Area 8 candidates talk experience, issues

Oct. 28--PLATTSBURGH -- The race to decide who will succeed former Clinton County Area 8 Legislator Mark Dame pits Democrat Wendell Hughes against independent William "Bill" Fisher.

Retired Clinton County Judge Patrick McGill was appointed to fill the seat earlier this year when Dame moved to South Carolina.

NEXT YEAR?

Dame's original term expires at the end of 2021, like those of all the legislature's even-numbered areas, which would necessitate another Area 8 election next November.

"If I win, I definitely would run (again)," Hughes said.

He noted the expense and time associated with running for election, but said he has enjoyed his time walking through Area 8.

"I've worked as hard as anybody can work, and I think I've outworked my opponent."

Fisher, who is running on the Republican Party line, said he would take his plans one day at a time, and assess another run if he wins the race.

"What I've gone through is the toughest job interview I've ever had," he said of campaigning.

"I will work hard for everybody whether I win or lose."

Name: William "Bill" Fisher.

Age: 59.

Party: Independent.

Occupation: Cleaner, SUNY Plattsburgh; Barracks Golf Course; former professional stock trader, Montreal and Toronto stock exchanges.

Education: High school diploma; business courses, Concordia University; trading, options and futures courses through the Montreal Stock Exchange; licensed through Montreal Stock Exchange.

Family: Wife, Nancy Hoylend; three adult sons.

Civic organizations: Former youth baseball and travel hockey coach; hockey referee.

What do you think are the most pressing issues for the county and how would you address them?

Getting businesses reopened. That's not going to be easy. We're going to need to work with, essentially, the state and federal governments and the Canadian governments because our economy is very dependent on Canadians. The border (closure is) really hurting us.

I'm very much willing to help out anyway I can with cross-border business. I would love to see tourism in the area grow a bit more. We have so much to offer with the lake and mountains. Canada is a huge market, we have two million people 60 miles away. I know we do rely on them, (but) I think we can market that a little better.

Another one is keeping Clinton Community College accessible to our local community because they're having a lot of trouble with enrollment way down. I would like to work on that.

Because of the pandemic, our opioid problem is worse than it was. There are mental health issues that come with it, the suicides and everything else. That's a big concern to me.

I've walked the entire district and the number one concern of people are taxes.

Name: Wendell Hughes.

Age: 52.Party: Democrat.Occupation: State Department of Corrections and Community Supervision, more than 30 years; current Altona Correctional Facility captain.Education: High school diploma; some college, Clinton Community College.Family: Wife, Pamela; two rescue dogs, Asher and Marty.Civic organizations: Former EAP coordinator; volunteer work with animal rescue organizations.What do you think are the most pressing issues for the county and how would you address them?

When I walk in Area 8, taxes are always a huge concern, but then people are also concerned about the services they get. Area 8 is such a big area. People in the city have a different concern than people in Cliff Haven and Morrisonville. Taxes come as number one. COVID-19 recovery and taxes -- how do we come out of this and not lay off the whole workforce? With the taxes, one thing we have to be is fiscally responsible. Line by line, everything has to be looked at.

You have to be accessible. I plan on walking more (but) with COVID, it's been hard. The biggest thing is being accessible. That's what I plan on being, very accessible.

A lot of people are upset with the fact that we don't have family entertainment. They can't go play mini putt, something as small as that. We have a huge opioid epidemic, and a lot of people attribute that to the lack of things for kids to do around here. All these different aspects, I don't know why people don't tap into them more.

Email Cara Chapman:

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Twitter: @PPR_carachapman

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