BY ANDY GARDNER

North Country This Week

MASSENA -- The Massena Democratic Party on Monday night nominated Loren Fountain to run for Town Council.

Fountain will run for the seat currently held by Tom Miller, who is not seeking re-election.

The Dems also nominated Melanie Cunningham to run for a new term on the Town Council and Eric Sharlow to run for town justice. There were no nominations for a town clerk candidate.

Fountain, who currently serves on the Massena Central School Board of Education, said he will talk about the hospital but doesn't think it should be the campaign's centerpiece issue.

"It's very easy in a town like Massena to say we should make Massena great again ... I do not think that is the direction we should go again ... we need to work on developing the Massena of the 21st century and it's going to look different than the Massena of the 20th century," Fountain said.

The Republicans running for the two town board seats are Sue Bellor and Robert Elsner. Bellor was ousted from the Massena Memorial Hospital Board of Managers by Town Supervisor Steve O'Shaughnessy. She has alleged it was over a disagreement of whether the hospital should affiliated with St. Lawrence Health System or Crouse Hospital.

Fountain said the campaign shouldn't be "about settling scores, rather than envisioning a 21st century Massena."

"Many decisions about the hospital have already been made ... most of that work will have been done by the time the new council is seated," Fountain said. "We'll have a viable healthcare system in Massena" under a St. Lawrence Health System affiliation or takeover.

"I have always viewed government about creating equal opportunity," the Democrat candidate said. "I think we need to work with and listen to local business ... while looking to bring new business ventures to the area."

He was nominated by Merrill Fountain with a second from Margaret Chalker.

Cunningham said she thinks it's "important to continue to work with all levels of government."

She said she is "dedicated to continue to work toward the issues Massena faces such as jobs, the economy."

She briefly touched on the MMH issue, referring as her time on the board as dealing with "enormous challenges we as a Town Council have faced looking to save the hospital."

"I had to think of the hospital employees and the taxpayers of Massena," Cunningham said.

She was nominated by Councilor Sam Carbone with a second from her daughter, Amber Cunningham.