Hudson Councilor Nicole Kowalski was censured by Hudson City Council a second time on October 15, 2024. But, in order to explain this censure, we need to rewind to when she was first rebuked by her colleagues and then sued the City.
December 6, 2022, Councilor Nicole Kowalski was censured by the Hudson City Council due to her improper and unauthorized pursuit for the prosecution of campaign finance violations causing the city to spend money without council authorization. A censure is simply a formal statement of disapproval.
Four days after this first censure Kowalski emailed PDF images of attorney client privileged documents to Hudson resident Mr. Don Reed, who in turn unknowingly sent the email and his reply to all Council members and the Mayor of Hudson. In doing so, Reed revealed the improper and illegal release of the confidential documents, as well as Kowalski’s plotting to defame her fellow members of Council. Shortly after Reed’s email was received by Council, the privileged documents he sent suddenly were password protected, alluding that the scheming duo realized their wrongdoing.
Kowalski then filed a lawsuit to have the censure removed, but Judge Tammy O’Brien stated the court did not have the subject matter jurisdiction to do so. Instead, the Judge cited that the legislative body (city council) had the right to discipline its members under Robert’s Rules of orders. This first censure stood. The Judge refused the Writ of Mandamus Kowalski filed to make public the privileged documents. That action made it clear that the documents remained confidential and were illegally shared with Mr. Reed.
Despite Reed’s submission of an affidavit acknowledging the validity of the emails between him and Kowalski with the privileged documents, Kowalski still refuses to accept any responsibility for this. You can read the emails, affidavits, and other court documents by clicking here.
A clip of Council President Chris Foster detailing Nicole Kowalski’s scheming and sharing of privileged documents that led to this second censure is below.
Hudson City Council then had the option to seek criminal charges against Kowalski (a $1,000 fine and 180 days confinement) but instead opted for a second censure with the vote take on Tuesday October 15, 2024 at an open to the public City Council Meeting. The second censure, based on the Judge stating the release of the privileged documents was indeed illegal, passed with a 4 to 2 vote. Councilors Patricia Goetz (Ward 1) and Michael Bird (Ward 4) dissented.
Kowalski continued to maintain that she did nothing wrong, took no responsibility for her actions and at this meeting accused and argued with the Mayor stating that he failed to call on her to comment on the second round of council comments being solicited. A review of the video of this meeting CLEARLY shows the Mayor indeed called on Ms. Kowalski and when she had no statements to make then stated, “I will then move onto to Dr. Goetz for her comments.” This portion of the Council meeting begins at about the 41 minute mark and can be watched here.
After the censure occurred, Kowalski flew over to social media to play the victim and gaslight her fellow Council members and Hudson’s beloved Mayor. After being confronted with facts rather than pity, Kowalski shut down comments on her own post. Kowalski’s post stating “They didn’t burn witches, they burned women,” and the replies before she arbitrarily pulled the plug can be read here.
As she continues to blame others rather than admitting that she did send the privileged documents, Kowalski continues to dig herself into a hole on social media. At the October 15th Council Meeting, she claimed she sued the City of Hudson because she wanted to restore her reputation. But, she commented on her own Facebook post that she wears the censures as a badge of honor.
Since Kowalski is so proud of her censures, she probably should repay the tens of thousands of dollars the City of Hudson taxpayers likely paid fending off her frivolous and petty lawsuit against the City she represents.
This is the pettiest and most devious stuff ever- Focus on something positive so you can make a positive contribution to society instead of pushing your own personal agenda and views. Imagine all the good stuff you could’ve done instead of writing this negative stuff. You’re Definitely low vibes I’ll tell you that
It’s a simple rule really. Don’t break the law.