To the editor:

Maybe the most important trait that our representatives in government should have is that when their constituents talk, they shut up and listen. They humbly observe the hardships in their community and try their best to help, all the while aware that they are only human with their own biases and blindspots.

I have spent dozens of hours in village board meetings, giving my fair share of public comment from ways I think our community is wasting money to the conduct of the board itself. After the board meetings and at other community events, Jeremy Evans and Trustee Kelly Brunette are two people I constantly found myself speaking to. They had both heard my passion and my ideas and offered to meet up to talk about village problems, hoping to get new ideas and perspectives from a constituent.

Over the years, as a result of these meetings, I have gotten to know Kelly and Jeremy personally. The more I get to know them, the more I think they are excellent public servants. They listen and then act on what they learn from their constituents and in doing so, they govern for all. I was recently asked by Jeremy if I’d be willing to help organize an event for young people in local politics, so that they can learn more about what young people in the village want out of their local government. This is what leadership looks like to me.

They also have a plethora of experience in taking their ideas and implementing them within government frameworks, as their jobs with the Adirondack Frontier clearly show. They know where we might be able to get grant money to fill in budget gaps, and what cheap things we can do on our own dime that would give an outsized return on investment. I have listened to Jeremy more than a handful of times give a pitch to the village board about how we can do something more affordably with less hassle than we do it now, saving our government precious time and resources. Every time, I’ve wished that he was up there voting along with Kelly to implement these things.

I don’t always agree with their decisions and votes. But when I disagree with them, I know that I can speak to them about why I disagree and they will listen to me. This is why I endorse Jeremy Evans and Kelly Brunette for the board of trustees and the mayor, respectively.

Oh, and vote for them on the ACT party line (Affordability, Civility, and Transparency). The votes count all the same, so let us recognize the difference between our local politics and our dysfunctional national government.

Charlotte E. Lomino

Saranac Lake