To the Editor:

I would like to urge North Country voters to join me in helping to reelect State Senator Patty Ritchie on Nov. 6.

As most North Country residents remember, two years ago we were fearful that we might lose one of our prisons. Senator Ritchie went to bat for us, protecting the jobs of our friends and our neighbors.

When Albany threatened the future of SUNY Canton, Senator Ritchie again stood up to protect one of our region’s major employers.

As someone who recently opened a new business in St. Lawrence County, I can speak from personal experience when I say that Senator Ritchie’s decision to open the first Senate office in Ogdensburg in almost half a century has been helpful in providing assistance to Northern New Yorkers who need help with state government.

When state bureaucrats were holding up my expansion, preventing me from creating new local jobs, Patty was there for me.  When other business people in Ogdensburg have needed help, I have put them in touch with her office and Patty cut through red tape and got answers from state bureaucrats.

Since I was elected a year ago to the Ogdensburg City Council, Senator Ritchie has proven herself to be an important ally to our efforts to get our city moving again.

As someone who believes we need to work together to get New York back on track, Patty Ritchie has repeatedly shown that she understands that helping small businesses grow and expand is critical to our efforts to make the North Country the kind of place where businesses will want to locate and families will want to make their home.

William Hosmer, Ogdensburg