"Candidates Answer Questions"- Adirondack Daily Enterprise

By Jacob Resnek, Enterprise Staff Writer

(SARANAC LAKE)  Tri-Lakes area voters got an upfront view of the three state Assembly candidates vying to replace outgoing Republican Assemblyman Chris Ortloff. The candidates gathered in the Presbyterian church in Saranac Lake Thursday evening, with more than 40 people attending.

Ortloff, 58, a 20-year incumbent of the 114th state Assembly District, announced last month he is retiring to accept an appointment to the state Parole Board. His decision came on the eve of the Clinton County Republican Committee's vote whether to endorse him or primary challenger Clinton County Treasurer Janet Duprey.

With Ortloff out of the race, Duprey, 60, will face off with one of two Democrats vying for the nomination in the November general election.

Malone attorney Kevin Nichols, 49, and graduate student and civil servant Andrew Brockway, 25, of Plattsburgh, each received the endorsement of their home county's party committee, sending the choice to voters in the Sept. 12 primary election.

I think it's going to be real competitive, and I think it's a great opportunity for the Democrats to get out there and keep the issues out front, said Franklin County Legislator Tim Burpoe of Saranac Lake, a Democrat who sits on his party's county committee.

The forum was organized by Voters for Change, a local grassroots group that bills itself as progressive and non-partisan. The group was formed in the run-up to the 2004 presidential election and opposes the current presidential administration, not because of their party  but because of the policies, organizer Phil Newton said.

The candidates did little to distinguish themselves from each other, with all three agreeing that the state must cease imposing unfunded mandates, that investment in education and infrastructure is vital for the economy and that local property taxes are too high.

Nichols told the Enterprise afterward that he's aware voters might have difficulty distinguishing the three over policy.

The choice is really more about who they want to do the job, he said.

The three candidates do differ in background. Duprey has served as Clinton County treasurer since 1986. She touts her long experience in working in local government.

Im 60 years old, so I enjoy being called a rookie or freshman she said. But I will walk into the Assembly with a lot of government experience.

Nichols spoke about his early work for the city of Boston, where he worked at homeless shelters identifying able-bodied men and women who could be trained to re-enter the workforce. He then attended law school at night and became a trial attorney, moving back to the North Country.

As a trial attorney, Nichols said, you learn how to build your case, to build a consensus.

Brockway, like Nichols, has no electoral experience; he's taken a leave of absence from his state civil service job and graduate courses in government at SUNY Albany to campaign full-time. In 2004, he worked for a year in U.S. Sen. Hillary Clinton's Washington D.C. office.

I think my age is an asset, the 25-year-old Brockway said. I have the time to build seniority.

Many of the questions fielded were about rising costs of fuel and health care. The candidates said that while many of these were federal issues, there were some steps the state could take.

The issue all three seemed most ready to discuss was property taxes.

The entire property tax system is broken, Duprey said. The way that assessments are made has to be addressed. Annual (revaluations) have to be stopped. Fix the broken tax system it has to be done today.

Brockway said he favored a complete state takeover of Medicaid costs, which the candidates agreed represents 60 percent of local budgets that are paid for by local property taxes.

Nichols noted that residents in the Adirondack Park are surrounded by state land, putting more of a burden on private property owners.

On economic development, Duprey held up the example of the former Plattsburgh Air Force Base as success. Since the base's closure in the 1990s, Clinton County has drawn industries such as Bombardier and Pratt & Whitney through a series of tax incentives that offer lower tax rates in exchange for local jobs.

We hold their feet to the fire to make sure they create jobs to maintain their special tax status,  she said.

Nichols said local universities such as SUNY Plattsburgh, Paul Smiths College and North Country Community College are economic engines that are vital in making the North Country workforce educated and competitive.

We have to compete on a worldwide basis, Nichols said. He criticized the former incumbent for not working to bring high-speed Internet access to the the North Country. The state, he said, needs to work to make sure these communities are connected to broadband and wireless Internet in order to link up electronically, he said.

Asked about the state Adirondack Park Agency, Duprey said the APA needs to be more user-friendly and said, in some areas, it hinders economic development.

Brockway said the approximate $10 million collected by the state by snowmobilers needs to be invested in trails across state land or be refunded to the sled owners.

Nichols said he finds it absurd that Tupper Lake, a community relatively close to hydroelectric dams on the St. Lawrence River, should have had to endure electric brownouts for so long. He said he blames APA regulations for making the process of securing a second transmission line to Tupper Lake take so many years.

(The APA) does hinder development, Nichols said. But we have to be able to walk the line. Along with a lot of (state agencies), the APA has been seen to be accountable to no one.

Many of the people in the audience were members of party committees or directly related to the candidates. One non-partisan attendee, Meg Vinograd of Saranac Lake, said she enjoyed hearing the candidates speak, but not all of her questions were answered.

I think I'd like to see them be a little more specific on economic development plans, Vinograd said. One issue she's particularly concerned with is retail development in the area.

Many of the people here don't  have the money to get in the car and drive to Plattsburgh.

The 114th state Assembly District consists of Clinton and Franklin counties and the town of St. Armand in Essex County.