Local business owner and Democrat to face Republican incumbent in November in race for St. Lawrence County’s District 11 seat

Oct. 21--STOCKHOLM -- Nance T. Arquiett, a local business owner and Democrat, is challenging Republican incumbent Chad E. Colbert for St. Lawrence County Legislature's District 11 seat.

Mr. Colbert, a certified financial planner, cited the economic situation of the north country as his primary motivation to run for a second term. "Mostly the economics of the situation -- property taxes in New York state are burdensome, to say the least. And instead of complaining about it, I thought, 'maybe I can actually do something about it,' and I am adamant I will never vote to raise taxes above the tax cap," Mr. Colbert said.

Mrs. Arquiett, a mother of four, said that her family is what inspired her to get up and run.

"I am fully aware of the reality that we have a real shortage in the north country of living-wage jobs. In order for our children to pursue their career dreams, or to be able to support a family of their own, they will be forced to leave St. Lawrence County. I want my four children to have the option to remain in the north country and follow their dreams here," Mrs. Arquiett said.

Both Mrs. Arquiett and Mr. Colbert see the opioid crisis as one of the major problems facing the country.

"I believe that the most serious challenge that we are facing in St. Lawrence County is the opioid epidemic. It would be hard to find someone that is not affected either directly or indirectly by the dark cloud of heroin that is hovering over our communities," Mrs. Arquiett said.

"The other issue that faces the county is mental health and chemical dependency issues.... My wife and I are certified foster parents. We've had numerous foster kids in our home and we see firsthand what it's doing to people in this area. It's tearing families apart," Mr. Colbert said. "It's certainly hurting children, innocent children -- these are not decisions that they are making. I worry about this upcoming generation."

Both see the issue as an economic problem.

"I think it goes hand-in-hand with unemployment," Mrs. Arquiett said.

Mr. Colbert also sees unfunded state mandates as a major issue.

"The unfunded state mandates are becoming quite burdensome. If they want to mandate something, then they really have to give us the financial resources to do it," Mr. Colbert said.

He proposes that controlling taxes should be a priority of the county.

"The only way I think the county can address the economics of things is keeping taxes under control," Mr. Colbert said. "Property taxes is the biggest thing."

Mr. Colbert and Mrs. Arquiett also believe protecting the environment was an important task, although they differed on how much the county should and could do.

"We live in a beautiful area. The Adirondacks is something we should protect," Mrs. Arquiett said.

She said that it provides plenty of recreational opportunities, and those bolster the tourism industry. Mr. Colbert saw it as a human being's duty to protect the environment, although other priorities come first.

"As far as what we can do about it, I don't know that there's much we can do about it. Part of that is people aren't really going to be concerned about the environment when they don't know how they're going to pay their heating bill in December," Mr. Colbert said. "When their needs are being taken care of, they think beyond themselves. But we have a lot of people whose needs are not being taken care of."

In regard to guns, Mrs. Arquiett believes in the Second Amendment, but also believes that provisions should be made to protect people from guns, citing the SAFE Act as an example.

"I believe that the SAFE act was written with the best interests of our children and of public safety; however, the law was rushed and I do believe that there are some provisions of the law that should be revisited," Mrs. Arquiett said.

Mr. Colbert's is a strong proponent of gun ownership and said restrictions are a violation of the Second Amendment, giving County Court Judge Jerome J. Richards's restrictions on pistol permits as an example of unlawful limitation.

Mr. Colbert said he believes his past experience is a big factor people should remember when going out to vote.

"I've got four years of experience under my belt already with this job, and I think that counts for a lot, and we've been successful," he said.

The Arquiett file

Name: Nance T. Arquiett

Age: 36

Address: 9540 Route 11 Winthrop NY 13697

Occupation: Small Business Owner of 2 Mama Birds, The Nest, and Sparrow Consulting.

Family: Husband, Randy Arquiett, children, Audrey 13, Ava 6, Avery 4, Andrew 2.

Education: Massena Central High School, SUNY Canton

Civic work, elected offices: St. Lawrence Central School Board, Massena Chamber Of Commerce board member, Massena Downtown Revitalization Initiative board member, St. Lawrence County Democratic Committee second vice chair, NYS Democratic State Committee representative

The Colbert file

Name: Chad E. Colbert

Age: 45

Address: 1531 Route 11B Potsdam NY 13676

Occupation: Certified financial planner, owns his own financial planning practice, and an instructor at Clarkson University,

Family: Wife, Joann, four children, and one foster child they will be adopting

Education: B.S. in accounting from SUNY Plattsburgh, M.B.A. from Wake Forest University

Civic Work: Board of legislatures for four years, Stockholm Economic Development Committee, Boy Scout Troop 95, St. Lawrence Chamber Board, Soil and Water Conservation District Board, certified foster parent

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