Q12: Mayor John’s Response

If you could share one message with the residents of Lake Placid about the future of the town, what would it be?  

After 28 years of serving the people of Lake Placid — after every council meeting, every budget workshop, every infrastructure project, every ribbon cutting, and every difficult decision made in that chamber — this is what I want every resident of this town to know.

Lake Placid is special. Genuinely, remarkably, irreplaceably special.

Not every community has what we have. We have a downtown that tells its story through murals that draw visitors from around the world. We have a agricultural legacy that makes us the Caladium Capital of the entire planet. We have neighbors who show up for each other — at town meetings, at festivals, at moments of need — with the kind of community spirit that most places spend decades trying to create and never quite find.

And right now — right at this moment in the spring of 2026 — Lake Placid is standing at the threshold of its most exciting chapter yet.

Amazon is established and will be growing. New businesses are opening on Interlake. Families are choosing our community to build their lives. Nearly $40 million in infrastructure investment is flowing into our water and sewer systems. Our Downtown Master Plan is taking shape. Our new police department is rising from the ground.

This momentum is real. It is earned. And it is fragile.

Not because Lake Placid is a fragile town — it is not. The people of this community are resilient, resourceful, and deeply rooted. But momentum in a small town can be interrupted. Relationships built over decades can be disrupted. Projects in the ground can stall when the leadership guiding them loses its footing. Investors and businesses watching our community make decisions about whether to come here based in part on the stability and experience of the leadership they see.

So here is my message to every resident of Lake Placid — to the families who have been here for generations, to the newcomers who chose this town for its character and its promise, to the business owners who bet their livelihoods on this community, and to the young people who will inherit the Lake Placid we are building today:

You deserve a mayor who knows your name. Who has walked your streets for nearly three decades. Who fought for this community in a Navy uniform before he ever sat in a council chamber. Who has spent 28 years building the relationships, the credibility, and the institutional knowledge that have delivered real results for real people in this real town.

You deserve a mayor whose love for Lake Placid is not a campaign talking point — it is a lifelong commitment demonstrated through action, year after year, decade after decade, regardless of whether an election was around the corner.

And you deserve a mayor who will wake up on April 8th — the day after this election — and get right back to work finishing what we started together.

I am not asking for your vote because I am the most polished politician or because my fliers are the most colorful. I am asking for your vote because I have spent my entire adult life — in the Navy and in this town hall — proving that I will show up, work hard, and fight for the people depending on me.

Twenty eight years ago I made a commitment to Lake Placid. I have honored that commitment every single day since.

On April 7th — I am humbly asking for the honor of continuing to do so.

This is our town. Let’s keep building it together.