To the Editor:

I would like to introduce myself as a candidate for St. Lawrence County Legislator district 11which includes the town of Stockholm and part of the town of Potsdam.

My name is Chad Colbert and I want to serve St. Lawrence County. Since I was a child I have loved this area. I enjoy the sight of a healthy cornfield, the smell of maple sap boiling in the woods, and the crisp autumn breeze that finally rids us of the bugs. Yes, I even appreciate the snow in the winter. St. Lawrence County has so much to offer and for too long I feel it has been overlooked by outsiders, and mismanaged by insiders.

My wife, who is not from this area, commented when we moved back here about why this area is so overlooked. My explanation: taxes are high and economic opportunities are scarce. How many of us have seen our children move away to find work, every year we lose talented young people to other parts of the country because there are no opportunities here. I was born in this county but like so many others had to move away for economic reasons. I was fortunate enough to be able to come back.

I love St. Lawrence County and as a legislator I want to focus on two things: 1) getting the budget back in order and 2) increasing economic opportunities. The county is struggling financially, if it can’t manage its resources better there will be more tax increases to come. High taxes are in part what is killing many of NY state’s counties.

I have a strong financial background that can help the county become more fiscally responsible. I have a BS in Accounting from SUNY Plattsburgh and an MBA in Finance from Wake Forest University. In addition I have the Certified Financial Planner (CFP) and Chartered Financial Analyst (CFA) designations. I have worked in large fortune 500 companies as well as small businesses.

I currently operate my own financial planning firm, Colbert Wealth Management. In addition, I am a part time instructor at Clarkson’s school of business. My education combined with my real world experience would be an asset to St. Lawrence County.

St. Lawrence County has a lot to offer from an economic standpoint. I believe there are opportunities in agriculture, alternative energy, and tourism to name a few. I don’t believe government is the answer to economic development but too many times government gets in the way of growth.

Is there more, at even the local level that government can be doing to help expand agricultural, alternative energy, and tourism opportunities? I think there is. We have four great universities in the county that produce very qualified people yet most of them leave the area. We see a talent exodus year after year. In my teaching experience at Clarkson I can testify to the quality of students that these universities are producing.

The problems currently facing our wonderful county will require the cooperation of all involved to solve. I look forward to working with legislators and department heads from both parties to come up with some real common sense solutions to the issues our county faces. I would appreciate your vote in November.

Chad Colbert

Candidate for St. Lawrence County Legislator, District 11