Spotlight: Hudson Mayor Kamal Johnson

Last November, Kamal Johnson made history - twice.

He was elected the first African-American mayor, and the youngest mayor, in Hudson’s history, a city that had traditionally elected older, white officials since the 1700s.

“It was overwhelming, but an amazing accomplishment,” says Johnson, referring to his historymaking mayoral win. “During my swearing in, I looked out into the crowd and I just had to take a moment to bask in what was happening. I knew that it was a moment I’ll never have again.”

Johnson, who grew up in Hudson, was an atypical candidate. He was young, Black, and had only served one term in public office — as an alderman for the first ward — before deciding to run in 2019 against popular incumbent Rick Rector. But what Johnson lacked in formal political experience, he made up for in years spent dedicated to community advocacy, having been co-executive director of the Greater Hudson Promise Neighborhood, serving children and families from cradle to career.

‘During my swearing in, I looked out into the crowd and I just had to take a moment to bask in what was happening. I knew that it was a moment I’ll never have again’

Indeed, it was his fresh ideas, action-oriented vision, and community-centric mentality (his slogan was AHOD “all hands on deck”) that resonated with Hudson’s voters.

His daughter, Asia, might offer a different reason. “She will tell you she is the sole reason I won,” says Johnson with a chuckle. “She’d tell me if I was good or if I needed some work. There was one speech where I was talking about my campaign and she said ‘you were good, but you weren’t inspiring at all.’ I don’t know where this kid came from. She’s a force to be reckoned with.”

Whether it was his vision of being the “people’s mayor” or the advice of his small, but mighty campaign strategist (aka his twelve-year-old daughter Asia) that sealed the deal, being mayor, was an identity Johnson assumed long before it was officially granted to him by vote. “Being mayor is something I’ve wanted since I was in 11th grade,” he says. “My teacher used to always call me ‘the mayor’ because I was the class clown and everyone would follow my lead. One day I put up a sign in the classroom that read: ‘Kamal for Mayor’ and it became a nickname.”

After graduating high school in Hudson, Johnson studied History and Political Science at SUNY New Paltz, always with an intention to return to the city that raised him. “I knew that this was where my heart was. I knew that there was so much unfinished business in Hudson.”

But, the Hudson that Johnson returned to, and the Hudson he leads today is not the same Hudson of his childhood memories. Growing up, Johnson recalls a more family-oriented city, one of tightknit communities. “You would know where all the kids were because you would see a ton of bikes outside of a house or playground,” he recalls. “The elementary school had a wooden playground. We had candy stores in town. It was a time where everyone knew each other.”

As decades passed, antiques replaced the candy stores of Johnson’s youth, and by the mid-2000’s, upscale boutiques and coffee shops popped up along Warren Street, catering to the influx of new residents and tourists from Hudson’s neighboring metropolitan centers — mostly New York City. Soon, many of those who had spent their childhoods pedaling down Warren Street, now couldn’t afford their own city.

“They say that you can’t stop gentrification, but I say that you can balance it with equity,” says Johnson, who has made affordable housing a primary focus while in office. He’s currently working on a pilot program that will provide 70 units of affordable housing to residents in need, and plans to launch another program this fall in partnership with former presidential candidate Andrew Yang on the premise of Universal Based Income – the concept of offering 20 individuals $500/month of unrestricted income (meaning they can use it however they want) over the course of five years. According to Yang, UBI encourages recipients to find work, reduces bureaucracy, increases bargaining power for workers, improves mental and physical health and increases entrepreneurship. For some, it’s a radical approach, but for Johnson, it’s common sense.

“I’m about out-of-the-box thinking. It seems like the old ways are not working, so maybe it’s time to get a little radical.”

Resources – for Johnson in the form of mentors and advocates – was one of the primary reasons Johnson is where he is today. “I grew up very rough...one of four boys and the only one to not go to prison. My mom was on drugs and my dad was taken from me from an early age. I had every excuse to go in a different direction.”

This personal connection to his community is what makes Mayor Johnson so passionate about taking action in service of the well-being of the city’s residents. “I put people over parties,” he says. “I’ll work with anyone as long as it’s beneficial to the community. It sounds so simple, but it’s rare.”

Community support also looks like frequenting the city’s beloved restaurants and food trucks. “You can find some of the best food here,” says Johnson. “There’s also a decent nightlife...from Back Bar or The Half Moon...Hudson has so many different places to enjoy yourself.”

So what’s this action-oriented, ambitious mayor most hopeful for? “My hope for Hudson is to build an equitable city where people are able to live, able to work, able to enjoy recreation and be comfortable.”

If any city could do it, Hudson can. “I’m proud of all the changes that my city is making. I’m proud to be a leader here,” says Johnson. “We have a slogan here: ‘Hudson – we don’t follow, we lead.’”

By Alyssa Benjamin

Photography by Tara Donne