Jasper Jottings ————————— The daily achievement journal of my fellow Jaspers, the alumni of Manhattan College

http://www.watertowndailytimes.com/article/20090811/NEWS03/308119926?FORM=ZZNR

Dems pick Plattsburgh attorney
23RD CONGRESSIONAL DISTRICT: Owens, a registered independent, helped redevelop Air Force base site
By JUDE SEYMOUR
TIMES STAFF WRITER
TUESDAY, AUGUST 11, 2009

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Plattsburgh attorney William L. Owens will represent the Democratic Party in the expected race for the 23rd Congressional District seat.

Mr. Owens, 60, secured the nomination after impressing the district’s 11 Democratic county chairpersons …

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It was unknown as of late Monday whether Mr. Owens received unanimous support from all the leaders and whether multiple rounds of balloting were needed to pick a candidate.

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Mr. Owens is a managing partner at Stafford, Owens, Piller, Murnane & Trombley, where he specializes in business, estate and tax law. The firm is an offshoot of one founded by Ronald B. Stafford, a prominent Republican state senator.

Mr. Owens is not a Republican, but he’s not a Democrat, either. The attorney is a registered independent.

A Brooklyn native, Mr. Owens stayed in Plattsburgh following his service in the U.S. Air Force. When the military abandoned the base in 1995, the leaders said, Mr. Owens helped create the Plattsburgh Airbase Redevelopment Corp., which recruited private companies to reuse the space.

The base is now home to companies such as Bombardier, a Canadian passenger railway car maker. The chairpersons said more than 500 jobs were created at the site since the military left.

“We did it by taking advantage of our regional assets – a well motivated workforce, good infrastructure, good schools and colleges, and access to outside investment and markets,” Mr. Owens said in a statement. “We can do the same thing throughout the 23rd District if we work together with total dedication. That’s what I will do in Congress.”

Mr. Owens is a 1971 graduate of Manhattan College. He received his law degree from Fordham University in 1974.

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Owens, William L. [MC1971]

[JR: Probably not a good time to run as D given the healthcare backlash?]

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