Three seek mayor's seat in Saranac Lake election

SARANAC LAKE | The Village of Saranac Lake election on March 15 has three candidates seeking to serve as mayor: Jeremy Evans, running on the Stronger Saranac Lake party line; Melinda Little, a Democrat, is also running on the Common Sense party line; and James M. "Jimmy" Williams is running on the Republican and Independent Saranac Lake party lines. The mayor serves a 4-year term. The Sun asked each candidate what is the most important issue facing the Village of Saranac Lake in the coming year? JEREMY EVANS Jeremy Evans said "The most important issue facing the village is housing. To address housing we need to adopt reasonable short-term rental regulations, promote granny flats, redevelop vacant housing units, and attract new multi-family housing development." Bio: Jeremy Evans Education: Master's Degree, Public Administration, Binghamton University; Master's Degree, Regional Planning, University at Albany; Bachelor of Science, Planning and Resource Management Previous government/civic organization experience: 20 years of professional experience in state, county, and village government. Former Vice-President, Saranac Lake Central School District Board of Education, former Secretary, Pendragon Theatre Board of Directors, Boy Scout troop committee member. Family: Wife, Jenni and three children, Alex, Amelia and Isaac. MELINDA LITTLE Melinda Little said the most important issue in Saranac lake is "Housing, in particular the lack of affordable, decent long-term rentals and first-time homes. I convened a Housing Work Group soon after I was elected as a Village Trustee four years ago. We developed a Strategic Plan that was recently adopted by the Village Board. The plan includes a number of priorities and action steps, the first of which is to appoint a permanent Housing Task Force. Once that Task Force is in place, they will be charged with the task of implementing the plan." Bio: Melinda Little Education: Bachelor of Arts degree, Wellesley College; Master's Degree in Management, Kellogg School of Management at Northwestern University. Previous government/civic organization experience: Trustee, Village of Saranac Lake, 2018 to 2022. Member, past president and treasurer Tri-Lakes Humane Society. Board Member, Historic Saranac Lake. President, Saranac Lake Community Store, DBA The Village Mercantile. Family: In a committed relationship, one dog and four cats. JAMES M. "JIMMY" WILLIAMS The most important issue facing the Village of Saranac Lake in the coming year, Williams said, is this election. "Saranac Lake has MANY very important and pressing issues currently. Our local government needs strong leadership and a team ready to tackle them on a unified front. And most importantly, we need locals to be part of the process at every turn. Without them, Saranac Lake is not the same place." Bio: Jimmy Williams Education: Graduated Saranac Lake High School; Bachelor's Degree, Spanish Language and Literature, from University of California, Berkeley. Previous government/civic organization experience: Almost 15 years in Naval Special Operations, Managing budgets, logistics, personnel, research/development, and real world implementation globally; Co-Owner T.F. Finnigan and Bitters & Bones, Saranac Lake. Family: Wife, Hope; and one child, Frankie Mae. VOTE ON MARCH 15 Elections in Saranac Lake are on Tuesday, March 15 at the Harrietstown Town Hall, 39 Main St., on the First Floor and Basement Floor In-person polling will take place in the Auditorium of the Harrietstown Town Hall (the same building as the Village main office) from 12 p.m. to 9 p.m. Voters are asked to enter from the back of the building, signs will be present on Main Street to guide voters to the polls.

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Three seek mayor's seat in Saranac Lake election

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