To the Editor:

I find it sad that the seemingly misogynistic political hack and former Chairman of the St Lawrence County Republican Party, Joseph D. Gray, feels that he must resort to misinformation, half-truths, lies and innuendo in his attempt to disparage the Conservative Party’s Executive Committee and the Surrogate’s Court Judge candidate Michelle Ladouceur. Let me first say, to set the record straight, that although Nicole Duve was a very accomplished and qualified judicial candidate, she did not receive the St. Lawrence County Conservative Party’s endorsement.

Perhaps Mr. Gray missed the fact that his preferred candidate appears to be a Republican of Convenience, having only recently switched his Party affiliation from Democrat to Republican. Wrapping Mr Pignone in the flag and cueing up the violins over his difficult life journey, unfortunately, does nothing to change the fact that Ms. Ladouceur is, incontrovertibly, the more qualified of the two.

Both candidates espouse conservative values and I have no reason to doubt either one. I congratulate Mr. Pignone for changing his registration, but that doesn’t automatically make him the better candidate. Ms. Ladouceur, in addition to a most impressive CV, has been serving as Surrogate’s Court Attorney for a number of years and has the enthusiastic endorsement of the recently retired Surrogate’s Court Judge, the Hon. John F. Richey. Ms. Ladouceur’s invaluable experience and current position would make for a seamless transition to best serve the taxpayers of the County, which is ultimately the goal.

The role of a Surrogate’s Court Judge largely involves the administration of the assets of deceased persons, which can involve tens of thousands up to millions of dollars in “other people’s money”. I would submit that the credit card, IRS and New York State Income Tax Warrants filed against Mr. Pignone in the County Clerk’s Office do not speak particularly well of his financial acumen.

Again, I would urge my fellow Conservative Party members, as well as all registered voters, to support and vote for the only candidate truly qualified to serve the people of St. Lawrence County as Surrogate’s Court Judge; Michelle Ladouceur.

James O’Neill
Town of DeKalb