North Elba town Supervisor and Essex County Board of Supervisors Vice Chair Roby Politi fist bumps Wilmington town Supervisor Randy Preston at a county board meeting in January. (Enterprise photo — Griffin Kelly)

LAKE PLACID — North Elba town Supervisor Roby Politi will not seek re-election this fall.

The announcement came in a letter to the editor in today’s Enterprise.

In a phone interview Friday, Politi said he’s served the community for a quarter of a century and that it’s time to let others give it a try.

“I’m almost 70, and at some point, you’ve got to smell the roses,” he said.

“I’ve got grandchildren and a little bit of life left,” he continued. “I never felt that this was a vocation. This is volunteer work. I personally feel I’ve done enough, and it’s time for other people to step up and move forward.”

Politi, who owns the Merrill L. Thomas real estate company on Main Street, has served his community as a public official for 25 years — the last 11 as supervisor. In that 25 years, he was Lake Placid village mayor, a town councilman, town justice and is currently the vice chair for the Essex County Board of Supervisors.

Politi said he’s been involved with so many decisions in local government that he doesn’t remember a lot specifically, but he thinks his most important accomplishment was working at the county level to redistribute sales tax revenues to the towns around Essex County.

Politi’s announcement comes only a few weeks after Merrill L. Thomas co-worker and town Councilman Bob Miller submitted a letter to the editor, saying he wouldn’t seek re-election either.

Looking forward, Politi said there are still some issues North Elba is struggling with, such as affordable housing, zoning and short-term rentals, but he also sees a bright future for the town.

“Financially, North Elba is very strong and very stable,” he said.

Politi said his work in government has been a gratifying experience.

“I’ve never been a micromanager. I relied on my department heads and didn’t always look over their shoulders, and they did a wonderful job. I was lucky that all the employees of the town have been helpful and willing to work with me. I feel like I’ve had close relationships with my board members. We don’t always agree, but we made decisions we felt were in the best interest of the community. In that regard, I’m extremely lucky.”