To the editor:

How many times have we looked on as political hopefuls stand atop stages or behind podiums to sell us the same campaign promises we’ve heard time and again? And, how many times have we stood by as those promises turn out to be lip service: a means to a political end, where the voter is left holding the bag, yet again.

At face value, the promise of Affordability, Civility and Transparency (A.C.T.) is something we should all get behind. Unfortunately, the reality is that the actions of these candidates reflect something else entirely-another empty political promise, another bill of goods.

Affordability: in a recent letter to the editor, a former village code officer offered details of a 2024 purchase and subsequent 2025 sale of a Saranac Lake home, by A.C.T. mayoral candidate, Kelly Brunette, for a net profit of roughly $300,000. While locals struggle to find housing, you are flipping single family homes for a pretty penny. Affordable for who, Kelly?

Transparency: in the same real estate transaction, which netted Mrs. Brunette a $300,000 windfall, there were no building permits applied for, no realtors used and no structural, electrical, plumbing or safety inspections. For a sitting village trustee, a simple “I didn’t know,” is not good enough. What are you hiding, and where is the transparency that you’re promising?

Civility: moving away from questionable real estate practices, civility should be a cornerstone of our local government. Why then is Mrs. Brunette commissioning inflammatory social media posts and videos, deriding our local first responders and the sitting Mayor, under the guise of a Facebook group ironically called “Better Saranac Lake.” I don’t know about you, Kelly, but the Saranac Lake that I know and love has nothing to do with petty stone throwing from behind a keyboard. So, I ask, where is the civility you are campaigning on?

We endure our share of political let downs from representatives on the state and national level … is it too much to expect that our local officials might actually live up to their word? I don’t think so. Saranac Lake is no place for posturing-time to drop the A.C.T.

Jim Murnane

Saranac Lake