HUDSON — Hudson Democrats will choose between incumbent Treasurer Heather Campbell and newcomer Michael Hofmann in the June 22 primary to represent the party in the November election.
Campbell, 57, a Wharton business school alumna, has served as treasurer since 2014. She previously worked in the private sector managing multi-million-dollar budgets and financials, she said. Campbell represented residents through the city’s first bond issues, fiscal changes and the pandemic, making sure taxpayer dollars are used responsibly and the city has financial transparency, she said.
Her team eliminated tens of thousands of dollars in annual outside accounting fees and cleaned up the city’s general ledger system, she said. For the first time in more than 15 years, the treasurer’s office ran accurate income statements and balance sheets for all 16 city funds, which resulted in no auditor corrections to 2019 financial statements, she said. Campbell also created the city’s fund balance policy. The tax burden on Hudson citizens and jobs are the top issues facing Hudson, Campbell said.
“I will champion spending that helps produce revenue, lower costs or helps economic development, and I will speak out against wasteful spending,” she said.
Campbell wants to see the city maximize its investment in the youth center by using the building for job training when it is not being used for programming. Campbell said she has no agenda other than advocating for the fiscal soundness of the city and believes any chief financial officer should be politically neutral.
Hofmann, 30, is the Development Operations Manager at the Fisher Center at Bard, a fundraising role that focuses on data management and analysis, donor communications, board relations, grant administration, research and contributed income accounting, he said.
Hofmann is also a freelance graphic designer, opera stage director/manager, activist and musician. His fluency in graphic design will help produce clear and effective financial presentations to improve public access, he said. “I am running for office because I truly believe Hudson needs young, thoughtful, creative, empathic, justice-oriented and hard-working people to take leadership roles in government,” he said.
The top issue of housing displacement stems from systemic racism, and the city must identify and solve unequal access to food, health care, education, housing and jobs, he said.
“Hudson’s BIPOC (Black, Indigenous and People of Color) residents were largely left out of the decades-long urban renewal process and will continue to be excluded from the city’s economic development unless we take action,” he said. Hudson’s financial leader needs to be an active partner in dismantling systemic racism in order to be an effective representative, he said. Hofmann said he feels strongly about running on the Democratic and Working Families Party lines to show his intention to center the needs of marginalized communities within the city in his service to all of the city’s citizens.