Letters

I am excited to be running for Southampton Village trustee on a team with Mayor Jesse Warren and fellow trustee candidate Greg Centeno. Together, we will usher in a new era of optimism, collaboration and government for all village residents.

As a village trustee, I will prioritize preserving the character of the village and sustaining the environment through projects such as the new sewer district and the cleanup of Lake Agawam. I also will prioritize traffic and road safety issues, working to develop relationships with the town and county to help ease road traffic in the village.

I am a Georgetown University graduate with a double major in computer science and government. Working for a food service nonprofit as a data project manager, I engaged new technologies often to see how I could incorporate them into our service to the community. I will bring a data-driven and quantitative approach to create solutions for village residents as opposed to the opinion-based approach often employed by the majority of our trustees.

I also will leverage my technical knowledge to improve safety and quality of life in the village, particularly by applying a tech-focused approach to traffic and cybersecurity. I firmly believe that my knowledge and work experience will ensure that Southampton Village data remains private and secure from potential threats.

At the recent village trustee candidate debate, the topic again arose of lifetime benefits for part-time elected officials who serve five years or more. If elected, at the next trustee meeting in July, I will be voting to eliminate these lifetime benefits, which are set to cost taxpayers millions of dollars.

Southampton Village has an incredibly bright future as long as we have an elected government that is willing to come together in constructive collaboration to tackle the complex issues facing us. To address these key issues, and change the tone of our village government, I will need your help.

I would be honored to have your support, and your vote, in the village election on Friday, June 16. Working together, I know we can accomplish great things for the village.

Palmer Hudson

Southampton Village