KNOX—Two years ago, the race for highway superintendent in Knox ended in an upset. As a result of the lengthy legal battle started by the Republican Party, long-time highway superintendent August Landauer, a Democrat, lost his office to challenger Gary Salisbury. Salisbury ran on the Independence Party line with the Republican endorsement.

Because of late-filed paperwork, Landauer and his fellow Democrats were forced to run write-in campaigns. However, since Landauer ran on the Conservative Party line, his 267 write-in votes were thrown out by the New York State Supreme Court, leaving him 220 votes to Salisbury’s 268.

This year, it’s a rematch between Salisbury and Landauer.

Knox has 36 miles of town roads. The superintendent makes $42,848 annually.

Gary Salisbury

Republican Gary Salisbury thinks he has accomplished a lot in his two years in office. Under his watch, the highway department has been able to save the town money, keep the roads in good shape, and put all of its records on a computer for the first time.
"Everything has gone smoothly. I think we’re doing an excellent job," Salisbury said. "I think our work has shown it. We’ve got a winter program that seems to be working really well...And we have a summer program that went well."

Salisbury’s proudest achievement is saving the town money by putting certain products, like fuel and stone, out to bid rather than purchasing them off of state contract, and shopping around for the best prices on equipment and equipment repairs.
"We’ve saved a lot of money. It’s been a lot of work, it certainly has," Salisbury said. "If the product is good and we can buy it cheap, that’s what we’re going to do."
Although he admits the paperwork is the hardest part of his job, Salisbury said he gets it done. "As far as the roadwork itself," Salisbury said, "I feel I have a better edge. I was a highway worker for 16 years."

Salisbury worked for the Knox highway department before becoming superintendent. He claims to be able to operate every piece of equipment used by the town.

Salisbury, 41, has lived in Knox most of his life, except for a few years after he was married. He is vice president of the Patroon Land Foundation, which provides food for the needy.

Besides bringing a computer into the highway garage, Salisbury said he has made himself more accessible than his predecessor. He installed an answering machine and makes an effort to return every call, he said.
"That makes a big difference, I think," Salisbury said.

Salisbury also noted his rapport with the employees.
"I find that I treat all the men equally, and by doing so, the morale has raised around here to 100 percent," Salisbury said. "We’ve gotten a lot more work done because everybody’s willing to work together."

Looking forward to another term, Salisbury wants to keep doing what he’s doing and also stop possible future problems on town roads. He doesn’t want to wait until the roads are completely shot to fix them, he said.
"We’re going to reseal them before it’s too late," he said.

Salisbury also has the nominations of the Conservative and Independence parties.

August Landauer

Democrat August Landauer was, like his opponent, a highway worker turned superintendent. He worked for the town for six years before being appointed superintendent in 1985 to replace a resigning superintendent. Landauer was victorious in elections for 18 years after that until he lost to Salisbury. Now, he hopes to return to the post.
"It’s a job that I enjoyed doing," Landauer said. "I derived a lot of satisfaction out of it. When you enjoy doing something, you pursue it."

Landauer said his experience makes him the best candidate.
"I’ve done a lot of road projects to great success," he said. "The work that I’ve done has all turned out well. Mechanically, I’ve got the ability to work on all the machines and keep them in running order."

Landauer, 53, is a life-long resident of Knox and owns a farm that has been in his family for nearly 100 years. For the past two years, he has been working for a small private construction company.

He has been a member of the New York State Highway Superintendents’ Association and a member and past president of the Albany County Highway Superintendents’ Association.

Among his accomplishments in office, Landauer is proud of bringing the town’s roads above flood levels.
"We got those spots up high and dry," he said.

Also during Landauer’s administration, the highway department built an addition to the town garage. Although it’s hard to see from the front, Landauer said, the addition adds a lot of needed space to the building.
If elected, Landauer said, "I would continue along the same path: just to bring the roads up to the standards that they should be brought up to."
For example, he said, at some points on town roads, "If a milk truck and school bus were to meet, somebody would have to back up."
As for saving money, Landauer said, "Things like that are always on a highway superintendent’s mind."

While he was superintendent, he said, the highway department saved money by making repairs in-house.
"We have the ability and the tools and the staff to do that work, so we didn’t have to send it out," Landauer said.

Landauer said it would be no problem returning to manage to the highway staff.
"I got along with everyone when I was there," he said. "I actually hired most of them."