Last night, the Common Council held a public hearing on the Citizens' Initiative for Charter Change. The Microsoft Teams video of the hearing can now to viewed on YouTube.
Only five councilmembers, in addition to Council president Tom DePietro, were present for the hearing: Margaret Morris and Gary Purnhagen (First Ward), Rich Volo and Jennifer Belton (Fourth Ward), and Dominic Merante (Fifth Ward). Vicky Daskaloudi (Fifth Ward) attended virtually. The councilmembers representing the Second Ward (Dewan Sarowar and Mohammed Rony) and the Third Ward (Shershah Mizan and Lola Roberts) were not present in person or virtually.
In all, twenty-four people spoke at the hearing. The number speaking in support of the proposed charter change was about the same as the number speaking against it, with a handful primarily criticizing the process that got the issue to this point.
All four mayoral candidates spoke at the hearing. Current mayor Kamal Johnson asserted, "We need the charter updated but not this way." He asserted that having a city manager would not lower taxes (I don't recall the charter change group ever actually claiming it would). Johnson said the average city manager's salary was $130,000, which was twice his salary (the mayor's salary is currently $80,000) and predicted that services would have to be cut to pay for this change. Peter Spear acknowledged that the city needs charter reform but criticized the process, which he said "leaves a lot to be desired." He said of the group that initiated the charter change proposal, "They robbed us of the opportunity to have a meaningful conversation about what kind of government we want." Lloyd Koedding expressed the opinion that "the essence of management is caring" and said he didn't "know that a city manager is going to care." Joe Ferris said, "We need a charter revision that includes the entire community" and promised, "If elected, that will be the first thing I do on Day One."
After criticizing the process for not being inclusive, Quintin Cross declared, "I would never support something that would remove the first black mayor of Hudson." If the proposed charter change were to be adopted, the transition from mayor/council to city manager/council would not happen until 2028, so it wouldn't affect Johnson unless he intends to run for another term--a fifth term--after the one he is now seeking. Sara Black, who commented toward the end of the meeting, said more than once that she and her friends had "figured out exactly what is going on" regarding the charter change initiative. She never explained what they had figured out. It did seem, however, she was suggesting that the initiative was a plot aimed at removing Johnson. In his opening remarks, Bob Rasner, who is part of the group proposing the charter change, recalled that when he asked DePietro to meet with him and provide input, DePietro told him, “You are hardly an
ordinary or disinterested constituent, but part of group of cronies who have
sought to undermine the current administration from the beginning."
In his opening remarks, which addressed "how we arrived here this evening," Rasner asserted, "The group made a firm agreement: at no time would we be critical of any elected officeholder. The project is not about people; it is about government structure." Rasner also told the Council, "It has been said this proposal is not a perfect document. From the beginning, I explained to each elected official with whom I met that you may adopt it as your own and change it as you see fit." There are now thirty-five days left in the sixty-day window. Let's see what, if anything, the Council does with the proposal.
COPYRIGHT 2025 CAROLE OSTERINK
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