but you can't choose your family.
Yesterday, the Times Union and the Register-Star reported on the arrest and arraignment of six people allegedly involved in a drug trafficking ring in Columbia County. Among the suspects was Duhamel Johnson, identified by the Times Union as one of the two leaders of the ring and identified by the Register-Star as the brother of Mayor Kamal Johnson. The Register-Star went on to report:
Kamal Johnson declined to comment on his brother's arrest, but had this to say.
"Why? He is an adult. Do you contact every person who was arrested and ask their siblings for a statement?" Kamal Johnson said.
In response to that, one might point out that not everyone who is arrested is related to an elected official.
Johnson is not the first elected official in Hudson to have siblings who have had run-ins with the law. Last December, two of Alderman Calvin Lewis's brothers were arrested in raids that resulted in the discovery of illegal drugs and eight illegal handguns. Asked by a Register-Star reporter to comment, Lewis criticized the manner in which the raids had been carried out.
COPYRIGHT 2020 CAROLE OSTERINK
As with fathers, we extend the same to brothers:
ReplyDelete"The son shall not suffer for the iniquity of the father, nor the father suffer for the iniquity of the son; the righteousness of the righteous shall be upon himself, and the wickedness of the wicked shall be upon himself" - Ezekiel 18:20
Hey Ezekiel -- we're not asking the mayor to suffer anything, and he's certainly not being criticized for his brother's actions. Jeez, just say you are disappointed in your brother and hope the best for him. And move on. The mayor's defensiveness and lashing out is bizarre and crass -- this isn't the first time of late, either. He needs a PR adviser.
ReplyDeleteYes, we can all do better, self included.
DeleteCarole, your bias is showing. Why do you only seem to cover these incidents when it involves people of color? I seem to remember a relative of a former mayor being arrested for embezzlement. Maybe I just missed your coverage..... If not this is shameful.
ReplyDeleteIf you are referring to Pam Hallenbeck, her husband was no longer the mayor when the incident happened. That's the difference.
DeleteAs i said, FORMER. It doesn't change what this is; dog whistle politics, plain and simple.
ReplyDeleteHi Nick -
ReplyDeleteWhat does "dog whistle politics" mean?
Susan
The mayor is a public figure. By extension his immediate family is, too. Former mayors aren’t public figures. I fail to see the bad intent necessary to lower something to the type of racist communication Mr. Zachos charges. I think it’s perhaps a case of “if you look hard enough . . ..”
ReplyDeletePlease, nick zachos, that is absurd. Carole is posting something straight out of our local newspaper that has to do with our current mayor. What the heck is wrong with that? Is the RS guilty of your criticisms, too? Got any other examples of "these incidents when it involves people of color?"
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ReplyDeleteExcellent points, Holst. Whenever this mayor has to discuss anything uncomfortable, he and Zachos react as if goaded. Really, it’s a missed opportunity to have upfront, honest conversations about important issues. Isn’t it also possible this relative could have sold drugs in Hudson or the county given his connections to the area? Of course the mayor’s opinion on this subject matters in the midst of a nationwide drug epidemic.
ReplyDeleteAnd should the Mayor comment on his family member arrest wouldn’t you have to post your POV.
ReplyDeleteIt’s
How about you leave the Mayor alone during his trying times with his family.
Leave the stones on the ground.
I was just reading a great Jelani Cobb piece in the NYer where he wrote, re the overwhelming number of Black people arrested when NYC started enforcing social distancing guidelines: “ But the racially skewed arrest numbers—like the racially skewed numbers associated with infections, hospitalizations, and fatalities—suggest that our perennial problem remains the disparities that mar the society into which the virus was introduced.” It’s about COVID, and in NYC, not Columbia County, but his point about structural disparities resonated. Also, always worth noting how compassion would dictate one’s actions: how painful it is when a family member is in trouble and how to be kind and caring in the face of that pain.
ReplyDeleteVery valid point, Tamar. I worked on this when I was on the local school board (some 30% black students and no black teachers or administrators) and conducted a study of the district's "code of conduct," which disproportionately punished black students. I also helped Ellen Henderson, a long-time aide at the school, with her Parents in Partnership program, which invited black parents and guardians to get involved in these disciplinary events, providing help and support in defending the kids and creating dialogue that went a long way in cutting back on suspensions. What Hudson needs to do--and the Mayor should encourage it--is get Supervisors and Council members to work with their communities to engage them in the political process.
DeleteI hesitate to weigh in here, but since I've known Duhamel since he was in third grade -- and was his reading mentor -- I can testify to his wonderful personality, intelligence, and winning smile. But like many poor kids, he fell through the cracks of our multi-cracked social service system-- I include public schools, Section 8 housing, and an array of other publicly-funded services. I sympathize with the Mayor and any public official who has troubled relatives, but part of the point of having officials with such burdens is that they should have better insights about the solutions. Unfortunately, Mayor Johnson and his small cadre of socialists prefer to hook up with millionaire developers and fail to even appoint a housing commissioner to help the people who need the basics of a healthy and safe life.
ReplyDeleteOne would think I was arrested. People can always say you should answer like this or that but you never know how you will answer until your in the situation. I've read "he's a public figure he should understand it's different for him" but why? why should I have to just be ok with this standard because others before me have been? I love my family always have always will. As adults we have to make decisions those decisions come with consequence. I have had family on both sides addiction and drug dealing. I'll spare you about how I didn't have a "typical upbringing" because those who know, they know. What I will say is that I continue to do work in the prison system and the recovery world but some of you don't know that because you only choose to read what you can represent as negative of me. I really invest myself in this work. I'm not perfect and neither is my family but also neither are any of you. Hundreds of people from across our county reached out to me to let me know they are with and to stay focused and for that I am extremely grateful. It shows me that life doesn't live on this blog. People that look down on people will never have the love that people who reach down to help people have. I have been in countless magazines this year, on national news a handful of times and on the local news dozens of times and not one link ever gets shared here. Representing our city with honor each time. I did a lot this year during a time when I could have had every excuse not to accomplish anything and I made no excuses. I'm also proud of the leader Alderman Calvin Lewis is in the community. We are both diamonds in the rough. Our work continues because we have so many that look up to us.
ReplyDeleteAlso there is no such thing as a housing commissioner. It's not in the charter for me to appoint one. Not sure what that has to do with this but cool. We are going to be working with Patterns for Progress on sorting out some housing issues in our city. Now I'm off to spend time with my family.
~Mayor Kamal Johnson
You talk about how close you are to your family, I can appreciate that. If you are close, I assume that you have known for some time that your brothers are dealing drugs, you can’t have it both ways. If you have known that your family is dealing drugs then you need to resign. If you have known that your own brothers are selling drugs and you serve on these committees, you meet with police, you claim to want to address drug issues, doesn’t that make you a hypocrite? So much talk here and elsewhere about how we need to be sensitive to the mayor’s family, MAYBE we need to talk about the families of those who are overdosing at an all time high in our community, and MAYBE we need to talk about those who are supplying those people with drugs. Ugh.
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DeleteThe mayor is not his brother's keeper - but one would expect more from him than this Donald Trump like rant. All this aside I would like to know why he has not focused any time or effort on finding funding or hiring a Housing Commissioner to address Affordable Housing in a meaningful way- particularly in light of his approving legislation to funnel almost $400K of lodging tax revenue to fund dance parties and other nonsensical endeavors which were claimed to promote tourism and increase tax revenue- as well as giving his Aide a $10K raise in 2021. The mayor might consider asking this Aide and 3rd Ward Supervisor Michael Chameides (with whom he shares an office) about the role of Housing Commissioner/Coordinator. Chameides outlines on his website that one of his priorities as 3rd Ward Supervisor is appointing one- see here https://chameid.es/supervisor/affordable-housing
DeleteThose “dance parties” really bother you. Ha.
DeleteIf Donald Trump had a brother convicted of fraud and media companies buried the story, we'd all be up in arms. Similarly, local media has a responsibility to its readers to report that the mayor's sibling was arrested.
ReplyDeleteIt's also incumbent upon consumers of media to understand that reporting about the mayor's brother is in no way an indictment of the mayor. We are all adults and should be able to distinguish the two as separate people.
Johnson's response was not ideal (his rant above about being on magazine covers doubly so, but let's set that aside.) He was stressed and tired-he gave a human response. It's fine.
Maybe local Democrats need to take a step back and to think about who and what they stand for. This guy talks a LOT about his reputation, about how people love him. Sounds a lot like Trump to me. Gross. Time to look for a new candidate in 2021. Seriously.
DeleteSystemic racism is perhaps the hardest to fight, because it's so ingrained in society that it's often cast aside and overlooked, as evidenced by Carole's steadfast defenders. It is curious that she would 'incriminate' herself even more by calling out Calvin Lewis, underscoring her systemic bias. And yet, I doubt any readers here would want to be judged based on the collective actions of family members. Tim 'Unheimlich' stated it well above in quoting Ezekiel. I'd add that if you want to criticize the mayor, stick to policy issues and leave 'guilt by family association' in antiquity, where it belongs. -- Chris McManus
ReplyDeletePublic figures will always be of interest, and as such get covered. I frankly think an ex official is equally worthy of coverage, and that the point of covering the Johnson's but not the Hallenbeck's is well taken. That said, It is worth considering the reason that underground economies exist, and the fact that millions survive by working within them because they can't access other ways to make ends meet. I am not condoning drug dealing, but I will say it is a much more complex issue than a simple right and wrong. I will also say that although scrutiny and commentary are part of being in the public eye, systemic inequities also play a part, in that wealthy people who have historically occupied higher elected offices have less likelihood of having "public scandal" attached to them because their families and communities have more money, and more resources to insulate themselves from scandal, from relatives that might face challenges. As people break the traditional mostly male, mostly white molds in jobs and positions of leadership across the board, they will inherently be messier... that's not necessarily a bad thing. Stacey Abrams won my heart when she spoke of having debt, of understanding the need to pay bills.... Same thing when AOC said she needed her paycheck to get a DC apt... that she didn't personally have those resources in reserve... Real talk, life in Hudson hasn't necessarily been easy, opportunities for many haven't existed, so what's remarkable isn't that Mayor Kamal Johnson has relatives who've had legal issues (and btw, innocent til proven guilty, due process...) What's remarkable is that he put himself through school, and became elected mayor of his city. It does not matter whether you agree or disagree on the issues, that in itself is something to be truly proud of.
ReplyDeleteBeautifully stated Monica. Very eloquent!
DeleteYou are doing more harm than good when you make excuses for drug dealers. Stop. There are jobs out there, they are not glamorous but you start somewhere.
DeleteAre drug dealers in any way responsible for the deaths of of those people who they supply with drugs? https://www.justice.gov/usao-ndny/pr/saratoga-county-drug-dealer-sentenced-20-years-fentanyl-overdose-death
ReplyDeleteHolst: I am not making excuses for drug dealers, but I am saying that underground economies, which include drug dealing exist for a reason, and that it is much more complicated than a simple right/wrong dichotomy, and pretending otherwise not only ignores the reality of systemic inequities, but also does nothing to help solve the problem. Nothing in our society is as easy or simple as “pulling yourself up by your bootstraps”.
ReplyDeleteHave you ever been to the funeral of a kid who died of a fentanyl overdose? I've been to a few.
DeleteUgh. “Underground economies”. “Right/wrong dichotomy “. Ugh.
DeleteUgh.
DeleteKamal and Calvin should not be crucified because you didn’t get the comment you think you deserve. They have both decided to break the cycle of crime within their families and decided to become upstanding members of their community, we should be applauding them. They are not responsible for the actions of their family, and have not broken the law. Just because they are political figures doesn’t mean we have the right to tell them how to deal with these kind of situations. Neither one of these situations have effected the ability to do their job so there’s no reason why anyone should be asking them to resign. they have both worked through this pandemic to make sure that the community they both grew up in remained above water, instead of sinking like so many others. So on that note, we should be thanking them!
ReplyDeleteCorrection, the City of Hudson is very much underwater financially. in 2019 it was not underwater.
DeleteIt will take some time to realize that reality, and what it means.