Warren Street in Hudson.

In Hudson, a small but influential group of residents is pushing a proposal that would strip away the mayor's power, install a city manager and eliminate more than half the members of the Common Council.

The group, Hudson Charter Change, claims the dramatic restructuring would reduce dysfunction and increase efficiency. And it's true that the city manager form of government works in some other communities. But as we've noted previously, the change would also significantly reduce direct democracy in the city and might discourage civic participation.

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Because few elected officials are willing to vote themselves out of a job, it's no shock there's significant resistance to the proposal, which has been........

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