The St. Lawrence County Conservative Party is planning to hold a meet-and-greet event with candidates on Wednesday.

“We want the people of the north country to see who the candidates are,” said Chairman Henry R. Ford.

The Conservative Party is throwing its support behind 10 Republican candidates this year.

“The candidate that has our line can expect 8 to 14 percent of the vote in the county,” said Mr. Ford, who says the county has roughly 800 registered Conservatives.

Candidates who have garnered the party’s support are state Supreme Court candidates Richard E. Sise, John T. Ellis, Thomas Buchanan and Felix J. Catena; state Sens. Patricia A. Ritchie, R-Heuvelton, Joseph A. Griffo, R-Rome, and Elizabeth O’C. Little, R-Queensbury; Assembly members Kenneth D. Blankenbush, R-Black River, and Marc Butler, R-Newport; and Republican 21st Congressional District candidate Matthew A. Doheny of Watertown.

The Conservative Party maintains its separation from the Republican Party in order to ensure ideological purity, Mr. Ford said.

“We are not the rubber stamp for anyone,” said Mr. Ford.

“Our main platform is to cut costs, reduce taxes, reduce spending and downsize government. On social values, we definitely do not support same-sex marriage and we are pro-life.”

The meet-and-greet is free and open to the public. It is scheduled to run from 5 to 8 p.m. at Hosmer’s Marina, 54 E. River St., Ogdensburg. Guests will be encouraged to speak directly to the candidates.

Finger foods have been donated for the event by Jason Hoxie, the owner of the Potsdam, Canton and Massena Subway restaurants.

Conservatives will also host a whistle-stop tour of the county on Oct. 13 that will see the candidates driving from one end of the county to the other in order to get out and meet as many people as possible, Mr. Ford said.

Thousands of readers like you have made Northern New York Newspapers the number one ranked website* for local news and sports coverage in the north country.

You can continue on to this article in a few seconds, or you can visit one of our websites:

• Watertown Daily Times
• The Ogdensburg Journal
• Daily Courier-Observer