I am writing to express my support for Fred Balzac for North Elba Town Council. I am a native of Ray Brook, having grown up in a family resort business and am a long-time homeowner in Saranac Lake.

I had the pleasure of meeting Fred when he reached out to myself and other neighbors on Duprey Street to offer his help with our opposition to two projects being proposed by the then village mayor and his construction company, both of which had numerous questionable and very negative facets to them. But with his considerable communications skills, Fred helped us organize an in-depth, well-researched, fact-based strategic effort to address our concerns and to be heard.

In another instance, Fred stood up for and spoke out often at village board meetings when two women came forward to say that the same then mayor had verbally abused them at two separate construction sites that each lived and/or owned property next to. And he accompanied one of the women and me to the police to support her while filing the complaint.

In addition, Fred co-founded Neighbors for Good Government Tri-Lakes with several Saranac Lakers and myself, and he was one of only a few of us to organize a successful and fair-balanced public forum in March 2022 for mayoral candidates.

Still another occasion, he stood up at a joint meeting of village of Saranac Lake trustees and the Harrietstown town board and denounced a trustee and Franklin County legislator for using their offices to falsely malign two residents, both with young families, one of which it directly resulted in him losing a job he had just been hired for. Fred is open-minded and dedicated and would work tirelessly with his counterparts for what is best for North Elba, and the people in it. I have met very few whom have his level of character and integrity and his passion for standing up to do the right thing.

Margot Kampf

Saranac Lake