Today Is the Day

The entrance to the Hudson Area Library is now adorned with a banner announcing the monumental exhibition contained therein, Hudson: A History of Whaling & Maritime Commerce.

Photo: Brenda Shufelt

The opening reception for the exhibition happens tonight, from 6:00 until 7:30 p.m. The reception will include a short panel discussion with library trustees Gary Sheffer and Joseph Ferris, representatives of the DAR and the Columbia County Historical Society, the two organizations that are collaborating in the exhibition, and Richard Bazelow, a local history researcher who has spent years searching special collections at museums, libraries, historical societies, and the National Archives for artifacts of Hudson's whaling past. At the reception, too, there will be a premiere of the short film by local filmmaker Karl Frederick Mattson of 542films called Whaling in Hudson? What!? A trailer of the film can be viewed here.

The exhibition is the occasion for Black Dome Press to reissue Margaret Schram's remarkable book Hudson's Merchants and Whalers: The Rise and Fall of a River Port 1783-1850. The reissue marks the twentieth anniversary of the book's original publication in 2004. I read the book when it was first published, refer to it often to check information I know it contains, and reread it entirely in preparation for writing the Foreword to the reissue, which I was honored to be asked to write. The book is an amazing compendium of information about the first sixty-seven years of Hudson's history, and I heartily recommend it to everyone. The book can be purchased at Spotty Dog Books & Ale, 440 Warren Street, and at the Hudson Area Library, the DAR, and the Columbia County Historical Society.

The exhibition is being commemorated in other ways as well. Kim Bach of Verdigris has created a tea blend in honor of Hudson's heritage called "Proprietors' Tea." The tea can be purchased at Verdigris, 135 Warren Street, as well as the library, the DAR, and the historical society.

Also, if you're into tattoos, Hudson River Tattoo, 724 Warren Street, is offering discounted prices on tattoos of Richard Kraham's 1970s SPOUT (Society for the Promotion of Our Unique Town) logo. A portion of the proceeds from these tattoos will go to the Hudson Area Library.

The exhibition at the library, which is opening tonight, continues through June 30, 2025.

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Campaign Levity

In an interview with Rich Volo of Trixie's List, Henry Hudson of The Rivertown Collective, the creator of the "Bosom Buddies" video, explained he had done it "just to bring a lighthearted twist to the election." It seems there are others using Instagram for the same purpose, as the would-be candidates for positions in Hudson government are declaring their intentions and seeking signatures on petitions to get on the ballot. 

Today, Mark Allen posted this fantasy movie poster on Instagram. With his permission, I share the image with Gossips readers who may have missed it. You can see the Instagram post here.

For those who may not be aware, Margaret Morris, councilmember representing the First Ward, last week announced her intention to run for Common Council president, challenging Tom DePietro, who has held the position since 2018.

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Planning Board Plaint

The February meeting of the Planning Board got off to a bad start. The Zoom link provided on the City of Hudson website did not work, and the meeting went on for more than half an hour before Randall Martin, the board's "tech person," sent the link to a livestream on YouTube to just three people: Council president Tom DePietro, Planning Board clerk Linda Fenoff, and me. That link was then circulated to others, but the first half hour of the meeting is lost to posterity. 

The Planning Board's response to these technical difficulties was to decide their meetings would no longer be hybrid but rather in person only. So everyone who wants to participate in the Planning Board's March meeting, which takes place on Tuesday, March 11, needs to show up in person at City Hall.

The decision to discontinue hybrid meetings, as well as the determination that a public hearing on Colarusso's conditional use permit for their dock operations because there was a public hearing on the subject more than five years ago, inspired Our Hudson Waterfront (OHW) to encourage people to write letters of concern to the Planning Board before Tuesday, March 11. The following is quoted from a communication from OHW:

Your comments to the Planning Board don’t need to be long to be impactful. For ideas on talking points, see our 2/24/25 letter to the Board, which addresses three of the biggest immediate concerns:

1) The Board’s decision to NOT hold a public hearing for the Colarusso Dock C.U.P. application. 

2) The Board’s decision to eliminate hybrid meetings in the future, thus requiring attendance in person and reducing transparency of Board meetings. (All other City meetings are hybrid, except for Zoning Board)

3) The Planning Board’s understanding of the scope of its review of the application in view of court decisions, which based on an independent legal review is NOT correct.

A few of our key findings:

• The last public hearing held for the Dock C.U.P. application was 5-6 years ago; it lasted one year (from July 2019 to July 2020).
• Only ONE member (Chair Theresa Joyner) was on the Board during that public hearing. She joined the Board midway through the hearing.
• NONE of the Board’s current legal counsel participated in the Dock C.U.P. public hearing.
• Based on an independent legal review, we believe the Planning Board’s understanding of their scope of review of the C.U.P. application under the City Zoning Codes is NOT consistent with the Court’s latest ruling and requires correction.
• Based on the recent Court’s ruling, the focus of the Dock C.U.P. review has changed since the past public hearing. The public has not had an opportunity to comment on the new focus.
• The Applicant did not provide information on truck volume to/from the dock, which the Board had been requesting for three years, until the day the public hearing ended; thus the public did not have an opportunity to comment on this either.

It should be noted that the main reasons this permit application has been such a long, drawn out and convoluted process are caused by the Applicant (Colarusso)–delays in providing essential information, lawsuits (Applicant sued the Planning Board twice), etc., NOT by the public.

As we say in the closing of our letter to the Board, the decisions made by the Planning Board will have long-ranging impact to our beloved City of Hudson and its waterfront, and future generations, for decades to come. The future of our city and our waterfront are at stake. The Planning Board should not take this review lightly or in haste, and should accept input from Hudson’s citizens, business leaders, and other interested parties--not just in writing, but in open and transparent dialogue.

Petition Submitted

This morning, members of the Citizens' Initiative for Hudson Charter Change submitted their petition to Tracy Delaney, the City Clerk, thus setting in motion the next phase of the campaign to change the structure of Hudson’s city government. 

 Tracy Delaney, accepting the petition from Nick Haddad and Kristal Heinz

The following is quoted from a press release issued by the Citizens' Initiative for Charter Change:

The bound and covered document, 138 pages in all, containing 240 voters’ signatures, represents several years of study and work by a team of local volunteers, all registered voters in Hudson.

The process now enters a 30-day period, during which the clerk is required to determine the legal sufficiency of the petition, subject to judicial review. Whether or not the City Clerk determines the petition to be legally sufficient, she is required to submit the proposal to the Common Council. It then has 60 days to consider the proposal. 

If the Common Council fails to adopt the proposal without change within 60 days following its filing, and such petition meets all the requirements of law, voters who did not sign the original petition may file an additional petition with the City Clerk requiring a submission of the proposal at next November’s general election. If this additional petition is found to be adequate, the Clerk is required to present the matter to the County Board of Elections to include the petitioned for local law amending the charter as a referendum on the November ballot. 

Finally, if the referendum receives a majority of the votes cast in November, the local law change will be adopted, and the new charter will be in effect as provided in the proposal, giving the Common Council two years to implement a council-manager form of government.

Change in the Fifth Ward

Yesterday, Vicky Daskaloudi, who has served as a councilmember from the Fifth Ward since 2022, released this statement:

After much consideration, I have decided not to run for reelection as 5th Ward Council Member so that I can focus on my health and family.

It was an honor representing the 5th Ward residents and the city of Hudson and I am grateful for all your support.

If the circumstances are right in the future, I will consider serving the people of Hudson once again in local government.

Last week, on social media, Claire Cousin, who in December 2024, resigned her position as supervisor for the First Ward when she moved from the First Ward to the Fifth Ward, announced her intention to run for councilmember in the Fifth Ward.

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Happening on Thursday

This Thursday, March 6, from 6:00 to 7:30 p.m., is the opening reception for the epic exhibition, two years in the making, Hudson: A History of Whaling & Maritime Commerce. There is an article about the exhibition and all the associated research and events, including a trailer for the short film Whaling in Hudson? What!?, on Trixie's List. It is recommended reading.

"The Integrity of Our Historic District"

On Friday, the Historic Preservation Commission held a public hearing on the proposal to build an addition to the house at 105 Union Street and an accessory building, which together would result in structures covering close to 90 percent of the lot. 

Prior to hearing public comment, the owners of 105 Union Street explained why the house they had just purchased was insufficiently large for their needs. They explained that being able to build additional structures was a prerequisite for making an offer on the house. They said they had done their due diligence--talking with local realtors, code enforcement officer Craig Haigh, and the neighbor at 107 Union Street, as well as walking on Partition Street and seeing accessory buildings behind other houses--and had come away with a "positive vibe" about what they were planning to do. 

Although the folks at 107 Union seemed to have had no problem with what was being proposed, other neighbors did. The owner of 109 Union Street--the third house in the block of three--expressed grave concern about the massive scale of what was being proposed. She spoke of how it would compromise the architectural integrity of the trio of matching houses and also talked about personal issues: obstruction of the view of the river and loss of light.

Other neighbors expressed similar concerns. The neighbor at 101 Union Street said what was proposed would "completely change the experience of our house and our yard" and expressed concern about the neighborhood "if anyone can get a variance to completely fill the lot with structures." Similar concerns were expressed by the neighbor at 113 Union Street, who asserted that what is being proposed would "change the character of the street and of the neighborhood." He also talked about light and privacy issues.

After the public had been heard, Phil Forman, who chairs the HPC, told the applicants, "Public input is critical, but it is not the last word." Still, when the HPC began its deliberation about the project, it became clear that no one on the HPC, not even Forman who said, "I have a bias usually toward the homeowner," was inclined to grant the project a certificate of appropriateness. The discussion began with John Schobel saying, "Our jewel is the integrity of our historic district." Schobel went on to describe the project as "massive and inappropriate to the surrounding area." Massing and height were mentioned by other members of the HPC, as well as loss of light and air. Hugh Biber suggested there might be "other possible directions to address the neighbors' concerns about light and air" while meeting the applicants' need for more space. 

In the end, it was decided the HPC would give the applicants a chance to revise the proposal and come back. The project is also before the Zoning Board of Appeals for the extensive area variances needed to essentially eliminate the backyard and fill it with structures. The project has not appeared yet on the agenda for the ZBA, but it may be on the agenda for the ZBA's next meeting, which is currently scheduled to take place on Wednesday, March 19, at 6:00 p.m.

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Meetings and Events in the Week Ahead

We've made it to March, and in the week that ends with the return of daylight saving time, here is what's happening.

• On Tuesday, March 4, the Conservation Advisory Council meets at 6:00 p.m. The meeting is a hybrid, taking place in person at City Hall and on Microsoft Teams. Click here for the link to join the meeting remotely. 
• On Wednesday, March 5, the Hudson Industrial Development Agency (IDA) meets at 9:30 a.m. The meeting includes a public hearing on the request for financial assistance for the adaptive reuse of the Crescent Building. The meeting is a hybrid, taking place in person at 1 City Centre, Suite 301, and on Zoom. Click here to join the meeting remotely.

• At 6:00 p.m. on Wednesday, March 5, the Common Council Legal Committee holds its monthly meeting. The agenda for the meeting is not yet available, but it is likely to include continued discussion of accessory dwelling units (ADUs). The meeting is a hybrid, taking place in person at City Hall and on Microsoft Teams. Click here for the link to join the meeting remotely.
• On Thursday, March 6, the Columbia County Housing Task Force meets at 4:00 p.m. The meeting is a hybrid, taking place in person at 1 City Centre, Suite 301, and on Zoom. Click here to join the meeting remotely. 
• Also on Thursday, March 6, the Public Works Board, tasked with implementing Hudson's Sidewalk Improvement District, meets at 5:30 p.m. The meeting is a hybrid, taking place in person at City Hall and on Microsoft Teams. Click here for the link to join the meeting remotely.
• From 6:oo to 7:30 p.m,, on Thursday, March 6, the Opening Reception for the exhibition Hudson: A History of Whaling & Maritime Commerce takes place in the Community Room of the Hudson Area Library, 51 North Fifth Street.

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Hudson and the Real Estate Market

The Albany Business Review today published information on home sales in the fourth quarter of 2014: "The Albany region's hottest local housing markets." Among the 4,500 ZIP codes in the country considered in the analysis, 12534 ranks 472. And it is among the sixteen hottest housing markets in the Capital Region. (Click on the chart below to enlarge.)

The article provides this further information about 12534:

The Hudson ZIP code--which also includes a large piece of central Columbia County--had topped these rankings in the third quarter, but saw its average list price dip by almost 30% between Q3 and Q4. Sales prices also grew more moderately over the last three months of 2024.

Art and Artifact at Verdigris

The gallery at Verdigris Tea & Chocolate, 135 Warren Street, is currently exhibiting the work of Jack Fenn. Along with his paintings, the exhibition includes an artifact of Hudson history he constructed almost seventy years ago: a soapbox derby racer. 

Fenn says this of the car:

I built my Derby car in the spring and summer of 1956 when I was eleven. My dad was my mentor, and the Ronsani family, the owners of Greenport Lumber (where Williams Lumber is now) were my sponsors. Ken Mynter, owner of the Old Indian Trading Post in Claverack, did the lettering. My car won the award as best constructed.

Somehow, the car survived my younger siblings’ use, then it remained in the garage at Stone Mill until Anne and I took it to Los Angeles in 1983. We kept it in the living room for the next 34 years. When we moved back home of course it came with us and now resides with us in Ghent.

The car has been a part of our home for over 40 years.

The opening reception for the exhibition takes place today, Friday, February 28, from 4:00 to 6:00 p.m. The exhibition continues through March 25.

The Other Kearney Building

There's been a lot of attention paid, deservedly, to the buildings proposed by Kearney Realty & Development for Mill Street. Meanwhile, the building they are proposing for Fourth and State streets has been off most people's radar. 

The building requires six different area variances, having to do with setbacks, density, and lot coverage. None of these has yet been granted by the Zoning Board of Appeals, but it seems the project may have moved on to the Planning Board. Recently, these elevation drawings for the building were submitted to the Planning Board.

Sadly, the elevations evoke this 1855 image of Sing Sing Prison.

The materials submitted to the Planning Board also include this floor plan. 

As has been pointed out before, when you enter most of these apartments, you are in the kitchen. It's an apartment layout that seems to be standard for Kearney, at least for the buildings they are proposing for Hudson. Mill Street Lofts has similar apartment layouts. Entering into the kitchen was also a standard layout for tenement apartments on the Lower East Side.

Photo: Tenement Museum, New York City

Fortunately, the apartments at State Street Lofts are going to be, by Gossips calculation based on the floor plan, about 728 square feet. Tenement apartments were typically only 300 to 400 square feet.

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Just a Reminder . . . Today Is the Day

Ear to the Ground

On his radio show on WGXC this afternoon, Tom DePietro revealed that he will be running again for Common Council president. If he is reelected, it will be his fifth term, which he says will be his last term. 

In this election, DePietro is being challenged by First Ward Councilmember Margaret Morris, which is a bit of a change for him. In the past two elections, DePietro has run unopposed. 

Screen capture from Tuesday's Parking Study Committee meeting

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An Opportunity to Serve

The lion's share of our property taxes--approximately half--is school tax, going to the Hudson City School District, whose current annual budget is $55.6 million and current enrollment is fewer than 1,600 students. If you are concerned about what's happening in the district, now is an opportunity to join the HCSD Board of Education. There are three open seats on the board, and the period for gathering signatures on petitions to get on the ballot is happening now. The following information appears on the HCSD website. 

The Hudson City School District Board of Education has three board member seats up for election this year. Those seats, which expire on June 30, 2025, are held by Willette Jones, Mark DePace, and Lakia Walker.

Each seat is a three-year term, beginning on July 1, 2025. Board members are sworn in at the Organizational Meeting which happens within the first seven business days in July.

Each board member is also expected to serve on a committee. There are usually three members on each committee. We have the following committees:

• Policy Committee--Meets once or twice a month a 5 p.m. before the board meeting
• Audit Committee--Meets quarterly (one member is required to be the board president)
• Facilities Committee--Meets monthly at 4 p.m. usually the day of the board meeting

There is required onboarding training called New Board Member Training through NYSSBA [New York State School Boards Association] that the district pays for. It can either be virtual or in-person. There is no out-of-pocket cost to the board member. Mileage is reimbursed.

Here is the link to NYSSBA where you can get more information on the training. Here is a link to get more information on being a board member.

For current board meeting activity, please check out Hudson's BoardDocs page.

Petitions can be picked up from the Board Clerk on business days between 8:30 a.m. and 3:30 p.m. Interested candidates should call ahead, as the clerk's lunch time varies. Proof of residency is required.

Questions can be directed to the Board Clerk, Leslie Coons, at coonsl@hudsoncsd.org.

More Debate Over Charter Change

Last month, on imby.com, Peter Frank published a critique of the charter change being proposed: "A Citizen's Response to the Hudson Charter Change Proposal." Earlier this week, Robert Rasner published a response to Frank, also on imby.com: "Charter Change Response to Peter Frank Opinion Piece." Rasner shared his response with Gossips, and it can be read below.

Peter Frank's analysis of the citizens' initiative makes some valid observations. But most of what Peter identifies as shortcomings or bugs are left in place by our petition for several reasons. As a group of unelected citizens, we consciously focused on the mayor/manager-council dynamic to the exclusion of other perceived problems in the charter. We were conscious of Hudson's history and aware of the flexibility NYS provides municipalities in determining their own governmental structure. Finally, we understand that the process of charter change is ongoing and dynamic and should be.

First and foremost, the study group that authored the proposed changes is entirely outside government. We weren't elected to do this; we have no mandate beyond that of all citizens to do what they can to better our community. So, we never understood what we were doing as comprehensive or wholesale charter reform. Rather, we set out to address a specific, perceived shortcoming based on the observation that over the last 20 years no mayor, Democrat or Republican, male or female, white or black, has been able to either articulate or implement a plan to address the city's failure to address many of our basic needs such as street repair, garbage pickup, our antiquated zoning code and like matters. Equally important, no mayor has been able to articulate or implement a plan to solve the city's dwindling discretionary income given its contractual obligations to both its labor unions and unrepresented employees.

So, we consciously sought to employ the lightest touch possible to achieve the goal of injecting professional management into the city's day-to-day operations.

In reviewing our current charter with those of other cities in NYS that employ the manager-council model, we found a great deal of heterogeneity. This is true even in the narrow scope that we focused on: the manager-council dynamic. Did we ignore the rest of the charters? No. We spent 3 years reading and discussing them. But we did focus. And, again, that's on purpose.

New York's constitution and its statutory framework for municipal governance does not provide a "best practice" or a "preferred embodiment" beyond the core constitutional directive of one person one vote. Indeed, the statutes, and the cases that interpret them, have repeatedly concluded that New York's legislature has consciously and purposefully permitted each municipality to decide for itself how best to organize its city, town, village and county government.

So--mayor or no? After a long debate lasting weeks (can you imagine?) we determined that Hudson has had a mayor for a good long time. And often a mayor brings unique perspective to the task of governance. Being outside the fray, as it were, we felt such an office would provide Hudson a degree of governmental continuity. In some manager-council cities, the chief elected officer is called "president" or "council president" or "mayor." In Hudson, it will continue to be the mayor as it has been. But the day-to-day enactment of the council's policies will be by the manager. I'm pretty sure that doesn't really confuse Peter Frank (though he does go on about a mayor's legislative role when, of course, mayors are part of the executive branch, not the legislative branch of government).

And what about our elected treasurer? It is an outlier, that's true. We've read the charters and didn't find one with an elected treasurer. But this office was outside our self-imposed purview. And besides, Hudson's history, particularly its recent history, with an elected treasurer has been quite good. So, we moved on.

To the council. This was a necessary part of the analysis for us, obviously, since it's a "manager-council" model. What we found was bloat. Our website has the statistics and numbers but as a committee--with its share of former council members, by the way--we felt the over-sized council yields an environment where no one is responsible for anything since everyone seems to be waiting for the other guy or gal to bring something to the floor. That's what we must assume--we see very little work being done and that by just 2 or 3 members.

And there's work to do. The next council and mayor will have to work together to adopt the few changes the petition embodies. Did our group provide any guidance? No--we're not the legislature nor the executive. But there's 2 years between when the charter changes are adopted and when they go into effect. If that's not enough, there are ways to extend that time.

And that really brings me to the final and perhaps most salient point of how we designed the present petition: no charter change, or attempted charter change, is ever the final word. The charter is, and is designed to be, a living document, changing slowly but inexorably to keep pace with both the demands on the city and its resources to respond to those demands.

It shouldn't be up to a citizens' initiative to bring these ideas forward, to seek meaningful and thoughtful charter change. But it is a method that the framers of our state constitution foresaw as being necessary and useful. It's our hope that the work of charter change will continue after our effort concludes. Perhaps the city will follow through with its promise to form a charter commission. Or perhaps Peter Spear will lead the community in the consultative process that he's been studying and advocating. These are all to be hoped for and speak to the flexibility of the charter change process. Nothing is written in stone.

The Evolution of Mill Street Lofts

Earlier this month, Kearney Realty & Development provided this rendering of the proposed Mill Street Lofts. 

Earlier this week, a new rendering appeared in the Planning Board's "portal."

It appears they have dressed things up a bit with some pseudo oriels and a few trees, but it is still as out of character in this neighborhood of single-family houses as it was before.

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Lose One, Gain One

This morning, at about the same time Gossips was sharing the news that Billy Blowers had decided not to run for mayor, Mark Allen was announcing on Instagram that a new candidate has entered the race: Lloyd A. Koedding.

Another Plan for JLE

Tiffany Greenwaldt-Simon reported today in the Register-Star that Penrose Bricks & Mortar | Heart & Soul is interested in buying the former John L. Edwards school building to develop as apartments for low-income seniors: "Developer looks to buy Hudson JLE school for senior housing." 

This isn't the first time a developer proposed adapting the building for housing. In June 2021, Adirondack Community Development expressed interest in buying the building for use as housing. Their initial plan involved constructing a second building, five stories high, close to State Street. 

Six months later, the plan had changed. In December 2021, Adirondack was proposing demolishing the mid-century school building and constructing something new in its place.

For reasons unknown, Adirondack Community Development never pursued their plan, but you can read about it here and here.

In more recent memory, in 2023, Hudson Development Corporation proposed turning the building into a kind of community center. The plan involved satellite classrooms for Columbia-Greene Community College, a commercial kitchen for culinary training, a daycare center, as well City Hall offices, the Senior Center, and the Youth Department.

HDC entered into an contract with Hudson City School District to buy the building, but part of the agreement was a six-month due diligence period. In December 2024, five months into the due diligence period, HDC announced they would not be pursuing their plan to acquire their building because their investigations had revealed "serious and extensive environmental issues"--primarily "mold, asbestos, and 10,000 gallons of fuel oil in a buried tank."

It will be interesting to see how the latest proposal develops.

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And Then There Were Two

Billy Blowers just informed Gossips that he no longer intends to run for mayor in the upcoming election.

Screen capture: Bosom Buddies, The Rivertown Collective

Unless something else changes in the coming months, there are now just two mayoral candidates: Kamal Johnson, the incumbent, and Peter Spear, the challenger.

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Opening Next Week

The monumental exhibition commemorating Hudson's early history, Hudson: A History of Whaling & Maritime Commerce, opens at the Hudson Area Library next week. The exhibition is a collaboration of the Hudson Area Library, the Hendrick Hudson Chapter of the Daughters of the American Revolution, and the Columbia County Historical Society. The first event in this three-site, year-long project of exhibitions and programs focusing on Hudson's beginnings and its era of whaling and maritime trade is the Opening Reception, which takes place from 6:00 to 7:30 p.m. on Thursday, March 6, at the library. The library has published the following information about the Opening Reception.

In 1784, Hudson was founded by a group of whalers and merchants, largely from Nantucket, who purchased Claverack Landing from Dutch settlers. The established river port soon became a busy port with whaling and transatlantic voyages. Between 1784 and 1845, there were forty-seven whaling voyagers out of Hudson, some successful and some financially devastating. These three exhibitions will illustrate different perspectives of Hudson's whaling trade.

The reception includes a short panel discussion with library trustees Gary Sheffer and Joseph Ferris speaking with representatives of the DAR and the historical society and with Richard Bazelow, a local history researcher who has spent years searching special collections at museums, libraries, the National Archives, and historical societies for Hudson's artifacts and whaling past. We will premiere a short film, Whaling in Hudson? What!? produced by local filmmaker Karl Frederick Mattson of 542films, which introduces Hudson's rich maritime heritage through interviews with residents and business owners, highlighting the people and narratives that brought this city to life.

The flyer reproduced below provides more information about this year-long exhibition. Click on the image to enlarge.

Morris Announces

Margaret Morris, First Ward councilmember and majority leader, has released the following statement announcing her intention to run for Common Council president.

I am running for Common Council President for the 2026 Term. I have served on the Common Council as First Ward representative for three years. I was elected Majority Leader in 2024 and again in 2025. During my time on the Council, I have shown myself to be detail oriented and pragmatic. As a committee chair, I encourage open discussion and provide committee members with pertinent information so that their decisions are informed and are the result of a democratic process. As Council President, that will be my leadership style. Under the current leadership, the Council is not addressing the long-term financial health of the City. Under my leadership we will be accountable to the people of Hudson and will address issues of importance to Hudson residents. I believe it is time for new leadership on the Common Council and that I can provide that leadership.

Fiscally Responsible:

• We are facing a climate of uncertainty with Federal grants, contracts, and payments, and it is imperative we have local leadership focused on minimizing our fiscal risk and exposure. This responsibility is not solely our Treasurer’s responsibility. I attend the legislative meeting of NYCOM (New York Conference of Mayors) every year. At the most recent meeting, a representative from the National League of Cities presented information on the potential impact of current Federal funding freezes on municipalities. I shared this information with the Treasurer and the full Council. As Council president I will ensure that I continue to stay up to date on State and Federal actions that have an impact for our City and will share that information with the Council.
• I attended all the City of Hudson’s Board of Estimate and Apportionment meetings since 2021 and have developed a detailed understanding of our budget. I am concerned that this City of under 6,000 is spending itself into an untenable position, with no serious efforts to address revenue growth.
• As a property owner in the City of Hudson, I am aware of the tax burdens of fellow middle-class property owners.

Approach to Leadership:

• My approach is collaborative, fair, and inclusive. All committee members are heard. Members of the public are listened to. Decisions and recommendations from my committees are based on informed consensus. Under my leadership at the Council decisions will be made on an informed basis.

Common Committee Work

Legal Committee–Chair (2022 to present)

• Reduced the speed limit within the City to 25 MPH
• Worked with the community and local businesses to revise Formula Retail code
• Lead the committee in working with our counsel to draft local laws and changes to our code
• Brought the ward boundaries into compliance with 2020 census with minimal disruption to residents

Truck Committee–Chair (2022 to present)

• Successfully passed resolution to remove through truck traffic from the 9G–Columbia Street corridor

Finance Committee–Member (2024 to present)

• Work with committee members and Treasurer in reviewing City revenues and expenditures on a monthly basis
• Have attended all Board of Estimate and Apportionment meetings since 2021. I believe it is critical to understand the details behind the budget

As Majority Leader, I also serve on the Hudson Industrial Development Agency and the Hudson Community Development and Planning Agency.

Professional Bio and Contact Information

For 25 years in my professional capacity as a Senior Director in health care, I managed multiple multimillion-dollar state Medicaid contracts.

When not working for the City of Hudson, I enjoy reading, knitting, and feeding my cat, whose name is Cat. I also like crossword puzzles.

Questions/comments regarding my campaign can be sent to morrisforhudson@gmail.com.

Meetings and Events in the Week Ahead

This week sees the end of February and the beginning of March. The good news is it's no longer dark at 5:00 p.m. The better news is that we are just two weeks away from the return of daylight saving time returns. In the meantime, here is what's happening.

• On Tuesday, February 25, Hudson Development Corporation (HDC) meets at noon. The meeting takes place in person at 1 North Front Street, and it can be viewed on Zoom. Click here for the link to join the meeting remotely.
• Also on Tuesday, February 25, the Common Council ad hoc Parking Study Committee meets at 6:00 p.m. The meeting is a hybrid, taking place in person at City Hall and on Microsoft Teams. Click here for the link to join the meeting remotely.     

• On Thursday, February 27, Hudson Community Development & Planning Agency (HCDPA) meets at 5:00 p.m. The meeting is a hybrid, taking place in person at City Hall and on Microsoft Teams. Click here for the link to join the meeting remotely. 
• Also on Thursday, February 27, Randall Martin, recently appointed as First Ward supervisor by the Common Council, holds a town hall meeting for the First Ward. The meeting takes place in person at 1 North Front Street, beginning at 5:30 p.m. The meeting can be accessed on Zoom. The meeting ID is 818 8646 1294.

• On Friday, February 28, the Historic Preservation Commission meets at 10:00 a.m. The meeting is a hybrid, taking place in person at City Hall and on Microsoft Teams. Click here for the link to join the meeting remotely.
• Friday, February 28 is National Spending Blackout--no shopping, no gas, no big box stores, no Amazon, from 12:00 a.m. to 11:59 p.m.

• On Saturday, March 1, it's the Oakdale Plunge, raising funds for the Hudson Youth Department, the Hudson Fire Department Water Rescue Unit, and Perfect Ten After School Program. Plunger check in starts at 11:00 a.m.; the plunging begins at noon.

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