Hi, my name is Melanie laCour.
Candidate for Town Board
I was very honored to have joined our current Town Board this year.
After the mass Republican resignations ground our town government to a halt, I needed to do all I could to help the board get back to work.
One of the things that’s very important to me is that everyone knows that they have a say in town business.
“I will work from day one to give the people of Berne back the right to speak and ask questions at board meetings. Every voice in Berne has the right to be heard.”
Also, it’s our responsibility as elected officials to right the ship by fixing our budget and making sure that every dollar is spent in the right way. I’ve already begun digging in to find solutions to this problem.
I’ll work so that you can feel confident that your town board is working for you — not behind closed doors, not by hiding town business in executive sessions and not by hiding public records. The books need to be available for us all to see.
I am a practicing attorney and have always helped clients work on their toughest problems.
I served as an Assistant City Attorney, where I worked on issues of municipal law and found solutions that help towns like Berne.
I also served with the New York State Gaming Commission, which helped grow my experience and understanding of accountability and responsible governance.
This combination of legal knowledge and hands-on public work experience has shown me how to 
ask the right questions, analyze the real-world impact of board decisions and work to protect all of us and the long-term health of our town.
I live in East Berne with my husband and our two children on our family farm that we purchased from my husband’s aunt and uncle. His uncle, Charlie Garry, is the son of the late Harry Garry and Dr. Smith who many people in our town knew and loved.
Our family has a love of animals. We have six horses, including two retired rescue racehorses and have adopted multiple rescue boxer dogs.
I am deeply community-minded and dedicated to public service.
I will always give my best effort to make the most of any situation, from helping neighbors to supporting our local causes to working my hardest for transparency in government.