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Publication Date: November 2d, 2025
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Common Box / In Brief:
Hudson’s First Ward wants competence, not careerism. Alex Madero’s victory would mark a shift from insider politics and appointed politicians to practical, transparent governance and the will of the people. Vote For Alexandrea Madero, see our full Hudson 2025 Voter Guide here:
[Next] Election ‘27: Voter Guide
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Hudson’s First Ward race captures the city’s career politician fatigue and yearning for competence. Incumbent Randall Martin represents the entrenched class of small-town politicians who talk national but deliver little locally. Appointed in a quiet backroom deal, he campaigns on empty slogans, padded résumés, and blurred ethics: holding roles that conflict with his housing and policy interests.
His challenger, Alex Madero, entered public life through civic duty, not careerism. Her platform is pragmatic: transparency, business vitality, and streamlined governance. The contrast between Martin’s performative politics and Madero’s results-oriented approach defines Hudson’s choice: perpetuate dysfunction or restore accountable representation.
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Hudson wants quiet competence, not loud incompetence.
Randall Martin ran his campaign as if the First Ward were a battleground county in a national race, complete with robocalls. Like Mayor Kamal Johnson, he functions as a Trojan horse for state politics and the special interests that thrive on Hudson’s dysfunction. What Hudson needs instead is a town-meeting culture where neighbors talk plainly, not party operatives playing small-city Washington.
Hudson’s peculiar structure compounds the problem. Each of its five wards elects a Columbia County supervisor whose weighted vote on the county board leaves Hudson fragmented and weak. A capable supervisor can make the system work, as Linda Mussmann did when she brokered an agreement that saved old trees near the courthouse. But most of these positions are sinecures, honorary titles for semi-retired politicians who cannot give up the microphone.
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Hudson Supervisors make $14,000 plus health care, more for leadership roles.
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This year four of the five supervisor races went uncontested, a sign of civic fatigue. The First Ward is the lone exception. Martin, the unelected incumbent, was appointed during a winter recess, a quiet deal disguised as continuity. The post pays $14,000 plus health care, more for leadership roles, which keeps the city’s semi-professionals on the payroll.
Martin is likable, earnest, and hard-working. Yet his campaign exemplifies what is wrong with Hudson politics. His flyers list achievements no one can verify and promises no one expects to be kept (see images below ⏬) His campaign websites shows the equivalent of political participation trophies, certificates of “recognition,” instead of tax dollars saved, real resident endorsements, or democratic elections won. He repeats national slogans when he should be mastering local budgets. At his first town hall, his grasp of basic taxation was shaky, if not intentionally misleading, echoing false lines from City Hall. The room was filled with more local career politicians than voting residents. The ratio should be 1 to 10, if not a 100. His Planning Board seat and position on the Hudson Industrial Development Agency, while living in Galvan housing and helping grant Galvan tax breaks, create conflicts of interest that would embarrass any serious county.
In classic Martin style he calls on first ward residents to “re-elect” him, a slight of hand and snuck premise that does not make clear that he was never elected in the first place, but appointed.
Randall’s enthusiasm could build another great business, grow a transparent and ethical not-for-profit, or he could simply volunteer in the community. No permission or votes required. Not all roads should lead to paid public office and greater taxation.
A voice message left on behalf of Randall Martin, reminding voters to vote for him. Is it a RoboCall or a human?
Email from Randall Martin campaign to 1st Ward residents, without a federally mandated “unsubscribe” option.
Randall’s flyers, listing achievements no one can verify and promises no one expects to be kept.
Randall’s flyers, listing achievements no one can verify and promises no one expects to be kept.
Alex Madero is the opposite. She entered politics by necessity, not ambition. While investigating why 11 Warren Street was being turned into a county storage site instead of a productive, tax-generating property, she found the truth and told her neighbors. A business owner and single mother, she invests her own capital in Hudson’s renewal. Her politics are Jeffersonian, practical, civic, grounded in property and duty. She understands that she does not work for Sam Hodge, but residents of Hudson’s First Ward.
When the seat was first open, Madero had stronger support than Martin, but the council ignored it and appointed him anyway. The Democratic primary corrected that mistake: she won 166 to 72. Her agenda is simple and effective, monthly public reports on county actions, more transparency, and a focus on business and culture, not bureaucracy.
Martin promises more meetings and more government. Madero promises fewer meetings and more enterprise. If Hudson ever consolidates its five county seats into one accountable vote, she represents the model.
When Madero wins again, it will not just be a victory for her. It will be a rebuke to Hudson’s insider class, the politicians who treat local office as a hobby funded by public stipends. If they crave politics, let them seek it in Albany or Washington. Hudson has had enough of its self-appointed caretakers. It wants representatives, not retainers.
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Dear Editors -
As usual a widely inaccurate hit piece. I didn’t use any Robo calls. I made all the calls myself or members of my family or supporters. My accomplishments are solid and far more than most. Your candidate has zero accomplishments, and has made little effort to learn about what the city needs. Your journalistic approach is sloppy and false. Try mixing a little truth into your common sense and then maybe you can present a properly balanced article.
Randall Martin November 3rd, 2025
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Dear Sir,
Your protest and omissions prove the point.
Robocalls were made (see embedded media), either under your direction or by political advocacy groups, in a neighborhood election with approximately 1,000 residents and barely 250 voters. See the primary results here.
You do not address your double conflict of interest with Galvan and its tax-breaks, and as a dual-appointed Planning Board member and 1st Ward Supervisor.
Alex Madero is not “our candidate.” We have no formal affiliation other than endorsing her in this election. And when she wins, we will hold her to account. If what you say, “(Alex Madero) has zero accomplishments and has made little effort to learn about what the city needs,” is true, then why did 168 residents vote for her and only 73 for you?
Finally, we are not journalists and do not pretend to be. We write editorials and invite guest op-eds. See our About page. Also, this WSJ News Literacy infographic explains the difference between journalism and editorial content.
~ The Editors
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Last edited/updated:
November 3d, 2025
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