Kyle Hudson Running For Mayor Of West Chester Borough

Pennsylvania's Primary Election is May 18. Kyle Hudson brings to his campaign for mayor of West Chester Borough a determination to communicate with those sometimes ignored, like renters and young adults worse off than their parents.

He explained why he is running for election.

Kyle Hudson

Age: 36

Position Sought: Mayor of West Chester Borough

Party Affiliation: Democrat

Family: Wife Leslie and daughter Ava.

Does anyone in your family work in politics or government?: No. I am the first person in my family to participate in politics.

Education: Bachelor of Science, Film Production from Full Sail University. Also studied Mechanical Engineering at Delaware County Community College.

Occupation: CEO of Digital Exhibition Systems Inc., nine years; and Creative Director, Crimson Planet Media, six years. Former waiter and Lyft driver.

Previous or Current Elected or Appointed Office: West Chester Democratic Committee, Representing Ward 7 (2018-2020)

Why are you seeking elective office?: This last year has been rough, and a lot of our neighbors are hurting. I understand poverty in West Chester because I lived it. As a renter, I understand how 2/3 of the population of West Chester lives. Just because we don't own land, doesn't mean this town isn't our home too. Over 26 percent of our town lives in poverty, and I used to be one of them. When you attend Council meetings for a decade, as I have, you start to notice that it is rarely the working-class folks who have the time to come down and plead their issues.
Most folks have no idea how our government functions. I want to change that. At the core of everything, all my policies, I want to bring us together.
These last few years have been incredibly divisive, painful, and full of loss, and I want to work to heal our community and come out of this pandemic prepared to compete.
As Mayor, more than anything you are a symbol, you set the tone of the political discourse here in town. I want to empower my generation, who have only known wars on terror, financial collapse, and COVID-19, so they can realize that we have to step up because the problems we face aren't going to fix themselves.
West Chester is struggling, but with a little hard work, collaboration, and innovative thinking, we will come out stronger and more stable than we were before.
I am running because I want to show my generation that it is our time to step up and get involved so we can start to control our own destiny. As a millennial, I am part of the first generation to have a lower standard of living than my parents, but as a father, I need to do everything in my power to make sure we are the last.

The single most pressing issue facing our borough is: Communication with residents has always been a problem, and it is what I do for a living. I want to make our government more accessible with my 3-1-1 line. My background in video production means I can help assist the eventual post-COVID streaming of borough council meetings. In fact, I think every public meeting should be livestreamed, transcribed, and searchable. You can't even find meetings from last year on the Borough website.
I have spent my entire professional life communicating with the public. I have spent the last four years learning everything I could about how the West Chester government works, specifically. I think I can use my background to not just keep residents informed, but get them engaged because that is the key to our post-COVID growth.

What are the critical differences between you and the other candidates seeking this post?: Sometimes if you want to really tackle a problem, you need fresh eyes, and I offer change. I have been going to council meetings for a decade, including every single Borough Council voting session since January 2017. No other candidate can claim that. I know how this government works and I see areas that need improvement that I am uniquely qualified to deal with.
My background in communications, which means I will be able to run the most transparent administration in history and build out infrastructure to keep it that way. My technical skillset allows me to get things done faster.
Last March, a full month before it was national news, I came before Council to warn them of the incoming eviction crisis. I was told that if I wanted something done about it, to do it myself. So I called every homelessness prevention specialist in the county, hosted weekly public meetings, and developed www.covidemergencyhousinginfo.com, a tool that asks folks eight simple questions to put them in touch with the resources they need.
I plan to use these same skills to help develop a 3-1-1 non-emergency line. A couple of months ago, the Borough solicitor mentioned that the only way we will diversify our police force is if we focus on marketing. As the owner of a digital marketing company with a very diverse staff, I know how to attract the kind of officers that will help us create a police force that better reflects the diversity and values of our community.
Finally, after losing the last election, I decided that if I wanted to run again, I would have to get experience, so I got involved however I could. I have spent countless hours going to meetings, reading contracts, and going over ordinances. In short, I have spent the last four years of my life preparing for this job.

If you are a challenger, in what way has the current board or officeholder failed the district: When I announced my candidacy, there was no incumbent. If I had one frustration with our current government though, it would be how they mismanage our finances. Not raising taxes for almost a decade was irresponsible, and the emphasis on predatory parking policies has hurt our downtown.
We need to go in a new direction and change West Chester's image. We are now competing with other municipalities, like Phoenixville, Kennett Square, and Exton, not just for customers, but for businesses.
I’ve helped over 30 downtown businesses with their marketing. Even before the pandemic, they did not feel like their voices heard or concerns represented. I mean if we can't keep a Starbucks at the busiest corner in town, which was a move planned pre-pandemic, that should be a canary in the coal mine.

Describe the other issues that define your campaign platform: I want to continue and expand the Mayor's Opioid Action Taskforce, that I helped develop with State Rep. Diane Herrin when she was Mayor. It was a plague that was killing our neighbors before COVID even existed and it will haunt us as long as we ignore it. We need to take direct action to help folks in our community suffering from addiction and provide resources for their families as well. One of my major goals would be to have a sober events calendar, where people can find stuff to do in town that doesn't revolve around alcohol.

I also have a very extensive police reform policy on my website. In addition to a complete review of our hiring process to determine why we haven't been able to hire non-white officers for over a decade, I want to implement a part-time officer program to supplement our current force. These officers would not carry a firearm. Since they would be part-time, they would not add to the police pension, the largest burden on our budget.
We also need to figure out ways to have our officers live in the communities they police. The number one criticism I get about the WCPD is that residents don't know the officers anymore. We need to take a two-pronged approach: first, offer incentives to get officers to actually live in West Chester, which let's face it, can be expensive. Then, we need to develop local talent with a sort of Police Academy feeder program to encourage people who already live in the community to join the department.
When it comes to the pandemic, we are not out of the woods, from a public health or economic perspective. Last February, I approached then-Mayor Herrin about the dangers of this virus. I commend her for shutting down the town when she did, no doubt saving lives in the process. I will use a coalition of health experts to make important decisions for West Chester as we come out of the tail end of this pandemic and will be sure to follow all CDC, Pennsylvania, and Chester County Health Department guidelines.

What accomplishments in your past would you cite as evidence you can handle this job?: While it is the things I build that get the most attention, it is the communities I've helped build that I am most proud of. When we moved our Cinco de Mayo festival to the Melton Center, it started a relationship between two communities that traditionally don't have one. Today, you can find the Latino league playing basketball in the Melton Center gym, and Quinceaneras on the weekends, it's a beautiful thing.
My Time Machine Tours project is one example of my ability to take an idea from conception to reality. I had to teach myself coding, copyright law and learn how to write a business plan. Just because I don't know something, doesn't mean I'm afraid to learn, as a matter of fact, I'm a total nerd who loves reading and learning about new things.
I also had to make hard decisions about the future of my company, and I am proud that I stuck to the mission of education instead of selling out to the highest bidder.
Finally, I think the work I did for the Chester County Masketeers shows my ability to work hard and deliver under pressure. When COVID hit, my wife and I were asked to help build the digital infrastructure for a network to source supplies, creation, and distribution of masks. In 48 hours, we had everything ready to go and as of today, the group has distributed over 10k masks to county employees and community groups across Chester County.

The best advice ever shared with me was: Respect isn't earned, it should be given to everyone and it is theirs to lose.

What else would you like voters to know about yourself and your positions?: Due to COVID-19 we are running a no-knock campaign. So, we will be calling and dropping off literature, but we will not be doing traditional door-knocking or in-person events until it is safe to do so. Also, our campaign has been endorsed by the Sunrise Movement here in West Chester. As we are mindful of the environmental impact all these campaign materials can have, we have decided to limit our mailers and focus on a digital campaign.

Kyle Hudson's campaign website can be viewed here.

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