KNOX — Knox Highway Superintendent candidates Matthew Schanz and Joshua Gebe will have a small head-to-head this month as they compete for the Conservative Party line ahead of the November general election. 

Primary Day is June 24, and the early-voting period is June 14 through June 22. 

Schanz, the incumbent, has the backing of the Republican Party while Gebe is backed by Democrats. 

Schanz first took office in 2019 by appointment following the sudden retirement of his predecessor, Gary Salisbury, and was later elected, unopposed. Schanz wrote in a letter to the Enterprise editor in 2020 that he has worked for the highway department since he was 17, and spent 15 years under Salisbury’s wing before stepping up to the top post. 

In the letter, written in the height of the COVID-19 pandemic, Schanz described how he had to “learn quickly to manage spending, and work with the town board to maintain much-needed services, fleet vehicles, and equipment without placing any strains on our budget,” reflecting that he felt the department “did a fantastic job.” 

“Perhaps what I’ve enjoyed most, however, is working with the residents and helping them solve highway-related problems,” he wrote. “Some of you have come up with some real doozies but rest assured that the highway employees and I are up for the challenge.”

Gebe, meanwhile, lives in Knox but currently works for the Berne Highway Department, the Democratic Committee told The Enterprise in a statement. 

“He had formerly been registered in the Independence Party, but that line is no longer available on the ballot, so he was seeking the Democratic line,” the party wrote. “We appreciate his commitment to the community, and we believe Knox voters are entitled to consider any resident who wants to serve the public in elected office.”

Gebe’s experience working for Berne, the committee said, “makes him familiar with the needs of the Knox highway department, and he has the skills needed to do the job. He has the support and counsel of his father, George Gebe, a former Supervisor for the Town of Berne.

“Josh Gebe has good people skills, and he communicates well,” the committee said. “We are confident that Josh Gebe would capably serve the residents of Knox as highway superintendent.”