One of the responsibilities of being the mayor of Hudson is to make appointments to various regulatory and governing boards: the Planning Board, the Zoning Board of Appeals, the Historic Preservation Commission, and the Hudson Housing Authority Board of Commissioners. Mayor Kamal Johnson seems to be falling behind in making appointments, and, as 2023 draws to a close, Gossips reviews the situation.
- The Planning Board has been one member short for quite a while now. At the end of 2023, the board will be three members short. John Cody's term ends on December 31, 2023, as does the term of Ben Forman, who was appointed this summer to finish out the term of Gene Shetsky, who resigned after accepting the job of cemetery clerk.
- The Zoning Board of Appeals has its requisite seven members, but Myron Polenberg's term expired at the end of 2022, and he has been serving for the past year without having been reappointed. Abbie Lazare's term expires on December 31, 2023. It is not known if she will be reappointed, or if she, like Polenberg, will continue to serve without being reappointed.
- The Historic Preservation Commission, which takes a fairly active role in making recommendations to the mayor for new members, currently has its requisite seven members, but, as is the case with the ZBA, one of its members continues to serve without having been reappointed. Hugh Biber's term on the HPC expired at the end of July 2023, and there is no indication that he has been reappointed.
- The Hudson Housing Authority Board of Commissioners is comprised of seven members--two resident members who are elected by HHA tenants and five members who are appointed by the mayor. For at least a year, there have only been four non-tenant members of the board: Revonda Smith, Claire Cousin, Rebecca Wolff, and Nick Zachos. Rebecca Borrer, who was appointed by Johnson in 2022, hasn't attended a meeting for at least a year.
COPYRIGHT 2023 CAROLE OSTERINK
The Mayor has also not appointed a new DPW Commissioner since Peter Bujanow quickly and quietly exited a few months ago. One wonders where, or if, the mayor is looking for a replacement.
ReplyDeleteThe mayor sure seems to do sweet fuck all for this city. Too busy compiling his annual list of 40 under 40 I guess. He is bone lazy or simply uninterested in the work of governance. Or both. Meanwhile, the roads deteriorate, the machinery of city governance continues to decline and he draws his salary as if he earns it, which he demonstrably does not. Perhaps that’s why he got the fewest votes cast in the last election. It’s too bad the only people interested in running this city properly are either too young or too old for the job.
ReplyDelete