Fred Balzac

SARANAC LAKE — Fred Balzac of the Green Party is the third candidate to join this year’s race for two Saranac Lake village board race seats with Democratic incumbents Rich Shapiro and Tom Catillaz.

In an interview Thursday, Balzac said some of his main concerns going forward are affordable housing, environmental protection and a sustainable economy.

“I have a sense that Saranac Lake is on the upswing,” he said. “One of my concerns is that we really need to think seriously about how we develop the community going forward. We’re on the upswing, but I want to make sure we don’t leave anybody behind. I’m particularly concerned about the housing issue, affordable housing, people who rent and people who are in need of housing.”

Affordable housing and short-term rentals have been major issues in Lake Placid for a long time. The village and town of North Elba are currently working on laws that would dictate how short-term rentals operate. Saranac Lake does have its fair share of short-term rentals, but it’s not as many as Lake Placid. Balzac said he could see the problems in Lake Placid spilling over into Saranac Lake.

“To protect renters, I would definitely like to start a discussion about rent control and rent stabilization along the lines of what they do in New York City to protect people from rising rents,” he said. “I know it’s not going to make me too popular with landlords, but that’s a concern I have.”

Balzac said he’s not the biggest fan of the under-construction Saranac Waterfront Hotel on Lake Flower Avenue. He said he likes that the hotel is taking steps to be green and Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design certified. He said all new buildings should follow its lead. However, he doesn’t see the need for more growth so close to public waters.

“I’m basically calling for a moratorium on any more waterfront development in my campaign,” he said.

He also said he wants to find more ways to incorporate green energy technologies such as solar panels and wind turbines into future developments.

“With any new building or construction we should really be taking into account the impacts on the climate,” he said.

Tourism is a major economic driver in this region, but Balzac said he’d like to not focus entirely on bringing in visitors.

“We need to diversify our economy,” he said. “Getting too dependent on tourism in the long run may not be such a smart strategy. We’re really using up our carbon footprint if we’re traveling great distances, especially flying, for vacation and building second, third, fourth homes for people who can afford it. I think those are the kind of things society is going to have to take a hard look at in the near future, as far as does it make sense to support those publicly.”

This race for Saranac Lake village board marks Balzac’s seventh time running for office. The past six were all failed campaigns. He previously ran for Jay Town Council four times, Jay town supervisor once and most recently in 2019 for North Elba town supervisor.

“I will admit to not being the world’s greatest candidate,” he said. “I’m not the greatest at self-promotion, and I do have a habit of trying to speak honestly about issues to people. That doesn’t always make you popular.”

For this race, Balzac said it’s important to add some political diversity to the election. For the past few years, the Saranac Lake village board has been all Democrats.

In a recent interview, Catillaz said party lines don’t really matter on the local scale after elections are done and boards tend to work well despite trustee affiliations. Balzac said he doesn’t know any of the current board members too well, but he does like them. However, them all being Democrats does raise concern, he said.

“I always get a little concerned when you have one-party rule in place,” he said. “You tend to get a little bit of a group-think going.”

Balzac, a freelance writer, has lived in the North Country since 1993. He and his wife Kathy Recchia owned a bed and breakfast in Jay for more than two decades. They moved to Saranac Lake in 2018.

Shapiro is finishing up his first term with the village board. His wife is Franklin County District 7 Legislator Lindy Ellis, and the two own and operate Gear-to-Go Tandems, which sells tandem bikes and provides tours. Catillaz is a longtime local politician. He was a member of the board for 18 years, seven of them as mayor, before taking a break from politics in 2018. He was appointed to the board in December after then-Trustee Paul Van Cott stepped down from his position. He’s also a manager at Hyde Fuel, which operates the Mobil gas stations on Broadway and Lake Flower Avenue.