To the editor:

Back on March 16, the village of Lake Placid went to the polls to choose a new mayor, two new trustees and a village justice.

I went into Election Day not only hopeful, but also thankful and grateful to the people of the village that took the time to hear me out. As a young person running for the board, I’m sure it was a different sight for most. Being only 20 years old, running for office was a completely different challenge and a very new set of skills was required for me to do this.

I took that challenge as a way to invigorate the community with a new voice, a refreshing voice and a new person to think about. Having strong roots in the community gave me a unique opportunity to not only be a bridging voice for the long-term residents who have been here for years, but also the young voices who reside here.

I felt strongly that some time was needed to set before I wrote to the paper, in order for everything to settle down and allow the campaign season to end fully and completely, and with our local inauguration day now past, I felt this was finally the right time.

I knew going in that I would have to be more vocal and willing to talk, which even a year ago was a stark contrast from what I was. However, having the opportunity of going out and talking to people opened my eyes to what an amazing and friendly village we live in. In the midst of a pandemic, in the cold winter, people went out of their way to open up their doors, and sometimes their homes, and allowed me to speak to them about issues in the village, what I would like to see changed and, more importantly, what they would like to see changed. So many were unbelievably nice, and to all those people I say thank you from the bottom of my heart.

Election Day is over; our new officials are in office and have already started working. The day after Election Day, I privately congratulated Mayor Art Devlin, and new Trustees Jackie Kelly and Marc Galvin. I wish them the best of luck and hope they do great things for the village of Lake Placid.

Thank you for the opportunity to ballot in the election this year, and I truly am grateful for all the support I received.

Colin Hayes

Lake Placid