On the website of the New York State Board of Elections, it is possible to search for political contributions by contributor. A little investigation reveals that on September 23, 2025, Paul Colarusso, president of A. Colarusso & Sons, contributed $1,000 to "Vote Kamal." (Click on the images below to enlarge. The second is a detail of the first.)
Just to be clear, they purchased tickets for my event on October 8th, 6–8 PM, at the Sugar Hill Estate, 46 Broad Street, Kinderhook. I understand what you’re trying to do, but it won’t work. All are welcome come hear about our future plans. Get to know me the real me.
ReplyDeleteJust don’t forget to buy your ticket first
DeleteIf we were donors to Kamal’s campaign, say Taun Toay, CFO of Bard College; Paul Colarusso, head of Colarusso & Son; or Maria Suttmeier, former HCSD
DeleteSuperintendent, we would be dismayed that:
A) Kamal refuses to take part in the free and fair public debate at the high school in front of his home crowd.
Recall the "drop the mic" moment and the repeated yelling "Period! Period! Period!" as he stomped off stage while Ferris stood with his hand stretched out for a gentlemanly post-debate handshake.
Why would a sitting mayor avoid an open forum where he could meet voters and explain his platform? Residents now have to drive to Kinderhook and pay to hear him speak.
B) Kamal is in an undisclosed relationship with a direct report.
Why would a sitting mayor increase, rather than reduce, conflicts of interest, especially when Bard and Colarusso have active business before the mayor’s office and the city?
The CFO of Stanford or Williams College would never write large political checks to a local candidate with pending matters before the university during a contentious election year. But then the Bard President (Botstein) did receive $150k from Jeffrey Epstein in 2016, which he then donated to Bard.
C) Non-Hudson corporations are bigger backers of the candidate than Hudson businesses and residents, most of whom support Joe Ferris.
Signs and resident donation records on NYSBOE make that clear.
>> Let’s play this forward.
DeleteIf Joe Ferris (again) beats Kamal at the ballot box, the main contacts for the City of Hudson at Bard College and Colarusso will face a strained relationship with the incoming mayor and the new Common Council president, both of whom won more votes and raised more money inside Hudson itself and carry the Democratic Party’s formal endorsement.
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Kamal is a once in a decade political talent, but for all the wrong reasons.
He is bringing some Republicans and Democrats together, not across policy lines, but by appealing to their bias against outsiders.
Just a few weeks ago Kamal posted on FB "Tell all your Republicans to vote for the hometown guy lol me"
Leaving aside that his main attack on Ferris in the last debate was about mailers accidentally sent to Greenport, Kamal now has more campaign signs in Greenport than in Hudson. Kamal's Facebook campaign discussions are full of non-voting Greenport or Albany residents.
Our editors wonder if this is why he is avoiding the in-person debate in Hudson.
He plays the nativist “Blue Hawk” card while raising most of his money from outsiders such as Bard, Colarusso, the Kinderhook-based Walthours, and New York WFP supporters.
Our editors wonder why so few actual Hudson residents have donated even small sums to his campaign. Ferris’ average donation is smaller, but it comes from far more Hudson voters (see NYS Board of Elections).
Kamal brands Hudson (and himself) as an immigrant-friendly “Sanctuary City,” then retreats to “Welcoming and Inclusive City” to seek federal funds without following federal laws, yet champions the “HBR: Hudson Born and Raised” mindset and blames “transplants” for the city’s problems (see his Instagram infographics on housing costs).
Our editors wonder whether he (or the City of Hudson) has ever financially sponsored or written a single letter of support for a U.S. visa application / immigrant.
We cannot ask him, because he ignores communications from anyone outside his political circle, even neigbbours.
One thing is certain: before the election, more residents (and certainly our editors, Gossips, his opponents, and non-loyalists) will be accused of racism merely for exercising First Amendment rights and asking fair questions.
Kamal’s campaign will throw everything at this election because, in the end, his household’s housing, and a combined $150k plus in City salaries, depend on Kamal staying in office.
This election is not DEM vs. WFP vs. GOP, or even insider vs. outsider, this is, as our heroes at The Economist has written in their imprint since 1843:
"a severe contest between intelligence, which presses forward, and an unworthy, timid ignorance obstructing our progress"
References:
Economist founding principle;
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Economist_editorial_stance
Bard, Botstein, and Epstein:
https://www.nytimes.com/2023/05/17/us/leon-botstein-bard-college-jeffrey-epstein.html
This morning, as I handed back a VOTE FOR KAMAL flyer I found on my front door knob to the woman who had just left it there, I asked her why she was supporting him. She was somehow affiliated with Columbia Memborial Hospital (possibly an employee, possibly part of the union there), telling me that our mayor had done great things in support of the hospital. I didn't ask for details. "What about everything else down here in Hudson that he isn't doing?" I asked, then bid her a good day.
ReplyDeleteKinderhook? Is Kinderhook where the money's at, Kamal? Or have you moved there?
ReplyDelete