Congressional candidate Matt Doheny is concerned about the cameras that have been popping up around the north country.

"I’m very nervous when you have these cameras and this Big Brother stuff," Mr. Doheny, a Republican resident of Watertown, said Sunday during our conversation about immigration and border issues.

The cameras — which appeared up with little explanation and even littler notice — can read license plates. They're used in drug smuggling investigations, but Franklin County District Attorney Derek Champagne said they've been used to help solve two burglaries, too.

But should Americans' information — our movements, our license plate numbers, our traveling habits — be subject to government storage and scrutiny?

"We have border challenges here, but I get very nervous when you have cameras that pop up," Mr. Doheny said. "Things like that, I believe in the Constitution. I believe that citizens have rights in this country."

Mr. Doheny's potential Nov. 6 challenger, Rep. Bill Owens, D-Plattsburgh, straddled the fence a bit on this border issue. He said that while he had concerns about infringing upon peoples' civil liberties — the freedom not to be tracked wherever we go — he supports it if it's used in a "reasonable" manner.

And is it being used in a reasonable manner? It appears that it is, Mr. Owens said.

"It appears to me that Derek Champagne, who is very involved in this, is a very reasonable guy," Mr. Owens said. "He’s someone who has a lot of experience, and is somebody I have a lot of confidence in."

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