Amanda Purcell reports in Columbia-Greene Media that Hudson Mayor Rick Rector on Sept. 4 gave up his efforts to win a second term. Rector was running as a Republican, after losing the Democratic primary election in June to Kamal Johnson, 678-354, an almost two-to-one margin. “During the recent Democratic primary, members of my political party felt that my opponent is better suited for the position and I respect this and will abide by it,” Rector said to the newspaper. “I do not want to be a reason for more political divide in this special city that I and many others have chosen to be our home. I want a unified Hudson where everyone can be proud of all aspects of the community.” Johnson, a WGXC volunteer host, was on the "WGXC Afternoon Show" just after the news was first announced, and said this on the air: (PLAY SHORT EXCERPT HERE). If elected, Johnson would be Hudson's first African-American mayor. “I desperately want a unified Hudson,” Rector said. “I want a Hudson that respects its leaders and the work they are doing and have done. I want a Hudson where race, gender, religion or sexual preference is not a factor in an election.” Read more about this story in HudsonValley360.com.