This letter is for registered Republican voters as the June 26 congressional district primary looms closer. We have two Republican candidates running for a seat in the newly formed 21st District. One is an investment fund manager who helps resuscitate failing companies and the other is an international business consultant and seminary student who will graduate in June. So far, so good.

But an editorial in the Glens Falls Post Star newspaper posed the question “Does Character Matter?” You see, the fund manager, Matt Doheny, hasn’t grown up apparently. In published reports in 2004, this individual was ticketed twice in the span of two weeks for boating under the influence. When he campaigned for Congress in 2010, he said in a press release that he had “profound regret and disappointment” in himself. He paid civil penalties related to these two cases.

As for his opponent, Kellie Greene, I have not heard one discouraging word. In fact, you won’t hear Mr. Doheny utter her name. He thinks he’s in this race alone. Well, Matt, has an opponent. And she’s just as, no make that, more qualified than he is to be a congressional candidate.

In fact, if Mr. Doheny didn’t have a lot of cash to finance his own campaign, the Republicans wouldn’t even let him in the door. It’s the only issue that separates the two candidates. Ms. Greene is running on a shoestring budget while Mr. Doheny can outspend her by thousands of dollars.

But don’t be fooled. These candidates are very different individuals and very different candidates. You see, the fund manager was involved with yet another unsavory incident back in March. He was caught kissing his female fundraiser consultant outside a Washington hotel. This wouldn’t be newsworthy except for the fact that he is engaged to be married later this month to his fiance.

So, I pose the question once more: “Does character matter?” To me it does, and it should to all voters. As a Republican committee member, I ask the party, Do we really need these kinds of problems right now? Should we not be looking toward a candidate who has clear moral standards as well as a good grasp of the issues we face in America?

What say you, District 21 voters?

John P. Sharkey

Ticonderoga

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