Attention First Ward Residents

As Gossips has reported, Claire Cousin has resigned her position as First Ward supervisor. On Friday, January 3, the Common Council will hold a special meeting to vote on who will finish out her term on the Columbia County Board of Supervisors. 

In the past, when an elected official representing the First Ward has resigned, residents of the First Ward have made their preference known to the Council. This has happened twice during the years that Gossips has existed: in 2012, when Larissa Parks resigned as First Ward alderman after serving in that position for only about ten weeks; and in 2015, when David Marston resigned as First Ward alderman to take a job in Minnesota. Each time, residents of the First Ward gathered to hear from the people interested in being appointed and to take a straw poll to show their preference. In 2012, the winner of the straw poll was Nick Haddad; and 2015, the winner of the straw poll was Rick Rector. Both times, the Common Council honored the wishes of the ward residents and appointed the person chosen in the straw poll.

First Ward gathering and straw poll 2012

First Ward gathering and straw poll 2015

Two people have expressed interest in becoming First Ward supervisor: Randall Martin and Alexandria Madero. 

Martin, who currently serves on the Planning Board and represents the Planning Board on the Hudson Industrial Development Agency (IDA), ran for a seat on the Common Council in 2023 and lost in the primary, receiving 66 votes as compared with 130 votes for Margaret Morris and 73 votes for Gary Purnhagen. 

Madero is a newcomer to Hudson politics. She got her introduction to civic engagement here in Hudson as a charter member of the 11 Warren Street Action Group, an experience that inspired her to become more involved in local politics, "with the hope," as she expressed it in her letter of intent, "of preventing something like that from happening again." Her experience with 11 Warren Street also revealed to her how little communication there is between the Board of Supervisors and the Common Council, and she intends, if appointed, "to act as a conduit between County and City" to remedy that situation. 

Perhaps because the appointment of a new First Ward supervisor is happening during the holidays, the tradition of having a First Ward meeting and a straw poll did not happen.  Nevertheless, there are still ways for First Ward residents to make their preference known. First Ward residents have started a petition to show their support for Alexandria Madero. That petition can be found here. 

Gossips believes that Madero will bring a fresh energy to the Board of Supervisors and the ability and willingness to fight our corner at the county level. Readers who live and are registered to vote in the First Ward are urged to sign the petition and let the Common Council know their preference. The petition can be found here.