I live in a college town that is also the county seat for St. Lawrence County, and probably more progressive than much of the NY-23 district. It is also 20 miles from Dede Scozzafava’s home base, Governeur. On a walk around the block, I counted 6 households with Hoffman yardsigns, 2 Scozzafava households, and 0 Owens households. If yardsigns are an indication of voter engagement and motivation, and I think they are, then the Owens campaign better get cracking on drumming up interest and enthusiasm.
Our terrific public radio station North Country Public Radio, which serves most of the district, broadcast a nice set of profiles of the candidates.
Hoffman Doug Hoffman: From humble roots to right-wing darling
Scozzafava Dede Scozzafava: A different kind of Republican maverick
Owens Bill Owens: An independent cutting a low profile
There is also a good profile of a North Country Teabag leader At North Country tea parties, sounding the alarm over big government
Hoffman has the most interesting back-story (poor single mother, built his own car). Scozzafava is the most likeable and most knowledgeable about the district.
Owens sounds the most ‘congressional’, but his positions are not well formed. It is hard to figure what he stands for and why. In the unedited interview, he sounds thoughtful, but it is still hard to know where he stands on a lot of issues. Nevertheless, my take is he will do the best job at representing NY-23, and will not embarrass the district as Hoffman surely would.