St. Lawrence County District Attorney candidate James Monroe says he is very pleased that he will not have to compete in a primary for the Democratic Party ballot line in the November election.

“I got great news today from the Board of Elections and I want to give a huge thank you to all my supporters in the Democratic Party and to the Democratic Committee for giving me the opportunity to be the sole Democratic candidate on the ballot for St. Lawrence County District Attorney,” he wrote in a statement to the press Tuesday.

His Democratic rival, former Assistant District Attorney David Haggard, will not be on a Democratic primary ballot since he failed to collect enough valid signatures on his designating petition, while Monroe did collect enough valid signatures to have a claim to the ballot line.

“As a candidate and as the District Attorney I will work with the same diligence and integrity that has characterized my campaign and strive to hold this office in a manner that respects people of all political parties and listens to varying points of view,” Monroe said. “It is the way that I have always conducted myself as a Judge and in my previous roles as Assistant District Attorney. Our goal is an evenhanded and professional administration of prosecutions.”

Monroe, Haggard, and Republican Gary Pasqua of Franklin County were all vying to become St. Lawrence County DA in the wake of current District Attorney Mary Rain’s announcement that she would not be seeking a second term.

More than a hundred of the signatures on Haggard’s nominating petition were deemed invalid after an inspection by the county Board of Elections, He submitted 1,005 signatures, and needed 1,000 of those to be valid for the petition count, but 132 of them did not count. The most common reason for signatures on party nominating petitions tp be thrown out is because the signer is not a member of the party the petition is for, which is a requirement..

Although Haggard will not be on the Democratic line, there will still be a primary for the Working Party’s line and the Women’s Equality line after opportunity-to-ballot petitions were filed. This filing means a primary will be held allowing for write-in candidates to be accepted.

Meanwhile Pasqua, who will appear on the Conservative and Republican lines, has also filed a petition with 165 signatures for the Independence Party, but 88 have been challenged by his opponents. According to Board of Elections officials, he would need 162 valid signatures to appear on that line in November. The validity of his signatures is expected to be determined Friday.