Yesterday, The Columbia Paper published a letter to the editor from Tara Silberberg, Gallatin Town Supervisor. Today, that letter appears on imby: "Sam vs Didi: A Question of Leadership." The letter begins:
In 2025, I supported the effort to give Columbia County voters the opportunity to decide whether the county should have an elected county executive. I also served on the campaign's "kitchen cabinet," where volunteers and Columbia County Democratic Committee leaders met regularly to discuss strategy and help building support for the referendum. Because of that experience, I had a front-row seat to Sam Hodge's leadership, and it raises serious questions for me about his candidacy for the State Assembly.
Readers are encouraged to read the entire letter, which can be found here.
Today, too, Gossips publishes this letter from Hudson Common Council President Margaret Morris, weighing in on the Sam vs Didi race.
I am writing to express my support for Didi Barrett in the upcoming June 23rd Democrat primary for Assembly. I have worked with Didi throughout my time in office, both as First Ward Councilmember and now as Common Council President. She has been a great advocate for Hudson, incredibly accessible, and a voice of reason that has always delivered for our city.
Didi helped secure critical funding for the Hudson truck traffic study; she helped install solar-powered, ADA-accessible crosswalks across Hudson and has been instrumental in securing funds for the Friends of Public Square Hudson to revitalize the Public Square / Seventh Street Park.
She has supported countless not-for-profit organizations in Hudson and has delivered state funding to help offset local property taxes and provide direct relief. When I need information or have a question about the state, I call Didi. And she is there. What more could we ask for?
I encourage you to support Didi Barrett in the upcoming Democratic primary for the 106th Assembly District. Her proven track record and dedication to public service is truly an asset to the City of Hudson, and we are fortunate to have her.
Wow - there are already dozens of Didi supporters with signs all around Warren St for the parade.
ReplyDeleteOne of our editors asked one of them about her policies, an intentionally challenging question, and she not only nailed the policy details (i.e. not an astro turf paid person, but a genuine supporter), but was also very big tent and inclusive.
It's interesting to hear about how some of the internal discussions around the county petition went last year. One thing that Tara Silberberg mentions is how there was a belief, ignored and rejected by Sam, that a more fundamental education about how county politics work needed to take place.
ReplyDeleteI experienced that first hand last year in Greenport town board meetings that I attended. Illogical claims were made, both in the audience and also by councilmembers themselves, to the effect that the town would lose its portion of the sales tax or it would lose any form of autonimy over its own legislation. None of these ever got challenged, for example on the grounds of them being entirely ridiculous. This was a room full of people, from both parties, that wanted nothing to do with this.
This opinion piece is now the second on Hodge the Columbia Paper is publishing. Both of them were scathing and I consider them corrobarated at this point. I couldn't think of a less qualified representative of our district in the NY State Assembly than Sam Hodge.