Two Challengers Enter Southampton Village Trustee Race

Two challengers have entered the Southampton Village trustee race.

Greg Centeno and Palmer Hudson announced on Thursday, April 27, that they have thrown their hats in the ring and intend to support the agenda of incumbent Mayor Jesse Warren.

Centeno and Hudson face Trustees Roy Stevenson and Robin Brown, who are seeking second two-year terms. Warren is running for reelection and faces a challenge from Trustee Bill Manger.

In their campaign announcement, Centeno and Hudson said they are running on a platform of “progress over politics, teamwork, transparency, optimism and togetherness.” They pledged to continue progress on downtown revitalization, the cleanup of Lake Agawam, preservation of the village character and improving traffic conditions and to support the business community and village employees.

Centeno holds a master’s degree in architecture from North Carolina State University and earned a scholarship to study architecture and community development under professor Henry Sanoff, the founder of the Environmental Design Research Association. Centeno has worked with small- and mid-size communities to improve quality of life through participatory design, according to the campaign announcement.

He worked for design firm MKDA before starting his own firm, New World Planning and Design. He has lived in Southampton Village for 25 years.

Hudson has a degree in computer science and government from Georgetown University, where he also served as a teaching assistant for data structures and worked as an IT project director for a nonprofit food service organization. He plans to use his technology background to help digitize the village, the announcement states.

“Leveraging a strong computer science background, I hope to make information more readily available to village residents, businesses and the press particularly from the clerk’s office and Building Department,” Hudson said. “Additionally, I would like to use technology and data science to work with village engineers to improve traffic conditions in the village.”

He said he will also prioritize public safety, village beautification and helping seniors and young people.

​Centeno and Hudson will appear on the mayor’s Unity Wave party line.

The election is Friday, June 16.