To the Editor: The Town of Hurley appreciates the Kingston Wire editorial of April 11 (“New Coverage in Kingston Wire”) that explained your decision to cover our community, but misleading statements and omissions must be noted.

First and foremost, your editorial states that Hurley Up, the financier of your Hurley coverage, was “created to encourage greater awareness of our unique Ulster County town.” Actually, Hurley Up belongs to Raleigh Green, a local branding and marketing executive. Mr. Green (along with his longtime friend and the former town supervisor, John Perry) is a vocal opponent of many town policies whose name was absent from your editorial.

Mr. Green has business ties to at least one developer who is battling the town over a controversial building proposal in West Hurley, and it appears he stands firmly against the town’s proposed nine-month moratorium on some development. So it seems fair to question his motives in giving Kingston Wire a “seed grant” (the size of which you did not divulge) to cover Hurley.

Also, the word “grant” generally describes funding from a non-profit foundation after an application process. Mr. Green’s allocation was not a grant; it was a contribution from a for-profit entity with an agenda to cover the cost of a reporter.

Interestingly, Mr. Green sits on the board of Ulster Strong, which identifies itself as “a partner of the Hudson Valley Economic Development Corporation,” and he does Ulster Strong’s marketing. Ulster Strong and Mr. Green continue to push a false narrative that the current Hurley government is "anti-development." I addressed these claims as lacking truth in a letter to Kingston Wire that you published on Nov. 14, 2022 (“If you want to build in Hurley, you have to follow the rules: tinyurl.com/4amu5n39), yet here we are.

Your April 11 piece stated Kingston Wire has “total editorial control” over its Hurley coverage, and we’d like to believe that. But admitting you've accepted money from a person who has a specific agenda that runs counter to many of the town government’s actions and policies casts doubt on the objectivity of that coverage and the overall credibility of Kingston Wire. A financial relationship between your news service and Mr. Green can only be seen as a conflict of interest.

We expect fair and impartial coverage of Hurley, not coverage funded by an opponent of all the good being done by the town government.

We urge you to return the money given to you by Mr. Green and accept no future financial support from him.

Melinda McKnight

Town of Hurley Supervisor