To the editor:

I am a resident of 34 years. My family once ran a local store — Mountain Gift & Powder — and I am a local professional. I work in public service and take my job extremely seriously. I am also a voter, and all residents deserve to have their opinions heard in our local elections without fear of retaliation or intimidation.

I’m not concerned about healthy disagreement, that’s just part of good government. My concern is the tone and the pattern of personal attacks and false information being framed as “lack of transparency.”

Our mayor does not operate as a dictatorship. All policies, contracts and initiatives move forward through board votes. Transparency does not mean every conversation happens on social media. Public meetings are open, documents are accessible online and printed for the public if they ask for it, the public has the opportunity to attend meetings and, especially, do their own research. It is not the village’s responsibility to educate the public on terminology; they have more important roles than that. The public has the right to be involved as much as they want, and Jimmy Williams fully supports that.

What I have not yet seen from A.C.T. are concrete, actionable items that demonstrate how things would be done differently — just criticism of decisions that were openly discussed, voted on (some unanimously) but blamed on our mayor.

We will always disagree and debate what is best for Saranac Lake. We should not normalize baseless accusations or personal attacks as campaign strategy. We teach our children better than this. Bullying and slander erode trust in our government and break local ties that are essential for moving Saranac Lake forward.

Saranac Lake’s small community is deeply personal. We see each other at the grocery store, at school and local events, and even chat about issues during tubby time. We should all hold a higher standard of personal and professional conduct– regardless of who your party is.

Saranac Lake deserves better.

I believe in Jimmy’s strong leadership that reflects our true hometown values, his honesty and integrity, accessibility, hard work and a genuine commitment to the people of Saranac Lake. He shows up consistently, often with his family. He listens, even when it’s uncomfortable. His strong character matters just as much as his forward thinking ideas.

I fully support Jimmy Williams.

Adrienne Relyea

Saranac Lake