Lobster and politics

By Jeffrey Morse

Sun Staff Writer

NORWICH – Music came from the stage and lobster came from the kitchen. Nearly 600 people paid the $60 entrance fee to convene at the Canasawacta Country Club in Norwich Sunday, where state GOP candidates for every position used Lobsterfest as an opportunity to talk about the issues and the state of their campaign.

“This is a Chenango County tradition. There has been a lot of reminiscing,” state Senator Raymond Meier said. “This is American politics as it is practiced in places like Chenango County.” Meier, who is vying to take the position of retiring Republican Congressman Sherwood Boehlert this fall, said the issues that residents brought to him at the fundraiser were what he expected: jobs, the economy, taxes, and the possibility of a high power line running through the county.

Meier recently enjoyed the support of Vice President Dick Cheney in Utica. He said he had a 20 minute to half hour conversation with the country’s number two that gave him a chance to discuss all the issues that he talked about with Chenango County residents this weekend. He said New York Regional Interconnect’s proposal and many other local interests were topics of that discussion. This weekend, his ears were tuned locally.