BERNE — Randy Bashwinger, a Republican leading a mixed slate of candidates as the party’s chairman, is running for a second term as highway superintendent. After being elected to fill out a term, Bashwinger is touting his accomplishments in the past three years as superintendent.

Bashwinger, 46, was elected as highway superintendent in 2014 to fill out the term of Kenneth Weaver, who had resigned in 2013. He formerly worked as a project manager for Capital District Contractors and Decks.

As well as being the town’s GOP chairman, Bashwinger recently began serving as the vice president of the Helderberg Rescue Squad and on the Berne-Knox-Westerlo Board of Education’s Budget Advisory Panel. This past May, he ran unsuccessfully for a seat on BKW’s school board.

“I think we’ve accomplished a lot in the three years that I’ve been in,” he said, noting that the highway department has saved money, fixed roads, and boosted workers’ morale.

He added that the department also worked alongside the town’s parks and recreation program during the first two years he served.

Bashwinger says the highway department has faced challenges.

“We have to fight for everything we get,” he said. He noted the incident in which two highway workers were laid off in a dispute with the town over whether the highway department could operate on a four-day, 10-hour work week in the warmer half of the year. The employees were later brought back.

Bashwinger said that he is also concerned about plans by Albany County to implement shared services and an upcoming referendum vote on whether to consolidate the town’s department with the county’s.

“I think it’s going to affect the town more than people think it is,” he said. “And the town residents are going to be suffering from it.”

He later added that consolidation would take control away from the town. While Bashwinger said that he works well with other towns and county workers, he is concerned that county control would lead to slower responses to cleanup of town roads and possibly take employees who volunteer as firefighters out of the town.

Should he be re-elected, Bashwinger said he would like to continue to fix roads and convert dirt roads to pavement. He said he also would like to acquire more equipment.

Bashwinger said he would be fine with sharing a facility with the county, as well as sharing other items such as health insurance.

“But I would not be OK with consolidation,” he said.

The highway department currently has six full-time and four part-time employees. Bashwinger said, as superintendent, he maintains budgets and schedules tasks to maintain town roads.

“It’s kind of like running your own business,” he said, explaining he adjusts tasks as things change day to day.

In the past, Bashwinger has clashed with the supervisor over who has jurisdiction over certain aspects of the highway department, even writing to the town attorney for a legal opinion on the matter.

“The town board should only be deciding on the financial part … ,” said Bashwinger. “I’m elected to run the town highway garage. [The supervisor] is elected to run the town hall.”

He added that, if the current supervisor, Kevin Crosier, who is also running for re-election, keeps his seat, he will continue pursuing legal action.

Bashwinger said that the highway department’s Facebook page, which is not connected to the rest of the town government, should have nothing to do with the town board or supervisor. He noted that the town of Berne Facebook page is run  by the town and he has no connection to that.

He later added that the page is used to keep residents and school districts up to date on the highway department’s activity.

“Social media is the way of the future,” he said, adding that it can notify the department workers if there is an issue they need to address.

Bashwinger said the four-day, 10-hour work week is beneficial, as it saves time from breaks and lunches, and boosts morale for employees, particularly when they work extra hours in the winter.

Bashwinger said that the highway department follows safety guidelines regulated by the New York State Public Employee Safety and Health Bureau and has been inspected by the bureau twice in the last two years.

“We had excellent ratings on both of them,” he said.

His workers do not always have to wear helmets, but wear either reflective vests or T-shirts. He added that concerns raised about missing or obscured signs are not signs on town roads, over which he has jurisdiction; rather, they are on state- or county-maintained roads.

Bashwinger concluded that he hopes the voters have seen what he’s done in the department, including his communication with the residents, no matter what road they live on or what political party they’re affiliated with.