Paul Van Cott and Aurora White (Provided photos)

SARANAC LAKE — On Tuesday, 145 Saranac Lake Democrats met at the party’s caucus to choose two candidates to represent the party in the race to fill two village trustee seats.

By a wide margin, Democrats chose Aurora White and Paul Van Cott, who are both registered Democrats running on a joint ticket. Democrat Fred Balzac and unaffiliated candidates Katie Stiles and Sean Ryan are still in the race, seeking ballot positions on different party lines. All five candidates had sought the Democratic line. Incumbents Rich Shapiro and Tom Catillaz are not running for re-election.

Van Cott took the most votes with 98. White took 72 votes. Ryan came closest to the top two with 46 votes. Stiles took 26 and Balzac took 23 votes.

Candidates can file to run as an independent candidate by Feb. 13, or participate in the Republican caucus on Jan. 29. The election is March 19.

Stiles and Ryan have indicated they will seek the Republican Party’s nomination at its caucus on Monday.

The Republican caucus is scheduled for 5:30 p.m. at the Harrietstown Town Hall auditorium with Harrietstown Republican Party Chair Bob Bevilacqua presiding.

Balzac has filed paperwork to run on the Working Families party line.

Balzac, Stiles and Ryan have also indicated they will file petitions to run on independent party lines, but which lines exactly, they were not sure yet. Village Clerk Amanda Hopf said it takes 100 signatures to obtain an independent party line. These signatures must come from village residents who have not signed other petitions or participated in a caucus.

White and Van Cott both have experience on local boards. White sat on the Saranac Lake Central School District board for two-and-a-half terms, including leading it as its president until her resignation in November 2022 after a “contentious” executive session in which she disagreed with the choices of the board.

Van Cott was wearing a “Elect Paul Van Cott trustee” button at Tuesday’s caucus. But this wasn’t campaign merch he cooked up in the two days since he joined the race. It was “recycled” from his 2016 reelection campaign. He was on the village board for seven-and-a-half years before resigning in 2019 as he retired from his job at the Adirondack Park Agency. He then became the village attorney until Mayor Jimmy Williams’ election in 2022.

Stiles is currently a member of the village’s Downtown Advisory Board, Housing Task Force and is an alternate on the Development Board.

Ryan is a veteran of the Marines, dean of students at Saranac Lake Middle School, lieutenant for the Saranac Lake Volunteer Rescue Squad and involved in several local volunteer groups.

Balzac is an arts grant coordinator who has run for office eight times previously in the towns of Jay and North Elba and the village of Saranac Lake.

The candidates for the most part have the same village issues in mind — the need for more housing, filling downtown storefronts and improving village infrastructure. And they’re all saying they have the chops to do away with the divisiveness and in-fighting they’ve seen on the current board.

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White

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White said in her letter of intent that she is running for the Democratic line “alongside” Van Cott.

White said her family moved here around 13 years ago “in hopes of finding a nice place to raise our two daughters.”

“The community did not disappoint,” she said. “Now, with my daughters embarking on their own journeys, I feel a strong calling to give back to the community that has been so welcoming to us.”

“I am passionate about ensuring that Saranac Lake continues to thrive as a fantastic place for families,” White said in a statement. “Key issues such as financial responsibility, affordable housing and reasonable taxes are at the forefront of my priorities.”

She said she wants to work “collaboratively” with the other board members to address these issues.

As an analyst, White said she would be “dedicated” to doing her “homework” on matters that come before the board.

She said she has an education in accounting and finance and experience on the local school board, which she believes has equipped her with the skills needed for this role.

On Tuesday, White said she’s running on a platform of affordable housing, financial responsibility and reasonable taxes.

She said she would advocate for the village both regionally and locally, pointing out that Gov. Kathy Hochul’s recently announced executive budget calls for the closure of five correctional facilities in the state.

“We need to work to make sure that the Adirondack Correctional Facility is not on that list,” White said.

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Van Cott

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Van Cott said he initially joined the race because he wasn’t sure if Shapiro would win. Shapiro is a “lightning rod” on the board, he said. Van Cott described himself as a more positively charged guy.

Van Cott said he loves Saranac Lake and is running to maintain and improve the quality of life in the community his children have made their home.

He felt the village had successes in his terms on the board, especially in terms of downtown revitalization. But he also feels that momentum has slowed down because of dysfunction on the board.

“We didn’t always agree with each other on the board and we had spirited discussions, but we always left the room as friends,” Van Cott said.

He said there are $650 million in housing grants available for the village to apply for, and that it should have leaders go to Albany to try to get this money.

On Monday, the village of Saranac Lake agreed to start the process of becoming a state-certified “pro-housing community,” a designation that allows certified towns to access more than $650 million in state funding.

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Stiles

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Stiles says she’s running to bring more cooperation to the board.

“I’m excited by the momentum for our village and I’d hate to see this jeopardized by a village board that’s unable to work together,” she said. “The community has needs that cannot be delayed by an unwillingness to cooperate.”

She’s been attending village meetings in recent months, and the inability to work together she’s seen from there has made her want to have a seat at the table.

Stiles is a realtor and a small business owner.

“My profession has given me the tools to work with all sorts of people to find solutions for all types of problems,” she said.

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Ryan

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Ryan said he will work with anyone and everyone to benefit Saranac Lake.

He said being in the Marines tested his character overseas, and he believes it forged him into someone who can make “tough decisions for the greater good” and think critically.

“We deserve better than what we’ve been getting from the current members of the village board,” Ryan said in an email. “Like many, I am unhappy with the constant bickering, the unwillingness to hear opposing viewpoints and the take-all and give-nothing attitudes. This is no way for our village to operate. Frankly, it paints our town as dysfunctional, and it sets a bad example for our children who are watching and learning from us.”

Cutting through the bickering means sticking “to the facts,” he said.

He is also a high school football coach, a longtime member of the Mountaineers Rugby Club and a regular IPW 101 volunteer.

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Balzac

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Balzac said this election has one central choice.

“Are we going to go back to the old days of the previous administration?” he asked. “Where I don’t think all village residents were treated with respect and I think there was a lot of priority given to special interests and elites.”

Balzac said he spoke out against that previous administration and he will do that with the current mayor when he disagrees, but with respect and civility.

“The current tenor is unacceptable,” he said of the board.

He promised to be an “independent voice” and one of the hardest working trustees ever in Saranac Lake.

As Harrietstown Democratic Party Chair and town Supervisor Jordanna Mallach read Balzac’s letter of intent he sent the village to run, she stopped short.

“From 2019 to 2022 I regularly attended board meetings and began to closely monitor …”

After a long pause, she began reading the next sentence.

Balzac said he has “mixed feelings” about that omission, but is also omitting it himself.

“I respect Jordanna a lot,” Balzac said. “I respect her judgement in not reading that.”

He declined to share the letter he sent to village. Mallach declined to talk about it, aside from her saying she reserves the right to share or not share certain statements in the letters of intent.

Balzac has filed paperwork to run on the Working Families Party line, but there is a process to be endorsed by this party. He got one of the other five members of the party in the village to witness his signing of the paperwork and is in the process of filling out a “lengthy” 40-plus question online questionnaire. Then, there might be an interview process as well.

In New York, anyone who participates in a caucus for a village office cannot also sign an independent nominating petition. Voters signing petitions for independent candidates may only sign a petition for one candidate. If they sign a second petition for another candidate it will be invalidated.