Two may join field to replace McHugh

WASHINGTON — The field of potential candidates to fill Rep. John M. McHugh's congressional seat if he is confirmed as secretary of the Army shifted a bit Thursday, with a former assistant state attorney general in Watertown emerging as a potentially strong Democratic contender.

And a 38-year-old lawyer from Alexandria Bay said he was "pretty certain" he would join on the Republican side, although he would be overshadowed if state Assemblywoman Dierdre K. Scozzafava, R-Gouverneur, or Assemblyman William A. Barclay, R-Pulaski, decides to run.

John T. Sullivan Jr., who headed the attorney general's office in Watertown from 2003 to 2008 and was co-chairman of the state Democratic Committee, would give the Democrats their first politically seasoned candidate for the Northern New York congressional seat in many years. Mr. Sullivan was mayor of Oswego in the late 1980s and has been a strong, if behind the scenes, ally of Attorney General Andrew M. Cuomo and, before him, Gov. Mario M. Cuomo, who endorsed him for mayor of the small Oswego County city.

"I talked to my kids and said I'm going to at least stick my toes in the water," said Mr. Sullivan, a 62-year-old lawyer with two grown daughters.

Mr. Sullivan is the assistant inspector general in the New York state Medicaid Office in Albany.

On the Republican side, Matthew A. Doheny, a lawyer who works for a private investment partnership in New York City, but splits his time between there and his home on the St. Lawrence River, said he would seek the seat. It would be his first foray into elective politics.

"It's definitely been a lifelong ambition," said Mr. Doheny, a 1988 graduate of Alexandria Central School.

Mr. Sullivan joins Daniel J. French, former U.S. attorney for the northern district of New York, as Democrats with solid connections in the party and name recognition across a relatively wide area, who have expressed an interest. Both are graduates of the State University of New York at Oswego, Mr. Sullivan in 1968 and Mr. French in 1987. Michael P. Oot, a Munnsville lawyer who ran against Mr. McHugh last year, is also considering.

State Sen. Darrel J. Aubertine, D-Cape Vincent, has not ruled out a run but is considered unlikely because the Republicans could easily regain his seat in Albany, and Democrats have just a two-seat majority in the state Senate.

Mr. French has some familiarity with Washington, having worked once for U.S. Sen. Daniel Patrick Moynihan, D-N.Y. And he supported Mr. McHugh, who is widely popular, in the last election cycle financially and through activities on behalf of his campaign. But he has never run for elective office.

Mr. Sullivan heaped praise on Mr. McHugh on Thursday and recalled that he worked closely with him when Mr. McHugh was the state senator for the region and Mr. Sullivan was Oswego mayor.

He called Mr. McHugh "just a superb choice" for Army secretary.

"I just don't think that President Obama could have picked a better person," Mr. Sullivan said.

He said one of his key considerations is whether, at nearly retirement age, he wants to take on such a big change in life.

On the other hand, whoever is elected may not serve very long. The seat is now a prime target for elimination after the 2010 census, when New York is expected to lose one or two seats because of population shifts. The 23rd Congressional District could be split between those represented by Reps. Michael Arcuri, D-Utica, and Scott Murphy, D-Glens Falls, for instance.

"It doesn't bother me in the least," said Mr. Sullivan, who said he wouldn't be looking for a career in Congress. "I'm not going to primary Mike Arcuri, you know?"

Mr. Sullivan acknowledged that a head-to-head race between him and Ms. Scozzafava would be interesting. She is popular among Democrats as well as Republicans and has solid ties with organized labor — just as Mr. McHugh has formidable union support.

On the other hand, Mr. Sullivan's name may be better recognized in a wider region, and his home ground in Oswego County is also one of the strongest Republican-leaning sections of the district, which stretches from Oswego to Plattsburgh to Madison County, east of Syracuse.

A major unknown is the extent to which national political parties become involved, especially in fundraising, for a seat with an uncertain long-term future in a House where Democrats already have a wide majority.