KNOX — After a last-minute decision to run, Dana Sherman is campaigning on the Unify Knox Party line to be a Knox town justice.

A few weeks ago, Sherman collected more than the 70 signatures needed to run, he said.

Sherman told The Enterprise that he decided he wanted to run about a month ago, and brought this to the attention of Knox Councilman Earl Barcomb, who is running for re-election on the Democratic line. Sherman said he was told it was too late to run on the Democratic line, which does not have a judge running, and so he instead petitioned to run with the Unify Knox Party, which is actually an independent body rather than a political party.

An independent body refers to any group of voters who nominate a candidate to run for office. According to Matthew Clyne, the Democratic Commissioner for the Albany County Board of Elections, designating petitions to run with a political party are due between April 1 and April 4. Filing dates to run with an independent body are due between May 21 and 28, he said.

Sherman, who is enrolled in the Independence Party, said he is campaigning to represent himself, rather than a party’s values.

“I guess my personal view is that the last thing the citizens want is a justice that is politically involved,” he said.

The Unify Knox Party was created in 2016 by Eric Kuck, a former Knox councilman who said he wanted to offer voters a third-party option in the 2016 election. Kuck eventually withdrew from the race after he planned on moving to Holland.

While Sherman will not be able to run as a Democratic candidate, the Democratic slate is also running on the Unify Knox line. If the Democrats lose their line to Republican candidates who have launched a write-in campaign for the June 25 Democratic primary, the Democrats can still run on the Unify Knox line.

This includes Russell Pokorny for supervisor, Joan Adriance for town clerk, and Earl Barcomb and Dennis Barber for town council. There is no town justice running on the Democratic line.

Bonnie Donati, a Republican, a member of the town’s zoning board, is running on the Republican line, which has a full slate, including incumbents Supervisor Vasilios Lefkaditis, Highway Superintendent Gary Salisbury, and Town Clerk Traci Schanz; as well as challengers Dennis Cyr and June Springer for the council posts. Elizabeth Walk, a Democrat, is running on the GOP line for tax collector. The current tax collector, Diane Champion, also a Democrat, will be leaving her post at the end of her term.

Currently James Corigliano serves in the post up for re-election but is not running again. Corigliano, a retired Guilderland music teacher, was appointed to fill a vacancy and then won the next election, in 2011, against Donati, and was unopposed in 2015, running on the Democratic and Independence Party lines.

Corigliano retires

Currently James Corigliano serves in the post up for re-election, one of two town judges. He is not running again. Corigliano, a retired Guilderland music teacher, was appointed to fill a vacancy and then won the next election, in 2011, against Donati. He was unopposed in 2015, running on the Democratic and Independence Party lines.

Corigliano told The Enterprise on Tuesday that he will not be running for reelection for two reasons. The first is because he believes in term limits.

“It should not be a career,” he said, of public office.

The second is because, while he is fit for the job at 74, he is not sure if he will be in three or four years were he to be finishing a third term.

He said he’s looking forward to spending more time on music and travel.

Corigliano, who had served on the town planning board before his appointment, said he had no political aspirations when then-supervisor Michael Hammond asked him to serve as town justice.

“It was a wonderful experience and I have no regrets that I did it,” he said, noting that he was able to meet different people from all parts of the justice system.

Sherman's vita

Sherman, who is 73 and retired, is running on his record of long-time community involvement and leadership as well as his past experience in the justice system. He taught at juvenile detention centers with the New York State Division of Youth for 23 years, first at Camp Cass in Rensselaerville and then at Brookwood Secure Center in Claverack, in Columbia County.

Sherman had served briefly on the town’s zoning board of appeals and also served on the Knox town board for 16 years. He has been a member of the Knox Volunteer Fire Company for 55 years. His son, Daniel Sherman, is the town’s building inspector.