The Adirondack Daily Enterprise and Adirondack Voters for Change are co-hosting a Saranac Lake Meet the Candidates forum on March 5 at the Harrietstown Town Hall, exactly two weeks ahead of the March 19 election.

The Enterprise and Adirondack Voters for Change will also be facilitating a casual, post-forum meeting at the town hall where we hope voters will be able to meet with all of the candidates directly, too.

These are opportunities for voters to hear from those seeking to represent them, and to gain a better understanding of what ideas and beliefs are behind those names on the ballot.

Lots of voters tend to vote along party lines — according to a Pew Research Center study, just 6% of voters crossed party lines during the 2022 midterm elections. But at the local level, political affiliation doesn’t necessarily say much about how or why a person will make decisions once they get elected.

These candidates, if they’re successful in their campaign, will make very real decisions that will affect voters’ everyday lives and could potentially take votes that would reshape the literal landscape and quality of life in their communities. Voters deserve to have a sense of who’s making those decisions.

On March 19, voters will elect two new village trustees from at least five candidates. On the ballot are Sean Ryan, an independent on the Republican Party line; Katie Stiles, running on independent and Republican Party lines; Paul Van Cott, a Democrat running on the Democratic Party line; and Aurora White, who is also a Democrat running on the Democratic Party line. Fred Balzac, a Democrat, is running a write-in campaign.

The Saranac Lake forum, featuring the candidates for village trustee who are on the ballot, will take place from 6:30 to 8 p.m. on Tuesday, March 5 at the Harrietstown Town Hall in Saranac Lake. Adirondack Daily Enterprise Managing Editor Elizabeth Izzo and Kary Johnson, from Adirondack Voters for Change, will be on the panel asking questions.

Speaking of questions: We are currently accepting question suggestions from the community. Those who have a question they’d like candidates to answer can send them to Izzo at news@adirondackdailyenterprise.com by Monday, March 4 at 10 a.m. (These questions will not be shared with candidates ahead of time.)

Election Day is March 19. Polls will be open at the Harrietstown Town Hall from noon to 9 p.m. Those who’d like to vote by absentee ballot can pick up applications at village offices or online at tinyurl.com/yc7vkkp9. Applications need to be returned to the village by March 12.