The Gossips of Rivertown: January 2025

Friday, January 3, 2025

Diminishing Democracy

When the Hudson Charter Change group went public with its plan to reform city government, Mayor Kamal Johnson and Council president Tom DePietro contemned it as an effort to circumvent the will of the people. Speaking to the Register-Star, Johnson said what was proposed "kills the democratic process" and characterized the citizens' initiative as "making backroom decisions about city government without the citizens." Ironically, tonight, at the special meeting of the Common Council, we witnessed the will of the citizens of the First Ward ignored by the majority of the Common Council.

The principal purpose of tonight's special meeting was to appoint someone to finish out Claire Cousin's term as supervisor for the First Ward. Two people expressed interest in the position: Alexandria Madero and Randall Martin.

In the run up to the special Common Council meeting, supporters of Madero initiated a petition which in four days (two of which were holidays--New Year's Eve Day and New Year's Day) garnered 61 signatures from people confirmed to be First Ward residents and voters. The petition actually had 68 signatures, but some of the signatories could not be confirmed as First Ward residents. It is of no small significance that when Martin ran unsuccessfully for First Ward alderman in 2023, he received only 66 votes.

Learning of the petition for Madero, Martin launched his own petition. It would seem it didn't do too well, since there was no mention of it at tonight's meeting. Instead, Martin seems to have sought support not from his would-be constituents but from the political establishment in Hudson. Councilmember Vicky Daskaloudi (Fifth Ward) mentioned that three Hudson supervisors had submitted letters of support for Martin. One of them was Rick Scalera (Fifth Ward). It seems the other two were Abdus Miah (Second Ward) and Michael Chameides (Third Ward). Gossips has also learned that Martin got Sam Hodge, chair of the Columbia County Democratic Committee, to write a letter of support for him.

So tonight, instead of respecting the will of the First Ward, as Councils in the past have done, the Common Council appointed Randall Martin to be supervisor to represent the First Ward. Only three members of the Council voted against appointing Martin: Jennifer Belton (Fourth Ward), Margaret Morris (First Ward), and Rich Volo (Fourth Ward). Remarkably, early on in the meeting, Gary Purnhagen (First Ward) declared his support for Madero, but when it came time to vote, he abstained, without explaining his reasons for doing so.

DePietro was quoted in the Times Union as saying. "Charter revision should enhance democracy in Hudson not diminish it." That doesn't seem to apply to other things. For First Ward residents, it feels like democracy was diminished for them by the Common Council's action tonight.

What It's All About

Since reporting about the resolution that has been added to the agenda for tonight's special Common Council meeting, Gossips has learned more about Galvan's Article 7 proceeding against the City of Hudson. It involves ten properties whose assessments Galvan is challenging--seven belonging to Galvan Initiatives Foundation, one owned by Galvan Partners LLC, and two belonging to Hudson Collective Realty LLC. In the list of properties below, the first number is the final assessed value determined by the city assessor, and the second is what Galvan claims the assessment should be.

223 Union Street: $430,000 vs. $326,000
213 Union Street: $385,000 vs. $312,000
449 Prospect Street: $280,000 vs. $181,760
105 Union Street: $275,000 vs. $191,700 (According to Zillow, this house was sold in November 2024 for $740,000.)

354 Warren Street (Johnny's Ideal): $390,000 vs. $279,030 (According to the tax rolls, Galvan purchased this building in 2019 for $730,000.)
28 Allen Street: $325,000 vs. $159,750
30 Allen Street: $639,000 vs. $159,750 (According to Redfin, this house was sold in August 2024 for $950,000.)

250-252 Allen Street: $275,000 vs. $67,450 (According to Zillow, this house was sold in August 2024 for $740,000.)

70-72 North Fifth Street: $290,000 vs. $128,510
92 Union Turnpike: $610,000 vs. $443,700 (According to the tax rolls, Galvan purchased this building in 2019 for $650,000.)

In total, Galvan is seeking to reduce the assessments of these ten properties by $1.65 million--$1,649,350 to be exact--and hence to reduce the amount due in property tax.

The special meeting of the Common Council takes place at 6:00 p.m. today. The meeting is a hybrid, taking place in person at City Hall and on Microsoft Teams. Click here for the link to join the meeting remotely.

Special Meeting Tonight

The Common Council meets today at 6:00 p.m. to appoint a replacement for Claire Cousin as First Ward supervisor. The meeting is a hybrid, taking place in person at City Hall and on Microsoft Teams. Click here for the link to join the meeting remotely.

Something new has been added to the agenda for tonight's special meeting. Once again, the Galvan Initiatives Foundation has filed an Article 7 proceeding against the City of Hudson, protesting the assessment, for taxing purposes, of some of its many properties in Hudson. The resolution that will come before the Council tonight authorizes the mayor to spend up to $5,500 for appraisals on properties whose value is being contested.

Wednesday, January 1, 2025

First News of 2025

It's a local election year, and at least one political race is getting started early. The Register-Star reports today that Mayor Kamal Johnson, who has run unopposed in the last two elections, will have not one but two challengers this time around: "Two candidates seek to unseat Hudson mayor." The two candidates are Billy Blowers and Peter Spear.

According to the article, Blowers intends to run as a Democrat, which means he would be challenging Johnson in a primary. Spear, on the other hand, plans to run on his own party line, which he is calling Future Hudson, after the "ongoing experiment in civic engagement and advocacy" Spear launched in 2019 with a series of discussions on community issues.