KNOX — Knox Clerk Traci Schanz is running for her third term, on the Republican line, this year opposed by Democrat-endorsed Deborah Liddle, Knox’s former town clerk and one of only two candidates put up by the Democrats. 

Schanz was first elected in 2017, when local Republicans made significant inroads in the town, culminating in a complete takeover in 2019. She’s been uncontroversial in that role, save for revelations made in 2020 by the state comptroller’s office during an audit of the town that Schanz had not been depositing collected money in a timely fashion. Although money was deposited late, none was found missing, the report stated.

Schanz told The Enterprise that she was “grateful” for the audit, insofar as it alerted her to her own failings, of which she was previously unaware. 

“Stepping into the Clerk’s position has been an extensive and continual learning curve,” she said in an email at the time. “The auditors were extremely helpful in clarifying certain deadlines and filing procedures/requirements. The Supervisor and I have since put procedures in place to follow the auditor’s recommendations.” 

Schanz is a lifelong Knox resident who, when she first ran in 2017, was an occupational therapist assistant for kids with disabilities, working for a private company that has contracts with public schools. In 2019, she said her greatest accomplishment by that time was organizing the office and keeping the town website and social media page up to date.

She couldn’t be reached for an interview ahead of this election. 

Liddle, 63 (with “a lot of good years left ahead of me,” she said), moved to Knox in 1974 and graduated from Berne-Knox-Westerlo in 1976. After three years working in the private sector, Liddle went to work for the county as a secretary to the Director of Buildings, Grounds and Maintenance, and the Director of Nursing.

In 1985, at the behest of a friend, Liddle took the Civil Service exam and later wound up as a secretary in the Department of Transportation, where she still works, for the Deputy Chief Engineer/Bureau Director for the Office of Design.

Liddle is currently the Knox court clerk, a position she took in 1996. Before that, in 1983, she was appointed deputy town clerk. She was town clerk from 2000 until 2005, when she was replaced by Kimberly Swain. 

“In 2008, [as court clerk,] I applied for and got $20,000 in grants to purchase a new IBM computer, HP printer, equipment, software, furniture, and security devices for the court,” Liddle said. “When the new addition was built, I applied for another grant in 2011 and I got another $25,000 to help pay for the construction loan for the new court/board room.”

She said that, as town clerk, she was “proud” of the way she ran the office, likening it to a “well-oiled machine.”

“I studied and got my public notary license, and I also started keeping track of all the 9-1-1 addresses for the Albany County Sheriff’s Department,” Liddle said. “I would update the contact list every time someone came in to get a new building permit.”

She said she’s always kept herself busy outside of her day job, taking college courses, passing the police exam, volunteering for the Altamont Rescue Squad, among other things, including holding the secretary position for the Civil Service Employees Association Local 687.

Of the town clerk position, Liddle said, “I am committed to improving my knowledge of the duties [and] changes and will take a pragmatic approach, particularly with complex tasks, deliver them with professionalism, diligence, and dedication in order to fulfill, accurately and timely, the tremendous responsibilities of the town clerk position.”

“In a nutshell,” she added, “you’re getting a lot for a Liddle!”