Democrat Candidate for City of Salem Mayor Hank Jacoby, 52, was found dead in his home early Thursday morning.
He unexpectedly passed away in his sleep. A cause of death has not yet been reported. 
Originally a native of New England, Jacoby claimed Salem and his own for the past nine years. He began working at Kimball International in June 2006 as a Materials Manager and had moved up to become the Global Sourcing Commodity Manager in June 2010.
Prior to that, Jacoby had worked as a supply chain coordinator at Mill’s Pride in Waverly, Ohio for 11 years.
In October 2008, Jacoby joined the Washington County Chamber of Commerce where he served as president and director for more than five years. He worked hard and helped to grow the organization back to full health.
Recently, Jacoby had entered the political arena and had been campaigning for the Democrat party nomination to run in the fall election as Mayor of Salem.
Washington County Democrat Chair Doug Leatherbury said he was excited about Jacoby running in the primary. “He’s certainly reaching people that the party hasn’t reached. I think he had a lot of great ideas and a lot of energy.”
Leatherbury pointed out Jacoby’s campaign was a bit non-traditional. “He decided not to use yard signs and instead was putting people to work in the community holding his signs in high-traffic areas. He was doing something different which got people’s attention.”
Jabody served on the board of directors of the Washington County Chamber of Commerce and the Washington County Economic Growth Partnership as well as being a member of Rotary. He also served as a SOAR! tutor and was on the Work One: Workforce Investment board.
Arrangements are pending.
