“To take part in a severe contest between intelligence, which presses forward, and an unworthy, timid ignorance obstructing our progress.”
The Economist, founding prospectus, 1843.
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Latest Editorial, Guest Op-Ed, The Shallot (satire), and commentariat watch
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A rural county that feels more like Yellowstone is run as if it were House of Cards. Has the time come to end meritless incumbency? For a county with two hundred million dollars at stake, standing at a crucial fork in the road, the choice is simple: a leadership culture in the spirit of Yellowstone, direct and accountable and willing to say to your face what it stands for, or House of Cards, where everything happens offstage.
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In the week between losing and conceding, Johnson used Trumpian tactics locally: Facebook posts that distorted the (budget meeting) truth, calls to “arrest” a local blogger, and inciting physical threats against the incoming Council President, and nativist dog whistles aimed at independent immigrants. The Youth Center and its allies, in echoes of the Zachos Dog Poop-Gate became the loudest opponents of modest cuts, exposing it as a de facto jobs program, while insiders and the local paper closed ranks, leaving Hudson with division, deficits, and a clearer view of what not to repeat.
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Hudson is raising taxes to the legal limit while millions in unpaid taxes and fees sit uncollected. City Hall keeps raiding City savings instead of cutting waste or collecting money that is owed. The choice now is simple: live within our means, or keep borrowing from future generations. The Common Council should vote down the budget, and send it back to the BEA to make trade-offs that avoid dipping into the Fund Balance, if not avoid raising taxes altogether.
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Guides, Profiles and Masthead
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[Next] Election ‘27: Voter Guide
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Our Values, Mission, Method & Message
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Hudson Common Sense’s Satirical Dispatch from the Frontlines of Local Absurdity
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A Hudson Common Sense & Hudson Wail Collaboration: Put your prediction and your % where your mouth is.
Submit your prediction here:
https://forms.gle/xu9xysAn6Q2PZLnQA
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Hudson deserves a mayor of competence, fairness, and integrity. Judged by nonpartisanship, efficiency, and equal treatment, Joe Ferris stands alone. Vote for Joe, he is the courageous nerd for the job.
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Hudson’s future runs through the First Ward, the city’s civic, economic, and intellectual core. Its institutions, from the courthouse to the waterfront, define Hudson’s promise yet expose its mismanagement. With the council divided and progress stalled, the ward’s election will decide whether the city governs or performs.
Hudson Common Sense endorses Donna Streitz, Henry Haddad, and Patti Ramoska: the team most capable of restoring competence, transparency, and growth. Put the First Ward first to grow Hudson.
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Hudson’s First Ward wants competence, not careerism. Alex Madero’s victory would mark a shift from insider politics to practical, transparent governance.
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https://digital.vestaboard.com/0d538bc8V0ac1V42f9V8a21V3e6aea4745f7
~ 1843 - The Economist Magazine