Democrats need plan

The Republican plan to select a candidate for the special election for Rep. John McHugh's seat, should it become vacant, looks like democracy at its best.

At four meetings in different locations in the district, open to Republican committee members, each candidate will speak for 10 minutes, and a question-answer session will follow. The fair, responsible, organized and transparent nature of this process is so, well, democratic.

So as a Democrat, I am troubled by the lengthening silence from the Democratic Party on its plan to select a candidate. At this critical juncture in north country politics, with so much at stake, I hope the Democrats will soon step up to the plate with their own announcement of an equally democratic selection process for a congressional candidate for New York's 23rd Congressional District.

Martha Doherty

Canton