SARANAC LAKE — The race to fill two open trustee seats on the village board is now a contested one, with town Councilman Jeremy Evans being the third candidate to announce he will be seeking the Democratic line on the ballot for the March 18 election.
Evans’ announcement on Thursday came after David Trudeau — who is running on the same platform as Evans — and incumbent Trustee Matt Scollin announced their candidacies on Wednesday.
If elected, Evans would need to step down from the town council, which would create a vacancy there. He’s been on the town council since 2023 and said the work there has been rewarding.
But the town is making progress with “good leadership and good structure.” He sees “huge opportunities” at the village, but not enough progress from the board.
He feels his experience, perspective and personality could help.
The Democrats will caucus at 5:30 p.m. on Jan. 21 at the town hall auditorium.
To apply to be considered for the ballot, contact party Chair Jordanna Mallach at jordanna.mallach@gmail.com.
The Republicans will caucus at 6:30 p.m. on Jan. 27 at the lower lobby of the town hall.
To apply to be considered for the ballot, contact party leaders Ray Scollin at 518-572-3013 or Bob Bevilacqua at 518-354-0199.
Voting in the election will be held on March 18 in the Harrietstown Town Hall auditorium at 39 Main St. from noon to 9 p.m.
To read more about Trudeau and Scollin’s platforms, go to tinyurl.com/2dfnsfmn.
Evans said he’ll likely also run on an independent party line.
Trustee Kelly Brunette announced her candidacy for village mayor on Tuesday, and will be vacating her seat. To read more about this, go to tinyurl.com/3d6dr8up.
The Enterprise was not able to reach Mayor Jimmy Williams to ask if he is running for reelection by deadline for this article.
Evans, Brunette and Trudeau are all running on the same platform.
EVANS
Evans said he has knowledge of downtown revitalization and big infrastructure projects from his job as CEO of Adirondack Frontier, Franklin County’s economic development corporation.
“The board of trustees has a lot of impact on things that matter a lot to village residents,” Evans said.
He said there’s a “stark contrast” in how debate happens on the town and village boards. He enjoys how the town council does it.
“It has reminded me that you can have big disagreements about really important things and still learn from each other and still disagree with each other and still sometimes find compromise where you didn’t think there was room for compromise,” Evans said.
He sees his fellow councilmembers doing that and said it demonstrates respect. They debate, vote and move on. It was the same way when he was on the school board, he said.
“The village board is an anomaly in our community and I would like to be a part of fixing that,” he said.
Evans said he’s spent a lot of time speaking with people about tough topics where there’s disagreement. Disagreement is OK, he said. It’s how it’s handled that matters. He believes government works best through listening and compromise.
He has his own opinions but said he has to listen. Even if he thinks he has all the answers, if he stops and listens, he always learns something. He feels that’s missing in the village right now.
The biggest issue the village is facing now is debate over the proposed public safety complex at 33 Petrova Ave., which would involve renovating the former St. Pius X High School to house the fire, police and ambulance departments.
“There’s many different ideas about how it could be done,” Evans said. “Right now, the village board is only talking about one of them.”
He said the public safety building committee is working diligently on creating the best design possible for a combined three-department building. That’s the committee’s job. But he said the village board is not doing what it is supposed to do, which is looking at the big picture and weighing all options in relation to budgetary realities.
The village board decides how the project gets paid for. He feels the board has not done a good job explaining how this only proposal will get paid for.
Evans said he tries to be a positive person, but he’s been around and knows how funding sources, borrowing money and the village budget work. He cannot see how the village will fund the project.
He said he doesn’t see affordability discussed enough at the board.
“I don’t have all the answers,” Evans said in his campaign announcement. “But I do know how to ask good questions, do the research, talk things through in a respectful and transparent way and recognize that the best decisions involve listening and compromise.”
ELECTION INFORMATION
Independent candidates have been able to circulate petitions for two weeks now. These petitions need 100 signatures and must be filed with the village clerk between Feb. 3 and 10 from 9 a.m. and 5 p.m. each business day.
Voters can support up to two candidates for trustee and only one for mayor. Each candidate should either be supported at a caucus or by signing an independent petition. Voters cannot do both for the same candidate.
Voters signing petitions for independent candidates may also only sign one petition per candidate per seat.
If they attend a caucus and vote for two trustee candidates, they cannot sign any trustee petitions. If they only vote for one trustee candidate at a caucus, then they can sign one trustee petition.
If they vote for a mayoral candidate at a caucus and then sign a petition, or if they sign two mayoral petitions, it will be invalidated. If they sign three petitions for trustee candidates, it will be invalidated.
Only registered members of the Republican or Democratic parties may participate in their caucuses. Non-party members can attend, but must sit separately and cannot speak or vote.
After the caucus begins, the floor will open for nominations. Voters will then voice nominations for the seat. All nominations need to be seconded.
If there are more nominations than open seats, people will be able to vote by paper ballot for one candidate to be on the ballot for the mayoral election and up to two candidates for the trustee election.
The last day to register to vote is March 6. Registering to vote can be done at the Department of Motor Vehicles, online at tinyurl.com/bdfaj9ze or by printing a form found at tinyurl.com/5yxvhtdh, filling it out and mailing it to the county board of elections office.
More information for the Franklin County Board of Elections can be found at tinyurl.com/bdbzacv2. More information for the Essex County Board of Elections can be found at essexcountyny.gov/board-of-elections.
The last day to apply for an absentee ballot is March 10. The last day for the village clerk to mail out an absentee ballot is March 11.