Aliya Schneider is reporting for Columbia-Greene Media four members of the Hudson Democratic committee have resigned; two of the four also hold executive positions. Third Ward representative Virginia Martin, also served as secretary; 4th Ward representative Stephen Dunn, also served as treasurer; and, 1st Ward representative John Paul Kane, announced their resignations at the February 17 meeting of the Hudson Democrats. First Ward representative Monica Byrne submitted her resignation earlier that same day. Three of the four positions are now open; however, Kane’s 1st Ward seat is not yet vacant because he has so far failed to provide the committee with a written resignation, Chairwoman Kate Treacy said. Kane and the committee had disagreed about whether it was appropriate for him to reach out to local politicians on behalf of the committee. His plan was to speak with people about "the state of Hudson and potential candidates," but he did not intend to speak for the entire committee., but Treacy felt the need to apologize for his unauthorized communication. “That post is one of my reasons for leaving,” Kane said. “The other reason is sometimes the most powerful thing you can do is leave and tell people why you don’t believe in the committee anymore.” Dunn resigned for health reasons. Byrne had been a member of the committee for only two to three weeks. The February 2 1st Ward forum Byrne hosted with Kane raised concerns for her, especially after hearing complaints about a lack of inclusion from the committee. Martin’s history of working with the committee led to her decision to resign, she said, declining to explain further. “I decided that my efforts were best invested elsewhere,” she said. Any registered Democrat in the 106th Assembly District is eligible to fill the open committee positions, Treacy said. Read the full story at HudsonValley360 [dot] com.