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Image remixed from The Economist

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In Hudson, NY, local politics has taken on the tone of a high school play: overacted, underinformed, and veering from tantrum to spectacle.

A cast of inexperienced leaders, led by Tom DePietro and Kamal Johnson, now govern a city and budget they barely seem to understand.

🎭 Their latest performance?

Today's Common Council meeting likely stacked with out-of-town astroturfers to champion the still-unpassed statewide REST Act (Rent Emergency Stabilization for Tenants Act), *an exercise in price control theater, not policy.

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🚨 Just this week, before City Hall even updated its agendas online, residents reported receiving spam text messages from non-resident housing groups more often associated with national elections and SuperPACs.

This curious turn of events in a small town would suggest City Council insiders are actively cooperating with out-of-town, and possibly out-of-state dark money groups**.

For a city the size of a high-school, Hudson is fast becoming a case study in how pretend-government makes real-life problems worse.

The City of Hudson has plenty of problems to solve; a looming budget crises, a broken school system, senior City Hall staff turn-over and several small but important public infrastructure projects... all while a tariff induced recession looms... and yet City Hall finds time to debate unproven legislation not even passed in hyper-progressive Albany.

Who will stop the Tomfoolery?

• The REST Act (Senate Bill S4659A) is currently in committee in both the New York State Senate and Assembly. It has not reached a floor vote or been sent to the governor. As of the latest records, it remains in the Senate Housing, Construction and Community Development Committee.
• *While For the Many operates mainly in New York (with offices in Poughkeepsie, Newburgh, Middletown, and Kingston), it is structurally tied to a California-based network. The group is fiscally sponsored by Tides Advocacy, a 501(c)(4) nonprofit linked to the progressive Tides Foundation. This setup allows For the Many to receive funding and support from Tides’ network of wealthy donors.

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Last edited/updated:

August 4th, 2025

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