Election Prep

Early voting begins next Saturday. The two polling places are the Columbia County Office Building, 4o1 State Street, in Hudson, and the Martin H. Glynn Municipal Building, 3211 Church Street, in Valatie. The hours for early voting are:

• Saturday, October 28--9:00 a.m. to 5:00 p.m.
• Sunday, October 29--9:00 a.m. to 5:00 p.m.
• Monday, October 30--Noon to 8:00 p.m.
• Tuesday, October 31--9:00 a.m. to 5:00 p.m.
• Wednesday, November 1--Noon to 8:00 p.m.
• Thursday, November 2--9:00 a.m. to 5:00 p.m.
• Friday, November 3--9:00 a.m. to 5:00 p.m. 
• Saturday, November 4--9:00 a.m. to 5:00 p.m.
• Sunday, November 5--9:00 a.m. to 5:00 p.m.

For us Hudsonians, there is not much to vote on besides the heavily campaigned races for Columbia County district attorney and the two county judge seats. In every city race--mayor, treasurer, Common Council president, supervisor, and councilmembers--the only choices are the Democratic candidates. The notable exception is in the Third Ward, where Bill Huston is running on his own "Fiscal Responsibility" line. The sample ballots can be reviewed here.

• First Ward  
• Second Ward
• Third Ward
• Fourth Ward
• Fifth Ward

Something we haven't heard much about are the two statewide proposals that appear on the back of the ballot.

The first proposal would remove a special debt limit now imposed on small city school districts. The state constitution now limits the amount of debt a small city school district can incur to 5 percent of the value of the taxable real estate in the district. For other school districts, the debt limit is 10 percent of the value of taxable real property. If the proposal passes, small city school districts would have the same debt limit as other school districts. The Hudson City School District is a small city school district.

The second proposal relates to debt incurred by counties, cities, towns, and villages for sewage treatment and disposal construction projects. The state constitution limits the debt municipalities can incur, but sewage projects are currently exempt from that limit. The exemption will expire on January 1, 2024. If passed, the proposal would extend that sewer debt exemption for another ten years, until January 1, 2034. 

More information about these two proposals can be found here.

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