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CENTRAL SQUARE - Conservative Party leaders from throughout the 23rd Congressional District rallied behind Lake Placid accountant Douglas L. Hoffman in Syracuse Friday after three other potential candidates for the seat being vacated by Army Secretary-designate John M. McHugh said they would support the Lake Placid accountant.

State party Chairman Michael R. Long said he expected the state committee to accept the recommendation of the regional chairs and make Hoffman the party's official nominee once McHugh gives up his seat in Congress. McHugh, a Republican, had been expected to be confirmed as Army secretary Friday, but his nomination was held up on a procedural move by Republican senators Sam Brownback and Pat Roberts, both of Kansas. The delay now means McHugh likely won't be confirmed in his new post until September.

Hoffman is "the right candidate at the right time," Long said during a press conference announcing the decision. He called the decision by the regional Conservative leaders "a wise and proper choice" that should be easily confirmed by the state committee.

The endorsement came after Hoffman, James Kelly of Wilmington and Salvatore Stassi of Fulton made brief presentations to the assembled party leaders. The fourth contender, Jon Alvarez of Hannibal, is currently serving in Iraq.

"I'm 100 percent on board with Doug Hoffman," Kelly said after the press conference. "This is the man we're going to need in the 23rd Congressional District."

Stassi, an East Syracuse police officer who first publicly expressed his interested in the seat just before Friday's meeting, called Hoffman "a great candidate" who shares his conservative values. Alvarez could not be reached for comment Friday, but several party leaders said they had spoken to him and he was supportive of Hoffman's selection.

Hoffman, an enrolled Republican, had initially sought the GOP nomination for McHugh's seat but said Friday he decided to run as a Conservative because he could not support Assemblywoman Deirdre Scozzafava, of Gouverneur, who received the backing of the Republican chairs in the 11-county congressional district from among a field of nine potential candidates.

"I have not left the Republican Party. The Republican Party has left me and has turned its back on the voters of the 23rd Congressional District and on the values that made our party strong," Hoffman said in prepared remarks after his introduction.

Hoffman spoke briefly about the economic issues that promise to be the centerpiece of his campaign.

"Our first priority must be the economy and creating jobs," Hoffman said. "Everything else is secondary.

"The voters deserve a candidate who believes deficits are wrong and that deficits bankrupt governments just as easily as they do families. Voting to spend money you don't have seems to be an appealing option for too many politicians but it's an option that must stop.

"Politicians who vote to spend money we do not have or cannot afford are just as guilty as the politicians who then have to vote for the higher taxes needed to pay for the spending. It shouldn't take a CPA to go to Washington and explain this, but I guess it does."

Hoffman's selection almost assures that the race to succeed McHugh will be a three-way contest. The state Republican committee is expected to endorse the Scozzafava recommendation, and Democrats are scheduled to choose their standard bearer next week.

Even though enrolled Democrats and Republicans vastly outnumber enrolled Conservatives in the 23rd Congressional District, Hoffman said he is confident he can earn support from voters who believe in conservative principles no matter what party they may belong to. He also said he has secured commitments of financial assistance from some national organizations to help offset the large amount of money both major parties are expected to pour into the district. He declined to name his backers, saying it would be up to the organizations to announce their involvement in the race.

"We will raise the money that we need," he said.

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E.J. Conzola is a former Enterprise reporter and current chairman of the Department of Journalism Studies at Morrisville State College.