Amanda Purcell reports for Columbia-Greene Media that First Ward Alderperson Rebecca Wolff is the new Hudson Common Council minority leader. Wolff is the city’s first Working Families Party member to serve as Minority Leader and Second Ward Alderperson Tiffany Garriga, who is the Majority Leader, said she was the first Minority Leader in the whole state from the Working Families Party. Democrats are in the majority on the council, and there are no Republicans, and Wolff, and Third Ward Alderpersons Calvin Lewis and Shershah Mizan ran on the Working Families Party line. Fifth Ward Alderperson Dominic Merante is registered as no official party. Besides naming Wolff minority leader, the Common Council changed the procedure for choosing majority and minority leaders. Now Common Council members not enrolled in a political party will be ineligible to lead a minority or majority. Merante, not a party person, was not happy he lost his minority leadership post.. “This process in my opinion was unfair and non-transparent, and if the outcome of today’s opinion is correct, this should have been the starting point of this process,” Merante said. “I will respect the city attorney’s opinion but express that moving forward there should be change to the process so it’s clear and concise with the goal of transparency and fairness. This unfortunate display has shattered some trust and members of the council who have participated in this event.” The minority leader gets to be on the boards of directors of the Hudson Industrial Development Agency and the Hudson Community Development and Planning Agency. Read more about this story at HudsonValley360.com.