LAKE PLACID — The Olympic Region isn’t in the 115th Assembly District yet, but it may as well be.

For now — until Jan. 1 — it is still in the 114th Assembly District, represented by Matt Simpson, R-Horicon.

The 115th Assembly District — which currently includes all of Clinton and Franklin counties and four towns in St. Lawrence County — is represented by Billy Jones, D-Chateaugay Lake, Franklin County. He is running for reelection in the Nov. 8 general election against Republican challenger Stephen Chilton III, of Ellenburg Center, Clinton County.

During the recent redistricting process, the Independent Redistricting Commission drew new lines for New York’s Assembly, Senate and congressional districts. None of those districts changed for Clinton and Franklin counties. And only the Assembly district changed for five towns in Essex County.

The redistricting affects Olympic Region voters in the towns of Jay, Keene, St. Armand, Wilmington and North Elba, which includes the entire village of Lake Placid and part of the village of Saranac Lake. All will be in the 115th Assembly District starting in 2023.

That’s why Jones has been spending so much time in the towns of Jay, Keene, North Elba and Wilmington. He participated in the Wilmington Bicentennial Parade in August. And his Facebook page is loaded with recent trips to places such as the Lake Placid Public Library, AuSable Forks Free Library, Wells Memorial Library, Lake Placid Center for the Arts, Upper Jay Art Center, Keene Valley Farmers Market, Essex County Board of Supervisors, Keene Central School, Wilmington town offices, and fire departments in Lake Placid, AuSable Forks, Jay, Keene and Keene Valley. He’s even spent time shopping at popular stops such as the Little Super Market in Wilmington, Valley Grocery in Keene Valley and Adirondack Corner Store in Lake Placid.

Asked about the new Assembly lines including part of Essex County, Jones said on Monday.

“I’m certainly happy with the new alignment. … It aligns pretty well with the Tri-Lakes area. I had half of Saranac Lake before, two-thirds of it. Now I get to cover all of Saranac Lake.”

Jones said the new Assembly District may be confusing for voters in those five towns in Essex County.

“(They may say) ‘If you’re not my representative now, then why are you down here?’ It’s because I am campaigning and I am getting to know the area,” Jones said. “Not that I didn’t know the area very well, but I want them to get to know me as well.”

Jones has essentially been on a listening tour of the Tri-Lakes area over the past several months. From residents, he’s learned that the biggest issue right now is housing.

“It’s become a real crisis, so to speak,” Jones said. “We’re talking about two different issues. Obviously, affordable housing and then there’s housing affordability. We’re seeing a lot of our middle class being priced out of the market, and that affects everything in the area.”

The number one issue from businesses, Jones said, is that they can’t find workers.

“And that covers everything, from health care to restaurants to schools,” Jones said. “It all ties together because if people can’t afford to live in an area or can’t afford housing, then it makes it harder for those employers to attract and retain employees.”

Asked about his thoughts on redistricting — having the 115th Assembly District include parts of Essex County, Chilton said on Tuesday, Oct. 11, that he was “indifferent on the whole deal.”

“I just wish they would have included more red voters that tend to vote Republican,” Chilton said. “I see they carved that area out of Essex County, which is a little concerning to me. It is what it is. I’m going to have to deal with it.”

Asked whether he’s spending any time in the Tri-Lakes to get to know the voters, Chilton said he was in Saranac Lake and Lake Placid last weekend. He doesn’t have as much time as Jones to campaign; he’s still working as a UPS driver, a job he’s had for more than 20 years.

“I’ve traveled to Lake Placid, North Elba, Keene,” Chilton said. “My job’s taken me there, so I know that area very well, probably much better than my opponent when you’re actually talking about being out there and talking to folks, just because of my job.”

Asked about what concerns voters in the Tri-Lakes, he said, “First and foremost, government overreach is a big issue. Second amendment rights are a big issue. That seems to be a main topic when I go to talk to folks. The business atmosphere isn’t very good. Our unemployment insurance has gone up in all of our businesses.”

The state government, Chilton said, can make it more business friendly for New York businesses.

With regard to redistricting, Chilton pointed to the fact that New York’s new Assembly district lines have to be redrawn again. Therefore, those five towns in Essex County that will be in the 115th Assembly District in 2023 may not be in the same district two years from now.

On Sept. 29, New York County Supreme Court Judge Laurence Love, of Manhattan, ruled that the Independent Redistricting Commission must draw new Assembly district lines after a state Supreme Court judge threw out those lines, deeming them unconstitutional.

Laurence ruled that the IRC “shall prepare the redistricting plan to establish assembly districts, and shall submit to the legislature such plan and the implementing legislation therefor on or before April 28, 2023.”