The Register-Star has an article today about the Hudson Charter Change initiative: "Charter change group fails to get measure on ballot after missing filing date." The article explains that although August 4 is the deadline for submitting the petition to the Board of Elections, there was also a deadline for filing the petition with the city clerk. That deadline was July 7. The petition was filed with the city clerk on July 23.
Of interest in the article are the responses to the situation from Council president Tom DePietro and Mayor Kamal Johnson, who had earlier posted a snarky account of what happened on Instagram. The following is quoted from today's Register-Star article:
DePietro also attacked Rasner for a statement posted on the Hudson Charter Change website that stated more people signed the petition for charter change than voted for Johnson in the recent Democratic primary.
"They claimed that this wasn't about the current mayor, but Rasner, nevertheless, includes in his statement a gratuitous comment about Mayor Johnson, the first black mayor of our great little city," he said.
Johnson also said the group's statements regarding the amount of primary votes were untrue.
"It's not true, because it [the charter change proposal] didn't even make it on the ballot, and if we're talking about signatures, I handed in a ton of signatures for my own [nominating] petition," he said.
You have to wonder why aborting a democratic process is the cause of such smug and somewhat petty satisfaction for DePietro and Johnson. Wouldn't it have been better for the process to play out so we would know once and for all what the voters of Hudson wanted?
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The smugness isn't a surprise and to a degree understandable.
ReplyDeleteWhat I do not quite get is that they are smug in light of the fact that Kamal is facing political elimination and Tom already suffered it.
The folks behind the charter proposal wanted political change and that goal they achieved. It's hard to quantify to what degree they contributed to the outcome of the Democratic primary but there's no doubt in my mind that Margaret, Joe, Alex and Jason all benefited from the momentum the charter proposal had.
I would go as far and say that Kamal might be running unopposed yet again if Bob Rasner hadn't stepped in front of the Council last year and expressed publicly for the first time what many people felt but were maybe too cowardly to openly state: that something was wrong and that Hudson was on an unsustainable path.
So this charter proposal won't be on the ballot now. The charter petition was still a success and a new charter for Hudson is still forthcoming.
During Peter's Neighbors event at the Park Theater today (great event, by the way) I ran into Margaret and after the chat I had with her there can be no doubt that she will set in motion a new effort once she takes the helm of the Council. She's going to do it in pragmatic fashion with zero bullshit.
And then there's the question of who becomes mayor: Joe and Peter have charter reform explicitly in their platform but Peter wants to do in a particular way and at least has argued his case for it very consistently.
Finally Kamal - he will remain mayor if the votes split just the right way. All of a sudden, he is an ardent proponent of charter reform but will of course want to do it in the most objectionable and rigged way possible. Expect a proposition involving a hand-curated commission not dissimilar to the Comprehensive Plan Steering Committee.
I can't wait for 2026. We may not see the same love fest between Mayor and Common Council President that we've seen for the past five and a half years.
As I said in another Gossips post, I'm getting sensitive to people using my name. What was this "Peter's Neighbor's event"? I wasn't there. --peter meyer
DeletePeter is a very common name. I can think of eight people named Peter in Hudson without trying very hard. The reference was to an event held by Peter Spear, a mayoral candidate--a conversation with Mark Allen. It was the first in series of monthly conversations, which he is calling "Neighbors."
DeleteEntrepreneurial and civically minded residents may draw a sharper lesson from this.
ReplyDeleteIf you want change in Hudson, stop appealing to unresponsive, placating leaders.
Just gather signatures. A petition with 5–10% of verified residents can set the agenda for the next election. The next election’s candidates will be forced to run on, or against, the idea you have already placed at the centre of public debate.
Right now one of the main difference between mayoral candidates Peter Spear and Joe Ferris is the "how" of charter reform.
It will be interesting to see if Kamal and Lloyd will support a Citizen Assembly or Charter Commission approach.
Furthermore, Tom and Kamal's unprofessional refusal to even meet with this group, and their immature and ad hominem attacks in the press, arguably contributed more than many other factors to their historic electoral defeat.
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Thank you Bob, Nick, John, Kristal, Don, and so many others for moving Hudson from a "should we or shouldn't we" mindset to a "how do we best" update the charter.
Excited to see what petition you are circulating in late 2026 😉
I wonder if the Register Star will keep Kamal & Tom on their speed dial after their terms are completed.
ReplyDelete