STOCKHOLM -- Local business owner Nance Thomas Arquiett will challenge St. Lawrence County Legislator Chad Colbert for District 11.

The winner will represent the Town of Stockholm and part of the Town of Potsdam.

Arquiett issued the following statement regarding her candidacy.

“My name is Nance Thomas Arquiett, and I am excited to announce that I am running to become the next St. Lawrence County Legislator in District 11.

I was born and raised in St. Lawrence County, graduating from Massena Central School, and attending The State University of New York at Canton. I married my high school sweetheart in 2002 and we have lived in Winthrop for the past sixteen years where we are raising our family. Together, we are the very proud parents of four children.

In 2012 my best friend and I opened 2 Mama Birds, a small retail business that began at our kitchen tables. It has grown into a brick and mortar business on Main Street in Massena. And it has won recognition from the St. Lawrence County Chamber of Commerce as “Producer of the Year” in 2017 and from the US Small Business Administration as a “Business of Excellence” in 2016.

I was first elected to serve as a member of the St. Lawrence Central School Board in 2017 and serve on the Finance committee. I am also member of the People’s Project and I am a member of the Greater Massena Chamber of Commerce Board of Directors. I am also an active participant on the Massena Downtown Revitalization Initiative Board. I am a strong advocate for community service and find great satisfaction donating time and resources to local organizations. I believe it is important to give back.

I come from a strong background in labor and politics, as I was raised in a Union family. My husband, Randy, is a proud member of IBEW local 2032. My grandfather, Ernie LaBaff, is a previous County Legislator, and International Union President, and I would be honored to follow in his footsteps.

Neighbors have asked me to give them one reason why I am running, and to that I say, ‘I can give you four; Audrey, Ava, Avery, and Andrew’. In deciding to raise a family in the North Country, we knew that there would be challenges. With the loss of jobs and the closing of our manufacturing plants, parents must now face the reality early on that their children may have to leave the area to find work. As a mother and as a small business owner, my goal as a County Legislator is to help develop new business recruitment strategies, which will create new opportunities for our youth, and develop support mechanisms to assist established businesses that we (are) blessed to have in this area.

I view the issues facing Northern New York, not as “red” issues or as “blue” issues. These colors blur to me when it comes to community, and I know that we can reach across the table and together work for the needs of St. Lawrence County.

I will be scheduling a series of town hall events over the next few weeks and hope to meet as many people as possible. Thank you in advance for your support and I ask for your vote on November 6.”