An Idea Whose Time May Have Come

People have been talking about having a city manager in Hudson for almost two decades. Back in 2007, when I was on the Common Council and before I started writing The Gossips of Rivertown, I did a little study that looked at the governmental structure of municipalities that had, up until that point, won the National Trust's Great American Main Street Award. The thinking was that these were places Hudson should emulate. What I discovered was that the majority of these cities had city managers to provide the continuity and expertise needed to run a successful and sustainable city. If the city had mayors (and many did), they served a more ceremonial function.

There is a group of people in Hudson who are taking the idea of a city manager seriously and are proposing a charter change that would alter the structure of city government in this way:

• One mayor--elected
• Five, not eleven, members of the Common Council. One member of the Council would be elected chair by the councilmembers.
• One city manager, hired by the Common Council and accountable to them
• Term limits--three two-year terms for all elected officials

Today, Robert Rasner presented a document called Hudson Renewed: A Citizens' Initiative for Charter Change to the Hudson Development Corporation (HDC), an organization he served as board president from 2019 to 2022. The Forward to that document reads:

TIME FOR A CHANGE

Our local government shapes countless aspects of our daily lives—the streets we travel down, the rules our local businesses follow, and the school system our children attend. Public safety, libraries, housing, to name just a few—they all directly impact our day-to-day lives. 

Charter change is not a new idea. In 2011 there was a proposal to create a Charter Revision Commission, to "optimize efficiency, foster fair and equal representation, and seek the best possible model for responsible government.” At least three former mayors have mentioned charter change. So have several members of our Common Council. Not so long ago our Common Council president said he wanted a task force to develop a Charter review proposal.

The last significant charter change in Hudson was in 2016, when voters overwhelmingly approved a change to equalize Common Council members’ voting power. It was a good first step. 

Let’s restructure city hall. When we do, we’ll usher in greater efficiencies and a higher level of professionalism. 

We think it’s about time we did.

The following chart shows the organizational structure being proposed.

Interestingly, neither Mayor Kamal Johnson nor Council president Tom DePietro, both of whom serve ex officio on the HDC Board, were present at today's meeting.

In sharing the document with HDC, Rasner recounted the process leading up to this point:

When I first met with those who initiated this project some years back, we discussed how to move beyond legal writing to public discussion. We agreed on a “ground level” effort: simple get-togethers with anyone who would listen and offer ideas and opinions. 

Although the effort to bring this about has been called "secret," that is far from accurate. I have personally met with almost 100 citizens, ordinary people, who are interested in their city: former and present members of Common Council, business owners, a barista, city employees, a carpenter, a hairdresser, a restaurant manager, a barber, and a house painter, as well as a former Mayor. They listened. I listened. We left those conversations thinking about Hudson’s future, and how we might collectively improve our lot. 

Until today, the revised charter has only been a discussion and a lot of notes, not yet printed or distributed. Yet those who find criticism the easiest response to change have already claimed our efforts to be the “end of Democracy” in Hudson. . . .

Tell that to the 89 million Americans who live in 40 percent of all cities in our country governed in this style. Do our neighbors here in New York, 25 percent of all our cities governed in this style, feel they have lost democracy? I don’t believe that to be true. 

"Drafted by old white guys." There’s some truth to that. I’m an old white guy. Does that disqualify me from being an activist. And for the record, I did not do any of the legal heavy lifting. A team of attorneys did that, giving unselfishly of their time and talents. Those attorneys are a generation younger than I. And note, this was not just “guys.” Women were involved in the development of the proposal and are involved in carrying it forward. If I might make a prediction, it will be women that will be instrumental in its success.

Rasner also described the path forward. Next month, signatures will be sought on a petition to place the proposal on the desks of councilmembers. For this petition, 204 signatures are required. If the proposal is not approved by the Council within sixty days, another petition will be circulated, requiring 102 signatures, which would circumvent the Council and allow the proposal to be placed on the ballot in November 2025 as a referendum item.

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