Meet AJ Harpold
A Salem business owner dedicated to public service, AJ is committed to bringing pragmatic solutions and a fresh perspective to our community’s challenges.
AJ Harpold would be a great selection for Salem City Council, as a mother of a young child herself, she understands firsthand what young families need to thrive in our city. I want a council member who will bring that perspective to the tables and make sure the voices of parents and children are represented.
Kristin Newton, Salem, VA
Support for Local Small Businesses
Let’s keep Salem’s economy locally driven by championing our small businesses and the manufacturers in our community. We’ve created a beautiful downtown scape in the heart of our city. We want to see businesses going in on Main Street. Small businesses are the heartbeat of Salem. Unlike massive, automated facilities that consume local resources, our downtown shops, restaurants, and local services invest directly back into the community, support local families, and build neighborhood character. I would love to work with the city to create a city-funded grant program for downtown facade and structural improvements and establish a small-business network to help local startups navigate city permitting and licensing.
Education
Salem teachers will have a 4.3% pay increase this fiscal year to help keep up with the increasing cost of living, but our teachers need much more support. The City of Salem must agree to continue to increase the salaries of our educators in our yearly budgets, so they are adequately compensated in helping to shape the future of Salem. But support shouldn’t be limited to just salary increases. As a community we can support our teachers by getting more involved in and volunteering in our communities and schools. It truly takes a village to make a village. Our children are the future of Salem. Let’s get involved in any way possible.
Support of
Emergency Services
Let’s engage our community to create funding and essential resources for our public safety and our public’s education of fire and personal safety in our schools and in our communities. Let’s create outreach programs, wellness initiatives for first responders, and advocate for budget allocations to enhance our service capabilities. As someone who has experienced firsthand the professionalism, support and care that Law Enforcement, Fire, EMS and Public Safety Telecommunicators provide, I can vouch for their dedication and their commitment to their calling. Let’s support our first responders as they are our local heroes.
Teen Center for our Youth
I strongly support the citizens of Salem, who are trying to create a teen center for the youth here in Salem. As many people know our middle school students are sometimes a demographic that gets left behind. We focus lots of attention to our on elementary students, fresh and eager to start their lifetime of learning. We focus our energies on our high schoolers about to enroll in college, trade schools, or enter the job market. But our middle school students could use some additional educational and recreational outlets. Spaces designated for education, recreation and socialization. A place where students could be exposed to trades and outside art and music education. There are a lot of community members looking to mentor our youth, share their trades, knowledge and various skill sets. We need to create a safe space for our youth that harnesses this energy, so we can share and prepare our children to be the future of Salem.
Core Commitments
AJ is focused on the issues that matter most to our families and our future.
Local Historic Preservation
If the goal is to protect our architectural heritage, we need to promote the responsible, adaptive reuse of historic buildings in the City of Salem. The city is in need of local meeting spaces, teen after school recreation and tutoring spaces. Salem is a historic city with a vibrant past. We must ensure that future development does not bulldoze the structures that give our city its unique identity. Historic buildings tell the story of our community, attract heritage tourism, and anchor our neighborhoods. It’s truly one of our unique and lasting legacies. Let’s expand our local historic districts and streamline the approval process for "adaptive reuse" projects, Lets create a local Architectural Review Board to review and prevent the demolition of contributing historic structures.
Environmental Conservation (Soil & Water Initiatives)
Let’s defend our local watersheds and topsoil from unchecked urban sprawl and industrial runoff. Let's look to improve our impervious surfaces and continue to maintain our green and recreational spaces. This takes change and doing some different. Our natural environment is the foundation of our community's health and quality of life. We cannot sacrifice the pristine rivers, streams, and fertile soils that define the Roanoke Valley for short-term corporate gains and quick fixes.
Let's preserve our local canopy of over 81,000 trees. Salem Virginia boasts a wide variety of native trees. This includes a wide selection of Oaks, Maples, Evergreens and Flowering trees. Great examples of our heritage trees, The Osage Orange Tree at Preston Place stands as an example of legacy, growth and the perseverance of the citizens of Salem. The wide variety and numerous memorial and dedicated trees that line the walks of Roanoke College create a gorgeous greenscape in the heart of the city.
Let’s partner with groups like the Sierra Club, the Virginia Soil and Water Conservation, the Roanoke Valley Preservation Foundation and the Virginia Department of Historic Resources. We are stronger when we work together.
What every member of the City of Salem should know: The City of Salem is proposing a new Stormwater Utility Fee to take effect in 2027 to comply with state and federal clean water mandates. The proposed residential fee is roughly $10 per month for most single-family properties. Developed properties with impervious surfaces will be assessed based on their impact on stormwater runoff, unlike property taxes. This funding is necessary, but only if it’s for actionable items not just administrative costs.
