Pamela Salaam wants Your Vote for State Rep.

Last month, non-profit organizer and community activist Pamela Salaam officially filed as a candidate for State House in the 16th Representative District (RD-16), which includes most of the City of New Castle (see map below).

RD-16 has been represented in Dover since 2018 by Rep. Franklin Cooke, whom Salaam is challenging in the Democratic Party Primary to be held on Tuesday, September 15, 2026. (In order to vote in the primary, residents must be registered as Democrats by May 31, 2026.)

I recently sat down with Ms. Salaam at the Route 9 Library & Innovation Center to offer her a chance to introduce herself to City Topics readers.

Ms. Salaam cuts a diminutive figure that contrasts with her highly energetic personality, which is a room-filler. Having been provided some of the topics we planned to cover, she came well-prepared with notes and references.

This is Mr. Cooke’s first challenge in either a primary or general election since he took office. As no Republican has filed to run in the district as of now (and would face a very uphill slog in this very ‘blue’ area if they do), whoever wins the primary is likely to become the area’s Representative.

The interview is below. Some interjections have been removed and some questions made more concise, in order to keep the focus on Ms. Salaam’s answers. New Topics are indicated with questions in bold.

You can also listen to the full conversation (unedited) as a Podcast, here.

City Topics (CT): Can you describe your background a little bit, and how that experience would translate into representing our area?

Pamela Salaam (PS): I was born and raised in the Southbridge community, and I’ve been very passionate about giving back to my community.

I attended public schools from K to 12, and I had a core group of teachers, and not only teachers, but clergymen as well, who genuinely cared about me and about my success and encouraged me to be all that I was set up to be from a very early age. They help me to make decisions and guidance to be a more responsible adult.

I worked for Christiana Care for many years. I retired after 28 years. While I was there, I did obtain my drug and alcohol counseling degree from Delaware Tech. I retired from Christiana Care and I went to work in the field. I was an outpatient counselor at Pace. And then I turned over to be a inpatient counselor at Miramont Treatment Center.

So I am a true professional and my best skill is to always... I was always a very empathetic and listening and very concerned person.

CT: So how would you translate that experience into representing people in public office in the legislature?

PS: Well, what I’m finding out is from knocking, from doing the canvassing and knocking on doors, that the constituents are so disconnected with the political arena, for lack of a better word. They are so voiceless. And so knocking the doors, I’m able to have a listening ear and to engage them to talk about what’s really going on with them. And most of them don’t even have a clue as to what is going on.

CT: What do you attribute that to?

PS: I believe that there is just so much on every level, the federal level, the state level, and so many external stressors going on that the people, when I say the people, the constituents, are so preoccupied with dealing with everything.

CT: It’s just too much.

PS: They’re overwhelmed.

CT: So if you were elected to office, what are your main policy interests and what issues would you want to focus on?

PS: Well, my main focus, since... We live in a district where there’s, right here busy on the Route 9 Corridor, there’s the tractor trailer traffic. And I’ve been working on this prior to even deciding to run for House Representative, because it’s always been a concern, because I live right on New Castle Avenue. So I get a lot of the tractor trailer traffic. I’m really concerned about the emissions. Our house, how it shakes from the foundation of the traffic that’s going by. So tractor trail traffic is one of my top three.

I also am concerned about the chemicals, the chemical companies that are in our district as well. There’s no accountability for when there’s a leak. There’s none.

CT: Such as Croda?

PS: Croda, yes, they’re in our district. And there are many more.

CT: Do you think these companies see paying the penalties as just part of the cost of doing business? … “Legal for a fee,” if you will?

PS: I believe that’s what’s happening. However, there still needs to be a little bit more of accountability of ownership. You know, how could they avoid it happening again? And then there’s not enough notification when it does happen.

Then I have one other, which is really high on my agenda as well, is the food desert and food insecurity. My nonprofit, one of our programs is We Feed the Hungry. We went out initially to feed the homeless, but when we got out there, we realized that homeless people aren’t the only people who are hungry. People are hungry. Right?

So not only are people hungry, however, in the Route 9 corridor in the district, we don’t even have enough supermarkets to be able to accommodate the needs to the constituents. We have to ride outside of the district to do that. And then there’s, and nothing to take away from the corner stores, but how healthy can we get a healthy meal out of these stores? So that is my goal, to bring in a much more healthier eating to the community, like bringing in local farmers or, try to connect with the communities and the Neighborhood House to try to bring in fresh vegetables, whatever we can do to try to help decrease the high rate of our health issues that are in this district.

CT: What do you think distinguishes you from the incumbent you are challenging, Mr. Cooke? What made you decide to run now?

PS: Well, I believe that we all are unique and I’m quite different from anybody. Okay. But I decided to run for office because I think it’s time for a change. I think that we need to have legislators in Dover that are connected with the constituents. Again, like I said, the people are so disconnected that they don’t even realize the power that they have in their voice. So we need legislators in Dover that are concerned about the constituents, and we need them in Dover to sponsor legislation to solve the problems. And that’s why I’m running.

CT: How should communities like New Castle and the Route 9 Corridor balance the need for more housing with the concerns of residents who may be worried about increased traffic or strains on local services and things like that?

PS: Well, I think that we need more resources. When we talk about housing, we need more resources for shelter beds. I’m going to get right to that point right there because there is a lack of. However, we need to provide a little bit more services for the unhoused. Because let’s face it, we do have developments going up. However, everyone is not able to participate in what is being available today.

CT: They’re not always affordable.

PS: No, they’re not. And then we want to say, well, what is affordable living?

CT: We’ve reported previously how, in Delaware, more than 50% of people fall under the federal limit for “affordable housing” eligibility. The term is a bugaboo.

PS: Yeah, very frustrating. And then they even break it down, says [housing should be] 30% of the income that they get, where the minimum wage doesn’t even accommodate that.

CT: There are kind of two issues here, right? Helping those who are currently unhoused, and then creating places for young families and folks who need housing to be able to afford it. Do you think the state has a role to play in forcing local communities to accept more dense development?

PS: Absolutely. Everybody has a role to play in the issue. The state has a role to make sure everyone is housed. Okay. I, just, what does that look like?

CT: Energy costs are also very high on everybody’s mind. How should the state be handling the ballooning cost of energy that’s hurting residents?

PS: Well, I think Delaware has to find a way to stop letting energy providers increase the rates. That’s number one. And then I need to learn more about the data centers to understand how they’re playing a role in the cost of energy in a state. And my limited information with that is that they are helping to perpetuate the cost, energy costs, as well.

CT: If you become a member of the Democratic Caucus, the leader of that caucus currently is Melissa Minor-Brown. Would you support her continuing in the role of Speaker next session?

PS: Well, it’s been exciting to see that a black woman can have leadership in the House of Representatives in Delaware for the first time. If I’m elected, I will do my homework and make the best decision for leadership when it’s time to do so.

CT: That’s a very politic answer. And completely fair... You need to know who the competition is first.

PS: I mean, you know.

CT: Well, what else do you think folks should know about you as they consider your candidacy?

PS: Well, I’m all about solutions and that’s true. I don’t like living in the problem. Because you talk about a problem without talking about a solution. That’s like complaining. And I believe that we have a lot of complaining going on today and not very many solutions. So I want to hear the ideals and solutions of the constituents of the district, and I want to be part of the implementing solutions to make Delaware to be the best.

Now, that may sound political. However, that is who I am. You know, I understand there’s a need to feed hungry people, so let’s feed the hungry people. And that’s why I’ve been doing that for five years. You know, so I’m all about getting to the bottom of it and moving on.

CT: It sounds like you prefer a more direct approach to a lot of problems.

PS: Yeah, I feel like there has been a lot of passivity, a lot of walking around the bush. No, let’s go, let’s get, let’s go right there. Let’s stop the buck.

CT: All right. Well, thank you very much, Ms. Salaam.

Without saying anything about either candidate, elections are good for democracy. And if there’s only one candidate, it’s not really an election. So I’m always excited to see folks stepping up so that there’s a discussion moving forward. Even if you’re not successful, the fact that you’re willing to raise issues and talk to people that otherwise might not be involved in the process is great.

PS: Yeah, and that’s the thing that going into it, and that is always a possibility of not being successful, but it’s a win-win for me. You understand? Win-win meaning that I’m getting out of my comfort zone, to do something which very few are doing against the incumbent. And I’m not afraid to do it.

CT: I should mention, I want to congratulate you on receiving the endorsement of the Working Families Party, which I saw online today.

PS: Oh, yes. Yes, and more to come.

CT: We’ll stay tuned for that.

Thanks to Ms. Salaam for taking the time to sit down for this Q&A. Readers may learn more about her candidacy at her campaign website.

Representative Cooke has received the same set of topics for discussion and has also indicated interest in completing our Q&A. Once we are able to get that done that with him, it will be shared as well.

Here, again, is a link to the audio/podcast version:

Listen: Q&A with Pamela Salaam

·

May 7

Last month, non-profit organizer and community activist Pamela Salaam officially filed as a candidate for State House in the 16th Representative District (RD-16), which includes most of the City of New Castle (see map below).

• Primary Election is Tuesday, September 15, 2026

• General Election is Tuesday, November 3, 2026

Helpful Election Links:

• iVote.DE.gov (Voter Registration — incl. changes to party affiliation — & Absentee Ballot Requests)

• DE Department of Elections (Candidate lists, Campaign Finance Info, and more)

• Ballotpedia.org (Info on past elections — the “encyclopedia of American politics”)

• OpenSecrets.org (Campaign & PAC finance info)

City Topics is not affiliated with, and does not endorse, any candidate, candidate’s committee, PAC or other political entity.

.