economic and Community Development. Previously, she was a member of the Committee on Public Health, Safety, and the Environment and Government Services.

Councilor Morsillo is currently the liaison to the Salem Human Rights Coalition and the Tree Commission. She is also a member of the Salem for All Ages Health Committee. Previously, she was liaison to the Planning Board, Board of Health, and Affordable Housing Trust Fund Board. Acting as Council Liaison affords her the opportunity and ability to learn more about the items before each of the boards, and the concerns of each. Often this will lead to work to update ordinances to better support the work of the boards.

Working Groups: The Wetlands Ordinance working group was begun because of Councilor Morsillo’s advocacy and efforts to update our Wetlands ordinance, which was woefully out of date. The updated ordinance was passed by the City Council in 2021. This led to her inclusion on the Floodplain Overlay and Climate Resiliency working group, targeting adoption in late 2023. Councilor Morsillo has also been involved in cross-department review of the Crowley offshore wind facility planning and design. And to prepare for a new Outdoor Dining ordinance, Patti is a member of a group surveying outdoor dining setups to insure accessibility for all.

Community Volunteer Work: With the help of two friends, Patti created the Salem Book Buddies Program, connecting over 350 adult volunteers with 3rd grade students to encourage a love of reading and writing. Last year, the program was expanded with a book delivery to 200 pre-K students in Salem. This is by far one of the most rewarding activities for those involved.

Patti became interested in City Council work over several years, most recently through the League of Women Voters of Salem, which she co-founded in 2017. As a member of the LWV Steering Committee, Patti wrote the monthly newsletter summarizing the working group achievements and events. She has advocated for common-sense gun control laws at the state and federal level through the working group she chaired. When not actively campaigning, Patti continues her work on the Steering Committee.

For over 15 years, Patti was actively involved with the Nathaniel Bowditch School and Salem High School. She was a member of the High School Graduation Requirements Task Force, the High School Improvement Plan Task Force, the Guidance-Parent Committee, and the District Technology Plan working group, and numerous hiring committees at both Nathaniel Bowditch and Salem High Schools, co-chair of Band Boosters, and member of School Council for many years. Her advocacy encompassed free SAT testing for all high school students, increased awareness of college options, graduation requirements that meet State University minimum requirements, increased music and arts offerings at the high school, technology and regular enrichment offerings at the elementary level.