BY PAUL MITCHELL
North Country This Week

Congresswoman Elise Stefanik has criticized North Country Public Radio’s former News and Public Affairs Director Martha Foley Smith for using her taxpayer-funded NCPR email account to campaign for Democrats in the town and village Canton election.

In an article published by Breitbart News on Monday and updated Tuesday morning with comments from Smith and North Country Public Radio station manager Mitch Teich, Rep. Stefanik (R-NY) issued strong words about the utilization of the NCPR email.

“It’s no surprise to hardworking North Country families that NCPR (North Country Public Radio) is illegally using their NPR email system to campaign for local Democrats and to smear Republicans in multiple mass email blasts,” Rep. Stefanik said in a statement to Breitbart News.

“They need to apologize immediately, and the taxpayers of the North Country deserve an audit of NCPR’s activities, which are funded by hardworking taxpayers. It’s never been clearer, once we take the majority in 2022, we must DEFUND NPR. They can campaign for the Democrats on their own dime, not on the taxpayers’ dime.”

An email to Breitbart News stated Smith admitted after the publication of the article that she did use the account to promote Democrats and that it was wrong to do so.

She told North Country This Week this morning that she retired from the radio station – and journalism — in July 2019 and to use the email in this context was careless.

“I don’t know that there’s much else I can say beyond that,” she said.

Teich stated that basically what Smith has done is wrong.

“Martha Foley retired from North Country Public Radio in July 2019. She, like other retired employees of St. Lawrence University, has been allowed to maintain a legacy email address for some time following her retirement more than two years ago. (NCPR is a department within St. Lawrence University.) Martha does not have any editorial role within North Country Public Radio. Reruns of a short program on nature she hosted for many years, “Natural Selections,” do continue to air on NCPR,” Teich said when contacted late Tuesday morning.

“As a partially public-funded organization, we do not condone the use of the NCPR email domain for partisan political activity, and Martha has been told to cease the practice immediately. NCPR does not support or endorse any political candidates for office, and our ethics policy prohibits staff members from actively campaigning for political candidates,” he added.

On Wednesday, Teich said it is important to note that NCPR's email accounts are not taxpayer funded, saying NCPR's email addresses are managed by St. Lawrence University, which is a private, not-for-profit educational institution.

He also pointed out that NCPR has placed "Natural Selections" on hiatus while they access how it will be hosted and presented in the future.

According to the Breitbart article, in an email to St. Lawrence faculty on Nov. 1, Smith directly campaigned for several Democrats running in Canton: incumbent Town Supervisor Mary Ann Ashley, incumbent Councilman Jim Smith, candidate for Town Council Dave Nelson and herself for town council.

She also campaigned for candidates for Canton Village Board, incumbents Beth Larrabee and Klaus Proemm.

Republican Commissioner of the St. Lawrence County Board of Elections Thomas Nichols said he has not had a chance to review election law for specific violations.

“It’s not appropriate for anyone to receive the benefits of a corporation in supporting their campaign,” said Nichols.

The St, Lawrence Republican County Committee chimed in after reading the story on NorthCountryNow.

"We fully condemn the actions of Martha Foley Smith and the rest of the St. Lawrence County Democratic candidates running in Canton for their blatant use of Taxpayer funded resources in coordination with NCPR. Martha Foley Smith violated the law when she unethically used her taxpayer funded North Country Public Radio email account to mass email blast St. Lawrence University’s faculty and staff. Foley Smith’s multiple email blasts should be investigated with a full audit of NCPR’s activities to influence hard working taxpayers with their own dime.The Republican party is disappointed that unethical campaign tactics have been used for a local campaign," said Connie Elen, county Republican chair in an email to NCTW.