A new commission tasked with engaging and representing Salem’s large and diverse Hispanic community is closer to becoming reality after a city committee voted unanimously Wednesday to consider such a body.

The call for the commission is meant to address the fact that while one in four Salem residents is Hispanic-Latino, the Hispanic-Latino community remains largely disengaged from local government and is underrepresented in community decision making.

That’s according to Jonathan Castro Monroy, a local financial planner and community leader active in the Hispanic-Latino community, who said it is about time to bring Hispanic voices into the fold given the community’s size and influence in Salem.

“In some neighborhoods, the Hispanic community is the heart of the community. Yet, too often o

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