Position sought: Village trustee

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Why are you running for this position?

I’m running for trustee because I feel it’s long overdue that someone with a youthful voice and new vision runs for office. We need our younger voices to be heard, and by having one on the board could provide an alleyway for other young voices to want to become involved.

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What are your qualifications?

Well, in all honesty, in terms of much of what typically “qualifies” someone for this, I don’t have much to speak of. However, I do feel as if my background in the community, whether it be volunteering at the Tri-Lakes Relay for Life, hosting a fundraiser for the University of Vermont Children’s Hospital or being a fourth generation graduate of Lake Placid High School, speaks for itself. I possess a new set of ideas, a fresh look and a new vision that our village could have.

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What are your main goals?

My main goals are to address parking, workforce housing and transparency. Overall, I’d like to be a communicative voice for the community. I feel that our board members should always be willing to speak for hours on end with their constituents, and if I am elected, I will more than happily speak to you for as long as you want or need, and my communication lines will always be open. With parking, we need reform in such ways that we allow our locals to find spots for their jobs on Main Street, without taking away from spots for visitors that are coming and giving their business to our local shops, restaurants and more. Workforce housing is difficult in that the balance between affordable and profitable needs to be very defined. We need our residents to actually be able to live here, but we also need to make sure that we aren’t losing money in the long run.

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What do you think are the three biggest problems in the village, and how do you propose solving them?

I’d say our biggest problems are exactly what I am running on — parking, housing and transparency. Across the spectrum of these issues, we need to find ways to bridge the gap between creating an environment that welcomes tourists and creates business for them, but also recreate a sense of community in our village that has been lost in the recent years. I plan on using all my effort into doing just that, bridging the gap.

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Other comments:

On March 16, we have an opportunity here in the village that can determine the future of our community. A new vision means more than just some kid running for local notoriety; it’s about being able to provide a fresh set of eyes, new ideas and a new perspective to our village doings, but also about providing a method of communication for our young voters in Lake Placid. Many have said that the youth hold the keys to the future. Well, if that’s true, then it’s time we turn those keys and open the doors.