On Monday, June 16, Columbia County Forward announced they had filed petitions with nearly 4,000 signatures to get the referendum for a county executive on the ballot in November.
Columbia County Forward submitted approximately 4,000 signatures to place a historic referendum on the November 2025 ballot, giving voters the chance to modernize county government by creating a full-time, elected County Executive. This initiative represents the largest grassroots effort in Columbia County's history.
Rather than letting voter decide, a small group of Republican officials, led by Board of Supervisors Chairman Matt Murell and the Republican-appointed Clerk of the Board, is working to thwart the petition process on dubious technicalities that have no basis in law. This partisan maneuvering and manipulation of the current County government could prevent this referendum from appearing on the November ballot.
"This is a blatant attempt to suppress the will of the voters," said Columbia County Forward organizer Abbie Hodgson. "We followed the rules and filed in good faith. If Republicans think voters don't want a County Executive, they should make their case at the ballot box, not with partisan games designed to protect the status quo."
Republicans filed objections claiming various numbers of signatures were invalid--depending on which part of their paperwork you read--exposing how sloppy their response to the petition has been.
Shockingly, the Board Clerk accepted nearly all of their objections, including petty claims like abbreviating "Road" or omitting the word "Street." New York is clear: these minor, technical issues are not valid grounds for disqualification.
Even more absurdly, the Clerk accepted an objection to Copake Supervisor Richard Wolf's signature, claiming he couldn't be identified, despite providing his full name, signature, address, and town. She has worked with Supervisor Wolf since his election in 2023.
Columbia County Forward filed a 259-page response to the Clerk's conclusions, which included more than 200 Voter Registration Records for voters she claimed were not registered or could not be identified.
Even more outrageous? Chairman Murell used taxpayer dollars to quietly hire a "special legal counsel"--an attorney with direct ties to the Republican Party--to assist in the effort to block the petition. He did so without Board approval and without informing his Democratic colleagues. "This backroom maneuver is not just partisan--it's an abuse of public funds," said Hodgson.
As if that weren't enough, Chairman Murell and the Clerk chose to work exclusively with Republican Board of Elections staff while "reviewing" the petition--completely excluding their Democratic counterparts. Why was this review conducted in a one-party vacuum? Why shut out bipartisan input? This kind of partisan maneuvering is a blatant abuse of power.
Columbia County Forward remains fully committed to ensuring that voters--not politicians or partisan maneuvers--decide the future of our county. Due to these partisan games, Columbia County Forward had no choice but to take the County and Chairman Murell to court to compel them to follow the law and allow the voters to decide.
Good for CCF and the county's citizens. Murrell is only the latest in a long line of abusive BoS chairs. His chief distinction has always been his smarminess and his lack of regard for the democratic process.
ReplyDeleteNo dog in this fight yet... but why is Columbia County Forward not named Columbia County Democrats' County Charter Change Initiative/Reform?
ReplyDeleteOr is there a single Republican leader on the Columbia County Forward leadership team?
Sam Hodge - why not have a debate between you and whichever Republican cares most about and live stream?
Boy, the political nonsense in this county and city is frightening -- precisely why we need an executive and a manager!
ReplyDeleteThe Columbia county forward website is clearly marked as paid for by the Columbia county democrats. This county needs elected leadership that reflects the will of all of the people who reside here. Not just the most populous towns of Kinderhook, Ghent and Claverack.
ReplyDeleteThank you for calling out the financial backing Tara (we had not noticed) and for making a reasonable point.
ReplyDeleteHowever:
A) If this is a Democratic movement, why not make it blue and put a donkey on it? Or are the Democrats rebranding to John Deere’s brand and color scheme?
B) You mention “Kinderhook, Ghent and Claverack” as populous towns (8,330; 5,303; 6,058 respectively), but omit Hudson, which has roughly the same population (5,894). Does that mean you take issue with the three towns that lean slightly red, but not with Hudson, which leans very blue?
What about the budgets of these four towns? Hudson’s budget is three to four times that of the others at around $20 million. Does that mean if Democrats control all four of the most populous towns in the county, they will turn each into a version of Hudson, complete with a Kamal Johnson, Tom DePietro, and Claire Cousins, driving up budgets to $20 million and generating political distractions with resolutions about Gaza, immigration, and Martian habeas corpus?
C) Why not be honest that Democrats dislike the electoral college-style supervisor system by which the county is organised, rather than framing this as a matter of county efficiency? If Democrats truly cared about good management and efficiency, where are the public statements from Democrats in Ghent, Kinderhook, Claverack, or even Hudson, about Hudson’s spiraling budget and the silencing of non-Democratic voices?
If the county mirrors Hudson, why would any moderate Republican, moderate Democrat, or independent want Democrats running it?
This does not absolve Matt Murell and the county GOP supervisors of responsibility. They should face their critics, explain why the current system works, and address allegations of corruption. How long has Matt Murell been in charge? The definition of the Deep State is its persistence... term limits are good.
Sam Hodge / Tara: Please issue a public statement explaining why your County Charter change movement is not simply a Trojan horse to give Hudson Democrats control under the guise of executive management and efficiency.
Matt Murell / others: Please clearly state why the current supervisor system works, why it should remain in place, and why supervisor-appointed executives are preferable to directly elected county managers.
Or is there some other issue at play here?
Thank you for weighing in Tara.... the people want to know.
Hmmmm... odd seems that those towns have more registered Dems but the GOP vote more consistently for their Supervisors?
DeleteCan someone please explain County politics for newbie immigrants, where is the Sam Pratt 101 or the Mark Penn Microtrends analysis of County electoral flux.
There are almost more NOP than GOP now...
A) I’m not the graphic designer for this initiative, but I believe the color scheme (yes, it’s a little John Deere) was chosen to reflect the bipartisan nature of this issue. We, like all of our neighboring counties should have rechartered years ago. In fact it has been suggested by Republicans as recently as 2010.
ReplyDeletehttps://www.dailygazette.com/bos-chairman-suggests-county-administrator/article_725f5874-9a12-5a2e-9bbb-0b02c566bba2.html
B) In the weighted vote of the Board of Supervisors which totals 200, The three towns that hold the most power are these:
Kinderhook (26 votes)
Claverack (20 votes)
Ghent (17 votes)
All five Hudson ward Supervisors (3.8 votes each) combined (19 votes) but they must all vote the same and all must be present at the meeting to be wield any power.
These are the minutes of the last full board meeting if you would like to see for yourself how the votes are distributed in the present day.
https://drive.google.com/drive/folders/1hOzIIdXSktP0evJOD2gRWyhUfRYQjJiI
The individual budgets of the towns does not play into this. But good point that their budgets are chump change in comparison to Hudson. This change would only affect the planning and spending of the county’s budget. The 2025 budget for Columbia County is $179 million it was passed with a 2.9% tax hike.
https://www.dailygazette.com/hv360/news/columbia-county-budget/article_210ffd20-b8a3-11ef-8f41-b7dd0cf5b48e.html
C) I think dislike is the wrong word, I feel it is outdated.
The leader of our county government is a part time employee who is elected by the majority vote of the board (again it comes down to the weighted votes). We are one of four counties left in the state that still has this form of government and we are far larger and more complex.
Your statement: If the county mirrors Hudson, why would any moderate Republican, moderate Democrat, or independent want Democrats running it?
I don’t believe the county does mirror Hudson.
I actually don’t live in Hudson, I live in Gallatin which is in southern Columbia county. This initiative is not focused on democratic control. This is about equal representation and accountability. I did not vote for Matt Murrell to chair the Board of Supervisors, and by doing so lead Columbia county. I voted for the supervisor of Gallatin, John Reilly, who has 5 votes (weighted) out of 200. So in essence my vote is worth a little less than a fifth of someone who lives in Kinderhook.
I would also like to point out that there will be definitely be a primary, most likely a democratic and republican primary, if the question is allowed on the ballot and if it passes.
Nothing like a primary to flush the ghosts out of the closet. Why do you think this is being fought so fiercely? Deep State, indeed.
D) Matt Murell has been in control of the Board of Supervisors for 9 years and 7 months. I too would love an explanation of the benefits of having a part time board of supervisors in charge of an almost $200,000,000 budget.
I’m not accusing anyone of corruption, but the efforts to block this referendum from going to a public vote certainly raise red flags about who benefits from keeping things exactly as they are.
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DeleteHi Tara,
ReplyDeleteThank you for your thoughtful reply. It is very helpful.
A few follow-ups:
1. John Deere branding & transparency
Why not recruit NOP and GOP residents who care about county efficiency and share your Charter vision, and make the whole campaign purple (or keep it John Deere) to frame this as a bipartisan issue? Or do you currently have registered GOP involved leading the group?
M.M. is not exactly Dolly Parton in terms of universal popularity.
We could not find the exact organizers of this movement on the website, only names of current or former Supervisors in the press release. You and Abbie are current or former Democratic organizers/donors for your towns.
Is Sam Hodge involved in the group or just the litigation? Is he the plaintiff in his capacity is top Dem in Columbia County or as part of this initiative group? Is Michael Chameides involved?
All these white shadows moving about behind the scenes, often with their Manhattan or lobbyist jobs... you can see why some Supervisors are skeptical.
2. Your point on weighted voting is very interesting.
Many new Hudsonians wonder whether the five Hudson Supervisors set-up was a brilliant ploy to divide and conquer Hudson's influence.
Why not debate publicly appointed versus elected executives, and the virtues of geographic versus population-weighted power?
Adopt Peter Spear's Alley Chat model... call it Country Chatter or Cowshed Chronicles and walk through areas where a County Manager would have made a better decision than the alternative.
Forgive me, but it seems many Democrats want geographic-weighted power locally in Columbia County but abhor it at the national level. If Gallatin should have the same say as Ghent, should Maine have the same say in the House as Texas?
3. Modernisation and professional managers
If you are pro-modernisation toward professional full-time managers, has your group endorsed the City of Hudson Charter Change movement? Have you met with Bob and Krystal?
If you have, that would make you seem more credible. If not, it risks looking like you are again choosing Donkey favourites, since the City of Hudson Democrats (Dorothy Heyl and her Common Council President (now defeated) husband Tom DePietro) fiercely oppose it but apparently supports your cause?
4. Re: County mirroring Hudson
DeletePerhaps we are misunderstanding each other. Hudson appears to be the only major town or city with zero GOP in elected office (i.e. no opposition), and the city is an absolute mess:
Lawsuits left and right. Mayor Kamal lives in Galvan housing (possibly for free, who knows), he is dating his direct report, job vacancies are filled in secret, the budget is growing with a 5% deficit each year, conservatives are in the closet to avoid ostracisation, overdose deaths are spiking, shootings occur fairly regularly, homeowners are unlawfully over-assessed under the Welcome Stranger Tax, and long-time residents are being priced out while the housing office and HHA fumble federal and local housing plans for decades. Non-resident billionaires are social engineering or tax shielding. Not to mention the weakest performing school district in the County.
Hudson, the county seat, is not exactly a ringing endorsement for directly elected Democratic leaders and total Democratic control. At this rate Hudson might have to import moderate Republicans from Stockport or Stuyvesant the way China imported Singaporeans to run things well. 😉
5. Professional executives and politics
Your points are well taken. But consider this: when a county manager must run for election every few years, they become a politician. Few people excel at both politics and management. Those who do, can earn more and wield greater influence at higher levels of government or parastatals.
Supervisors, regardless of how their votes are weighted, can appoint and oversee professionals to run the county and insulate them from political drama.
Wouldn't it be wise to look into reforming weighted representation, but still separate the political from the operational.
Show me a municipal nerd in Hudson Valley who has managed a ~$100 million plus budget, who is humble and professional, and who would gladly make the rounds every four years at county fairs, farmers’ markets, firehouse breakfasts, and local pubs, kissing babies, weighing in on Gaza and Ukraine (as Hudsonians will make her opine), smiling for every camera, and enduring endless harassment from Bill Huston or his County version.
And I will show you either a great politician and bad executive leader or a good executive leader who does not know her worth in the market.
Hi HCS,
ReplyDeleteHappy to try to answer your questions to the best of my ability.
1. I’m part of the kitchen cabinet that’s been working on this initiative. I’ll tell you honestly many of the prominent Republicans and NOPs we’ve spoken to DO support the idea—but won’t say so publicly because they do business with the county and fear reprisal. If you or any readers have suggestions of people we should talk to, I’d love to hear them.
If you click through to the article I shared from 2010, you’ll see that this is actually the THIRD time in 15 years that some version of this change has been proposed or explored. It’s not new—and it’s not uniquely partisan.
The Columbia County Democratic Committee (CCDC) has over 100 members across the 18 towns and Hudson. Sam Hodge, as chair of the CCDC, is certainly a public face of the effort and part of the litigation, along with Abbie and myself. But there’s also a wide range of people involved, including Democratic town supervisors and Hudson ward supervisors. There are many across the county who see the need for real structural change—as evidenced by the 4,000+ signatures collected, far exceeding the minimum required to get this on the ballot.
As I’ve mentioned, I’m not a voter in Hudson, though I do run my business there. I’m not as well informed about the Hudson Charter Reform movement but interested to learn more and hear your views. I am in favor of participatory government. I’ve met with Peter Spear several times to talk about the Citizen Assembly, the County Executive referendum and Hudson’s political landscape. The CCDC is as varied as the city itself, and while it won’t officially endorse the Charter Reform, the position (as I understand it) is to let the voters decide. That’s not unlike what we’re seeing from many NOPs on the County Executive proposal.
2. I think your “brilliant ploy” theory about Hudson’s supervisors is… pretty on point. I’ve always thought the more people you divide representation into, the less power any of them can wield. As for a public debate—I’d welcome it. A healthy exchange of ideas and hearing the other side is good for everyone, especially the voters. At this point, we can’t modify the petition to include the option for an appointed County Manager. That’s something the Board of Supervisors could take up themselves—but instead of engaging, we’re in litigation. As you’ve noticed, there’s been silence from the GOP side. They seem to hope this disappears. But over 4,000 people—more than 10% of all voters who cast a ballot in the last gubernatorial election—signed this petition. They deserve to know why their signatures are being invalidated.
I love Peter Spear’s Alley Chats and will absolutely suggest this as an approach. There are issues across Columbia County that deserve sunlight—Hudson has more than its share, and many of those issues are rooted in decisions made by the BOS. The 11 Warren Street purchase is the most obvious example.
PART TWO
ReplyDelete3. The point about Gallatin’s weighted vote being equal to Ghent’s is interesting—and really speaks to how the county currently functions. It’s essentially a single-branch government, like the House of Representatives, EXCEPT with no checks and balances. What this initiative proposes is simply a ballot question: Should Columbia County voters elect a County Executive? Someone chosen by ALL the voters, regardless of town or party—someone directly accountable in a way that Matt Murell is not. We don’t elect him. And we can’t vote him out.
4. On the Hudson Charter Reform, I haven’t officially met with Bob and Krystal, though I’ve spoken with Bob at the farmers’ market. My understanding is that there are acknowledged issues in the proposal, but also many elements that make sense.
I’m 100% in favor of professional management, streamlined and efficient government, and modernized processes. I’m also 100% in favor of transparency and public participation in local government.
I don’t expect us all to agree, but we should all be able to agree on this much: voters deserve a say in how their county is run. Under New York’s Home Rule Law, local governments are supposed to be accountable to the people they serve. That’s not radical—it’s democracy.
Tara,
DeleteThank you again for writing so clearly and sincerely. I emailed you directly so that you have our particulars.
Your Gossips comment has informed us more than all your Instagram posts and entire website.
Quick responses:
If you guys don’t like M.M., have you written (private first, then public) letters to him pointing out specific decisions that he made that harmed the taxpayer? Do you not like him personally? His appointments? Specific financial decisions?
Obama, or was it RBG, warned about removing the filibuster because one day you will miss it. The same applies here: is this about the specific leader today or the system overall?
Be careful what system you change, it might one day come back to hurt you...
Columbia County, and surrounding counties, spend way more than the national average per taxpayer (mostly due to NYS mandated expenditures, but CC is still in bottom quartile of efficiency), why don’t you guys give voters specific examples of how things will change with a County Manager?
For example, will you fund the DA’s office with more than $2m? Seems low for the amount of fraud and DUIs in the area. Much cheaper to fund the DA with $5m, cut down on pay to play shenanigans and nepotism, than upend a whole system.
Re: “I’ll tell you honestly many of the prominent Republicans and NOPs we’ve spoken to DO support the idea—but won’t say so publicly because they do business with the county and fear reprisal.”
We had the same challenge in Hudson re; Kamal. Where most Democrats wanted him out, dislike DePietro, but no one could say anything out loud for fear of being labelled a racist (Kamal's rejoinder), a Republican (DePietro's put down), and anti-housing (Heyl's reposte). [K, T, and D, let me know if you guys want receipts with timestamps and platform details of when you typed this or said this to folks who wrote it down]
This is one of the reasons why we started Common Sense. Your supporters, GOP or NOP, can by themselves, or on our platform, write verified anonymous public letters. We are a nation of pamphleteers, afterall.
re: “It’s essentially a single-branch government, like the House of Representatives, EXCEPT with no checks and balances.”
Hmmmm... Except Sam just sued the County using the independent judiciary. the DA is a Democrat, the Dems have a lead in organization for the Sheriff race etc. The whole state government is DEM country.
Highly recommend you guys link up with the City of Hudson Charter Change folks asap. In Hudson the status quo defenders (DePietro and Kamal) did not engage directly, made fun of their opponents in the press. But the Hudson Charter Reform movement is about to cross the threshold of VERIFIED petition signatures that exceed total voters for DePietro, and the GOP mayoral candidate got more signatures to get on the ballot than the outgoing Common Council President got in his primary election defeat.
So does that make Tom DePietro Hudson’s Matt Murell? In power, but not popularly elected? 🤔
(I have never met Murell, just taking your comments at face value. Matt, if you are reading this can you please blog about this or make a video. Explain to voters why you think the current system works and why the accusations of you using County funds to invalidate the petition is false, or in fact merited).
Wouldn't it be funny if Murell and DePietro both link up to defend the old systems. Stranger things have happened.
(2/2)
DeleteAmerica’s best-run counties tend to stand out by winning three objective honors: GFOA financial awards, NACo innovation prizes, and top AAA credit ratings. Most of thw winning counties follow the same playbook, with voters choosing a council or board that hires a professional county manager to run things.
It’s a smart mix of democratic oversight and efficient, nonpartisan management. you want term limits for elected folks and you want fantastic operators to serve for longer periods (renewable contracts) to build up capacity. You also want to fire bad operators fast, and that seems less common in New York.
Why did you guys not opt for a model where the Supervisors appoint an apolitical County Manager that require, say, 60% Supervisor support to be hired or fired? (Thereby insuring both parties are involved). More like the City of Hudson Charter Change Petition.
~
It seems to be easier to get a phone call into the White House or 10 Downing than to reach Sam Hodge (so far). Running an entire County’s Democratic Party necessitates public dialogue and access. Sam, I don’t want to be spicy… but this is not a Title IX hearing where things happen behind the scenes and bureaucrats run the show without due process. I could only find press releases from you and mentions by Gossips.
Where is your blog or Alley Chat explaining where you want to take the County?
Tara, Abbie and Sam - did you collect signatures in Hudson?
Did you try to collect signatures from NOP and GOP? Why not come pitch up in a coffee shop in Hudson and explain all this?
Or have you already done so?
p.s. Will your plan decrease the 5 Hudson Supervisors to 1? Would be more efficient and something is wrong when almost all Supervisors run unopposed in the City and some, famously, do not attend their committee meetings.
HCS-
ReplyDeleteWe are not making a plan, we are simply pushing forward the agenda of modernizing the county government which has been explored many times in the past by both parties.
The form of government that the majority of counties in NY state have, is a county executive/manager and a legislature that represents voters equally. There are some instances of an elected county executive and a board of supervisors. But having a BOS that does not equally represent the voters appoint a manager still does not solve the issue of representation.
In every other instance the BOS itself voted to recharter their county and remake the government entirely. This is a lengthy process, also involving a referendum.
This is the first time a NY county government has been forced to have a referendum on this question.
The question you should be asking is why didn’t this just happen naturally, as it has in all the other counties?
Why, when the board created a committee in 2010 to explore various scenarios, and the chair of the board was leading the charge, didn’t this happen?
Inquiring minds want to know.
Hudson should most definitely have one supervisor on the board. If we imagine a BOS that each representative was limited to a certain number of voters like the House of Representatives. For example breaking up Kinderhook into wards like Hudson, I think we would have a mess on our hands. The fairest and most cost efficient way is to create a legislature.
We have collected many signatures in Hudson, and if we can get this on the ballot are planning a series of talks in Hudson this fall.
We encourage everyone to attend the BOS meeting on Wednesday July 9th at 6:30pm.
Hope to see you there!
What is the address for this BOS meeting on 9 July at 18:30? What room?
DeleteYou raise fair points. But let me return to two simple questions:
Could you truly not find a single registered Republican in the entire county to join your leadership team?
Have you written down specific examples where M.M.’s leadership failed, and where a County Manager (appointed by a majority of elected Supervisors) or a directly elected County President would have done better?
These are sincere questions. Most of this plays out on Facebook, as if it were still 2010.
In Hudson we kept asking Kamal about his Galvan rent. We still point out that the Comprehensive Plan is neither comprehensive nor inclusive, and is riddled with statistical errors that would embarrass a first-year student.
Kamal ignores non-supporters. Voters noticed. They chose Joe Ferris in the Democratic primary.
Markets work because bad products get returned, and then the manufacturer improves them or goes out of business.
Democracy should work the same way. But voters are busy, and elected officials don't always get the message until it is too late and precious money/time wasted.
If you want change, share data.
If Sam's lawsuit doesn't work.... do you have to try again in 2 years or 4 years?
According to the board calendar, the meeting of the full Board of Supervisors takes place at 7:00 p.m. at 401 State Street. Such meetings take place in the board chamber, which is straight ahead when you enter the building.
Delete