Knox Archives —The Altamont Enterprise, November 1, 2007
In Knox
Three vie for super and four race for two board seats
By Tyler Schuling
KNOX — Republican town council incumbents will defend their seats on the town board in November, and the long-time incumbent Democratic supervisor, Michael Hammond, will be challenged by Cheryl Frantzen, making her first run for supervisor on two small-party lines, and his opponent two years ago, Republican Mark Von Haugg,
On Nov. 6, Councilman Joseph Best and Councilwoman Patricia Gage, both Republicans, will face Democratic challengers Mary Ellen Nagengast and Jeff Landauer.
The Knox town board is split, with two Republicans and three Democrats. In Knox, Democrats outnumber Republicans nearly 5 to 3. Best and Gage were elected four years ago after the Republicans challenged the Democrats’ paperwork in court and won; the Democratic candidates did not appear on the ballot. Hammond got enough write-ins to keep his seat.
Town board members serve four-year terms, and the town’s preliminary budget calls for a salary of $3,641.50 in 2008. The supervisor serves a two-year term and will earn $15,870 if the budget is passed as proposed.
There are 1,888 registered voters in Knox, according to the Albany County Board of Elections. The party enrollment breaks down as follows:
— Democrat, 758;
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— No party, 498
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— Republican, 454;
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— Independence, 91;
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— Conservative, 71; and
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— Other small party, 16.
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The three supervisor candidates and the four council candidates were asked about their backgrounds and why they are running. They were also asked about four issues:
— Growth: Tech Valley is becoming a reality in the Capital Region. Candidates were asked how they would balance growth while preserving the town’s farms and open spaces;
— The Helderberg Wind Project: A meteorological tower on Middle Road is currently taking wind and temperature readings, and project leaders are conducting bird and bat studies for the project’s prospectus. Candidates were asked whether they favor a community-owned large-scale wind turbine in the town. Candidates were also asked if they would place a limit on the number of large windmills in the town;
— Communications: Cellular phone reception and Internet access in the town is poor. A cell tower ordinance was passed this year. Candidates were asked if communication improvements are needed and whether a telecommunications committee should be formed to survey residents and research infrastructure; and
— Town Hall renovations: There are plans to renovate town hall, and a citizens committee as well as a grant writer are aiding in the project. Preliminary plans, estimated at just over $1 million, have been scaled down by eliminating a garage for emergency services and using volunteer and town labor. Candidates were asked if the town should proceed with the project.
FOR SUPERVISOR
Cheryl Frantzen
Cheryl Frantzen is making her first run for town supervisor on small-party lines. Frantzen, enrolled in the Independence Party, is also endorsed by the Conservative Party.
Frantzen, 51, chairs the town’s Conservation Advisory Council and is the president of the Knox Historical Society.
Frantzen said she is running for a lot of different reasons.
"I feel very strongly that we do need change," she said. Supervisor Michael Hammond has done a good job as far as keeping taxes down, she said, adding that Hammond has been in office a long time.
Frantzen said she can see where some things can become better in the town, such as communicating better to board members and opening things up to the community more. There are record-keeping issues the town could address, she said.
"I’m just a very strong proponent for an open forum for government, and I don’t see that happening right now, so I would like to make it that way," she said.
Frantzen has worked full-time for five years for a trade association — the New York State Credit Union League in Latham — as a compliance specialist for credit unions. In her job, she answers and responds to questions on federal and state laws and regulations, she said.
Frantzen has been married for almost 30 years and has three grown children. Originally from Charlotte, Vt., she has lived in Knox a little over 30 years.
Frantzen attended high school in New York State. When her children were older, she went back to school and earned her associates degree at Maria College in 2001. She then went to Sage Colleges and earned her bachelor’s degree in legal studies in 2003.
On growth, Frantzen said she is extremely supportive of farming, since she was brought up in a farming community and family in Vermont. Her grandfather operated a 280-acre dairy farm, and now, due to an influx of corporations, her relatives are struggling to keep 130 acres, she said. Since corporations came to the area about 20 years ago, taxes have skyrocketed, making it almost impossible to keep land, she said.
Frantzen said she will do whatever she can to support the farming industry in Knox.
It is a necessity to support local farms, many of them owned by families for generations, she said. The food supply in the United States has become contaminated and there appears to be no federal resolutions, said Frantzen. There will come a time when Americans will need the knowledge and ability to produce their own food, she said, or, at the very least, have local farms produce and sell the items locally.
Based on information she received from the prior Conservation Advisory Council chair, Betty Ketchum, she is not sure that the Helderbergs can support the septic and water systems for a number of buildings and homes. Frantzen said she thinks growth is going to have to be balanced very, very carefully.
"Otherwise," she said, "we could have some water issues, environmental issues here." Frantzen said she would have to do a lot more research, and hear more input from experts. Then the board would have to make some very important decisions from there, she said.
"It wouldn’t be a decision just from myself. It would be an entire board’s decision," she said. "But I think we’re growing slowly enough right now with the housing market the way it is, the whole sub-prime lending issue being what it has been lately, that I don’t think we have anything major to worry about for a year or so."
On a community-owned wind turbine, Frantzen said, "I can’t give you a yes or no answer on that because I think the decision would have to be whatever would be best for the town."
There are a lot of variables involved in the decision, she said.
"Can it be supported by the town"" she asked. "In other words, physically, spacewise, does the town have the physical space to support a number of wind towers"" Frantzen also questioned the costs involved. "And," she asked, "is it even possible for a municipality to be an energy source"
"So, for me to give a yes or no answer, I don’t think I’d be being honest either way," she said.
Frantzen said she is a proponent of alternative energy and thinks solar is a great energy source for the Hilltowns. She thinks that, until the price of alternative energies come down a great deal, so that it’s much more affordable for the everyday person — the middle-class citizen — it isn’t affordable, she said.
"So that’s something that we have to look at," she said. "Making it affordable."
On communications, Frantzen said, "I think that we do need to have improved cell-phone service. Where I live it’s sporadic."
She doesn’t get cell service in her house, but, if she goes to a higher elevation on her property, she might be able to get it, she said. She is also unable to get high-speed Internet access, and cable doesn’t come up her road.
"So those are all issues and they’re difficult ones," she said.
As far as a committee being formed, Frantzen said that, if Knox doesn’t go forward with cell towers and get better cell service, then maybe a committee would be an excellent option.
"Community involvement, I think, is always a good thing," she said.
On renovations to Town Hall, Frantzen said, "I’d have to see what the plans are. I haven’t seen them."
The plans that were presented before could be scaled down, she said.
"I don’t think that we needed something that large," she said. "However, we do need renovations to our town hall."
Accessibility is difficult, she said. The historical society meets in the basement of Town Hall, where the town board meets, and a lot of the people who attend are elderly, including the town historian who is 92 years old, she said. It is difficult for the historian to get up stairs, and the only other way for her to access the hall is to come in the back door, Frantzen said, and that just seems awkward.
Frantzen said she thinks it is great that a grant writer is researching and obtaining grants for the project.
Frantzen said the town needs to look to the future and do the project "a little bit at a time," maybe in stages. She said that would soften the blow to the taxpayers.
"So, we need the renovations, definitely," she said, "but I don’t know to what scale."
FOR SUPERVISOR
Michael Hammond
Michael Hammond, Knox’s long-time Democratic town supervisor, is seeking re-election in this fall’s election.
"I really like the job," Hammond said. "I like working with the people. There are a lot of great people in town," he said.
The town’s supervisor since 1974, Hammond said he is also running because he wants to see his "most actively pursued project" — the renovation of Town Hall — through to its completion.
Originally from Fort Henry, Hammond moved to Knox in 1963. He is not married and has three children. He retired from the Troy School District, where he taught for 33 years. He has owned and operated Mountain Wood Shop, a one-man operation, since 1969.
Hammond, 64, is a member of the Kiwanis Club of the Helderbergs and a member of the Berne Masonic Lodge. He volunteered for the Knox Volunteer Fire Company for 10 years.
Regarding growth, Hammond said, "The town, first and foremost, has had a very good planning board that has developed a master plan and has addressed the issues of growth for quite a few years. It’s not that we’re being caught very short right now. We have a lot of mechanisms put in place."
Hammond cited the town’s recent law, which regulates road construction in any new development. The law implements guidelines for how rural roads in the town are to be built, he said.
"We set these minimum standards so that these roads will be maintenance-free for many years before the town will have to revisit the cost factor in maintaining roads," he said.
Hammond also cited a suit Knox won in 1988 that stopped the state from issuing SPEDES permits to developers in the town.
"Because we don’t have public water and sewer, we are cautious of the fact that developers will try to gain access to New York State SPEDES permits and discharging sewage into our local streams," Hammond said.
In 1988, Knox fought and was successful in stopping the state from allowing SPEDES permits from being issued in the town; the town has set more restrictive standards than the state, he said.
"So consequently"the town now controls the density of large-scale development," he said.
Regarding community-owned large-scale wind turbines, Hammond said, "We have enacted local legislation recently — within the last year — regulating both the location of the cell towers and wind generation devices".
"Wind power itself is a very upcoming event, and I don’t think Knox should turn it’s back totally toward that at this point in time," Hammond said. "And I would like to wait with any other prognostication or any kind of opinion on that until I can see where we’re going to be going with the result of these findings," he said.
Hammond said he doesn’t know what the scale of operations would be.
"We’ve had some preliminary studies and several meetings where this type of a factor has been considered and nothing conclusive has happened yet," he said.
Regarding communications, Hammond said a cellular tower would greatly help improve cell phone coverage and performance for the needs and the safety of all town residents.
The location of the cellular tower will generate income, which will benefit not just one individual, but everyone in the town because funds will be put back into the town’s budget, he said.
The town is in a position to entertain people interested in providing the service to our town, Hammond said.
"And I think that the large majority of people have become more and more dependent upon cell coverage than ever before and it’s my goal to see that we can provide that in a manner that’s going to be suitable," he said.
Regarding renovations to Town Hall, Hammond listed reasons for supporting the project and steps the town has already taken.
The town had the foresight to start obtaining funds about seven years ago, anticipating costs, he said.
"We knew this was going to be costly," he said.
Hammond cited the Americans with Disabilities Act.
"We have to comply with the ADA mandate," he said, adding that "a number of times" at town meetings people have asked how they can access the voting machines without coming through a back door.
"We have a need for a larger court room that would allow the public to participate in those events at town court and allow the court to function better than it does," he said.
Knox also needs a fireproof storage facility, he said.
"If the place were to burn, all our historical records would certainly be gone," Hammond said, adding that, with a walk-in fireplace storage facility, town and historical records would be made available very quickly.
"We also would like to get the tax collector and the assessor into the town hall so that people do not have to go into the homes of these individuals," he said.
More room is needed in the town’s building inspector and zoning administrator’s office, which, Hammond said, "is nothing more than a large shoebox."
People building large homes have to sit and confer with the town’s building and zoning administrator with their plans sitting in their lap, he said.
"And we did hire a grant writer to assist the town board in seeking any kind of grant that we can get our hands on," he said.
And lastly, the town formed an advisory committee to help the town board look at the project, he said.
Some large ticket items have already been taken out of the formula, Hammond said. "We’re back looking so we can make this into a very manageable project [that will] ultimately reach into the foreseeable 30 years," he said.
Historically, when budgeting, his and the board members’ goal is to provide a budget that is "sound and prudent"; their goal is to run the town like it’s their own personal budget, he said.
Recently purchased large ticket items — a new tandem axle truck, a new transfer station truck, and a mower — are bought and paid for, he said.
"At this point in time, right now, as we speak, the town is debt-free," Hammond said. "That’s a big consideration."
FOR SUPERVISOR
Mark Von Haugg
Republican Mark Von Haugg is making his second run for supervisor in this fall’s election.
Von Haugg said he is running because he’d like to see a more open government.
"I am a Republican running as a Republican, but decisions will not be based on party affiliation," he said.
Von Haugg said he’d also like to see more accountability by the zoning board of appeals to the town board.
Originally from East Berne, Von Haugg has lived in Knox for 37 years.
Von Haugg, 66, graduated from Berne-Knox High School and attended college in Long Island. He owns his own telecommunications business.
Regarding growth, Von Haugg said, "What we need is more business growth for a more diversified tax base."
Von Haugg does not favor the concentration of houses within the town. "Our topography"is not conducive to such type of development," he said.
Regarding a large-scale wind turbine, Von Haugg said that, based on his observations of other windmills, he suspects a large-scale wind turbine in the town will not work. If residents want windmills on their property, and their neighbors accept it, he said, "Put up all the wind towers you want."
If someone wants to erect a commercial windmill and can afford it, he should go ahead with it, Von Haugg said, but the town should have no financial involvement in a large-scale wind project.
Regarding communications, Von Haugg said, "I don’t know if we need a committee"We need better cell service up here.
"People use cell phones, and they’re getting more and more dependent upon them, and the service up here is very poor because there is no tower," he said.
A centralized tower would be a good idea, he said.
Regarding the town hall project, Von Haugg favors continuing the project as long as costs are kept under $1 million. He estimated an acceptable price for project to be between $500,000 and $750,000.
FOR TOWN BOARD
Joseph Best
Republican incumbent Joseph Best is seeking a second four-year term on the Knox town board. He is also running on the Independence line.
Best owns the Knox Country Store in the hamlet. His wife, Marie, and her son, David, work at the store. His two children live in New Jersey, and he has five grandchildren. Best attends Christ’s Church in Guilderland.
Originally from Albany, Best attended Draper High School in Rotterdam; he went on to Siena College in Loudonville to earn his bachelor of science degree in accounting and business administration.
Best is the liaison to Knox’s Conservation Advisory Council.
Best said he is running because a board with members all of the same political party — whether they are Republicans or Democrats — is not a good thing.
"You need a mixture," he said.
Before the upset in 2003, after the court decision took the Democrats’ names off the ballot, the town board was dominated by Democrats for decades.
Best called the current board, with members of both the Republican and Democratic parties, "a big improvement" that gives the town’s residents a better voice. The current board, he said, is a non-partisan board that reacts to issues as a team. He said he would like that to continue.
Regarding growth, Best said it has been controlled by the town’s zoning laws.
"I’m not really for subdivisions, but I’m not against them if they’re in the right place," he said. He favors gradual growth, not rapid growth, and he would like to see more businesses in the town, he said.
Regarding a community-owned wind turbine, Best said commercial windmills each cost about $2 million to $2.5 million, and he can’t see Knox supporting such a large investment. He said he doesn’t think a windmill could be supported by the town’s tax base and, if erected in the town, it would have to be a business venture. Green energy is a reality in New York State, he said, and cost for green energy has gone up in recent years.
Best compared windmills to power lines, which he called "the ugliest looking things."
"I think the windmills look better," he said, adding that people no longer notice power lines because "we’ve seen them for so long."
Regarding communications, Best said the town definitely needs better cellular coverage for safety reasons. For cellular phone companies to come into the town, officials consider placing a tower on town property first and then on farm property. Town officials have considered a town-owned property on Street Road as a potential site for a cellular tower.
"It’s difficult to find a spot," he said.
Best said he thinks forming a communications committee would be "a little late" because the town already has a law in place.
"I think we’re prepared," he said, adding that the town has guidelines for companies wanting to come in. Best said the planning board did a phenomenal job on the cellular tower ordinance.
Best favors continuing the Town Hall project.
"Town Hall is in dire need of growth," said Best, adding that room needs to be made for the people who work at the hall and renovations need to be made to the town court facilities. Best cited the town board’s creating a committee to aid in the project and Assemblyman John McEneny’s securing state funds for the project.
"The committee hasn’t come back with its findings and recommendations, so I can’t say how we’ll proceed at this time," Best said.
"If it falls within the [$600,000] or $700,000 range, I think it’s a doable project," he said.
Planning 30 years out is what makes the project difficult, he said.
"Where is Knox going to be in 30 years"" he asked.
FOR TOWN BOARD
Patricia Gage
Patricia Gage, 66, an incumbent town board member and the town’s Republican Party chairperson, is running for her second four-year term on the town board.
Gage is also running on the Conservative and Independence lines.
A retired auditor for the New York State Teachers’ Retirement System, Gage was born and raised in Knox. Apart from four years in college, she has lived in Knox her whole life.
Gage attended college at the State University of New York Agricultural and Technical College at Cobleskill and earned her master’s degree in education from the University at Albany with an emphasis in accounting. Gage is single. Until recently, she volunteered at the Berne-Knox-Westerlo Elementary School for seven years. Gage is an elder at the Knox Reformed Church.
When she first ran four years ago, she said, she ran because she wanted to have a more balanced government. Gage said it’s good to have both political parties in government for open decision-making and non-partisan decisions. Republicans made their first solid in-roads in Democrat-dominated Knox four years ago after challenging the Democrats paperwork in court.
"We need to plan for growth," Gage said, adding that she thinks growth is a good thing. Planning, she said, should be done in a way that protects the town’s scenic vistas and is expeditious for those moving into the town.
Gage said the Hilltowns need to think of having alternative energy sources. There are quite a few places in the Hilltowns and in Knox where towers could be placed, she said.
Gage said of the current lack of communications in Knox, "It’s kind of dangerous the way it is now."
"I’m totally in favor of committees. I push for them every chance I get," said Gage, adding that committees get "the pulse of the people," and committees bring information back for the town board’s decisions.
Gage is in favor of continuing the town hall project. The current town hall, she said, is not accessible to those with handicaps, and there is mildew downstairs. Containing cost will obviously be a priority, but it will be 30 years before renovations are revisited, she said.
"We need to look ahead and not think of cost as our primary concern," she said.
FOR TOWN BOARD
Jeff Landauer
Democrat Jeff Landauer, a former town highway superintendent, is running for the town board in this fall’s election.
"Every town is ever-changing, and this town is not going to be any different," Landauer said.
"We’ve just got to learn to roll with it, and, if elected, that’s what we’re going to do," he said.
A lifelong Knox resident, Landauer graduated from Berne-Knox High School.
A Democrat, Landauer served as the town’s superintendent of highways for 18-and-a half-years. He was defeated in 2003 after the Republicans challenged the Democrats’ paperwork in court and won. Landauer received more votes than his opponent but the write-in votes did not count since he was on the ballot on a small-party line. He was defeated by Gary Salisbury in the 2005 election.
Landauer was a volunteer fireman in the Knox Volunteer Fire Company for 15 years, he said.
Landauer, 55, works as an equipment operator for the University at Albany.
He is married, and has a son. Landauer’s other son, Jason, died earlier this year.
Regarding Tech Valley growth, Landauer said, "I think it’s good for the Capital District. As far as it creating any growth in the Helderbergs, I don’t know if that will happen. I’m sure we’ll get some growth from it."
Landauer said he doesn’t know how many employees the nanotech industry will attract.
While some will come to the Hilltowns and build homes, others will "stay down off the Hill" and live in Clifton Park and other areas with sewer and water, he said.
"I’m sure we’ll get a little growth, but that’s bound to happen anyways," Landauer said.
Regarding wind power, Landauer said, "One thing about wind is it’s an ever-present energy source, and I personally believe it’s harnassable."
It’s practical and the town should pursue it, he said.
"I have no problem with wind power whatsoever. I’m in favor of it," he said.
There are only certain areas in Knox where wind turbines would work and putting space between them is necessary for them to work properly, he said.
"As far as limitations: If there’s one, 10 wouldn’t hurt. The more the merrier, I say," Landauer said.
Regarding communications, Landauer said, "I think the communications should be improved with the installation of towers. I know there’s a lot of people up here that"whine a little bit about when they can’t get reception."
Town residents ask what is going on, and complain about being able to get reception in other areas but not in Knox, he said.
"I don’t think they’re that unsightly," he said of cell towers, and speculated about them being placed along the Northway and in the Adirondacks.
"If one tower saves one life, it’s worth it," Landauer said.
Regarding a committee to look at communications, Landauer said, "Everything’s worth looking into, and, just like everything else, it’s definitely worth looking into so a committee wouldn’t hurt."
Regarding the town hall renovation project, Landauer said, "It’s time. Our town hall is 30-plus years old, and we don’t have handicapped accessibility.
"I believe all the town officers should have an office— a space where they can conduct their business — and it’s time," he said.
FOR TOWN BOARD
Mary Ellen Nagengast
Democrat Mary Ellen Nagengast is making her first run for the town council.
"I don’t have a personal agenda," said Nagengast. "I’m running to represent the people," she said. "I think volunteerism is important, especially in a small town like Knox."
Born in Knox, Nagengast is a lifelong town resident. She works for the state’s Department of Taxation and Finance.
Nagengast is a former town clerk. She has been a deputy town clerk since 2000 and the recording secretary for the board of assessment review since 1996.
After graduating with honors from Berne-Knox-Westerlo High School in 1984, Nagengast attended Hudson Valley Community College and studied business administration. She then went to The College of Saint Rose and majored in accounting with a concentration in computer information systems. She graduated magna cum laude.
Nagengast said she is reasonable and compassionate.
Nagengast, 41, and her husband, Tom, have two children, Nicklas and Marianna Rose. Both children attend BKW Elementary School. Nagengast is active in the PTA. No board member currently serving on the town board has children who attend the school, Nagengast said. "We need to bridge that gap."
Nagengast is a proponent of having as much information as possible readily available on the town’s website.
Members of the community, she said, are concerned too many laws exist regulating what they can and cannot do. While laws need to be in place, Nagengast said, she thinks that, if a problem exists for one or two people, a law affecting everyone should not be created.
Nagengast said she is proud to live in Knox, which has low tax rates. The issues in the town today are the same issues from 10 years ago, she said.
Regarding growth, Nagengast said, "What I’d hate to see is for those who have lived here their whole lives to have to move away because they can’t afford the taxes."
She said town board members as well as those in the community fear that Knox will become the next Clifton Park.
"I’m not against growth," Nagengast said, adding that some residents are interested in opening small businesses, and the town must balance allowing growth and refusing growth.
There are good people in the town who have done a lot of work, she said, such as the planning board members who worked to create cellular tower and windmill laws. To balance growth, town leaders and residents need to stay well-informed and anticipate change, she said.
"It’s important to have a preparedness plan in place," she said.
Regarding a large-scale wind turbine, Nagengast said, on the positive side, commercial large-scale wind turbines provide revenue opportunities and more money in the coffers for schools. Nagengast said she is in favor of green energy — wind power and solar energy. And, she said, she is a proponent of land-use rights.
Asked how many large wind turbines she would allow, Nagengast said she is an administrative analyst. In her job, she gathers all facts and information first. Before making decisions about utility-scale community windmills, Nagengast said, she would work with members of the community and gather all pertinent information.
Regarding communications, Nagengast said that, as a woman and a mother, she is a proponent of additional communications, specifically for safety. Cell phone coverage in Knox is spotty, depending on a person’s provider, she said. Nagengast said she is a proponent of working with the other Hilltowns to improve communications.
"I don’t see us just as Knox. I see us as the Hilltown community," she said.
Regarding Town Hall renovations, Nagengast said, one aspect of the project is to make the town hall comply with requirements in the Americans with Disabilities Act so the whole community has access.
The court facility is very small, she said, and a centralized records facility is needed.
"We don’t have a centralized place for all town records," she said.
Nagengast said cost could be offset with state grant money.
In Knox
Two run for town judge
Republican Bonnie Donati is challenging Democratic incum-bent Linda Quay for one of the town’s two justice posts. Knox’s town justices serve four-year terms. If the Knox’s preliminary budget is passed, town justices will be paid $9,654 in 2008.
Dems’ Quay seeks fourth term as town judge
By Tyler Schuling
KNOX — Democratic incum-bent Linda Quay is seeking her fourth four-year term for town justice. She defeated Republican candidate Jonathan Francis in 2003.
Quay could not be reached for comment.
In Enterprise election coverage from 2003, Quay said she is unbiased and makes every effort to have an impartial court.
She was raised in Knox, and graduated from Berne-Knox-Westerlo High School in 1974.
Quay, 50, worked at BKW for 10 years as a teaching assistant.
She was appointed as the town’s court clerk for 12 years and was elected as town clerk, serving for eight years.
While working as a court clerk, for three justices, includ-ing her father, she developed a respect for the position, she said in 2003. "I totally admired the men that I worked for," she said. "I saw a lot of what they did."
Quay has a good rapport with the attorneys and police agencies who come to the court, she said.
She said working with chil-dren has helped her understand the ones who come before her court. "I’ve dealt with a lot of kids," she said. "I can under-stand them, but I can have a firm hand."
GOP’s Donati makes first run
By Tyler Schuling
KNOX — Bonnie Donati is making her first run for town office as the Republican Party’s candidate for town justice.
"I’ve always worked within a legal aspect," said Donati.
Donati, 62, is running against long-time Democratic incumbent Linda Quay.
Donati, now retired, worked for 30 years for different civic organizations — the state tax department, the state’s depart-ment of law, the New York City park and violations bureau, and the State Insurance Fund. She worked at the attorney general’s office in 1993 when the World Trade Center was infiltrated by terrorists.
Donati is also endorsed by the Independence and Conservative parties.
Throughout her career, Donati said, she worked within certain parameters — with time limits, rules, laws, and where "nothing can be bent." She has worked in information, she said, with cataloguing and Freedom of Information Law requests. She has also adjusted claims, she said.
Donati grew up in Guilderland and lived in Knox in the 1970s and 1980s. Her husband, Alfred Donati Jr., a state supreme court judge, died in 1997. The couple lived in New York City.
After her husband’s death, Donati retired early, at age 55, and moved upstate to where her parents lived. She lives on a farm in Knox and raises horses.
Her daughter, who now works for the state’s social service department, graduated from Berne-Knox-Westerlo and then from The College of Saint Rose with a degree in English education.
Donati graduated from Guilderland Central School and from City College in New York, ma-joring in medieval literature.
"Running for town justice is something that is totally in my background," she said. Donati said she did personal law for her husband, who was also a lawyer. After work, she said, she went to court and watched her husband and lawyers she considers "some of the best." While attending the sessions, she learned courtroom procedure, she said.
To be a judge, she said, "You have to have a certain type of personality"You have to have"a judicial temperament." Judges "can’t go overboard" and "have to have a command and respect for the office," she said.
"I believe I have that and can bring it to the table," Donati said. She said she is a person who, if she is going to do some-thing, she’s going to do it "100-percent."
Donati is also a paralegal — one step beyond a legal secretary — who performs the same tasks as a legal secretary, and also researches and "gives the lawyers the facts."
Paralegals are also taught how to read certain documents, she said.
"It’s mind-boggling sometimes," Donati said of legal terminology and writing. "Those conjunctions throw you, believe me."
Donati said it will be difficult to get elected.
Knox is a Democratic town, she said.
"The downside is: I’m not related to anybody," she said, referring to her opponent.
For Knox town clerk
Liddle challenges Swain
Democrat Deborah Liddle is challenging Republican incum-bent Kimberly Swain for Knox Town Clerk. The part-time post is for a two-year term. If the town’s preliminary budget is passed this fall, the town clerk will be paid $11,978 in 2008.
Republican Swain seeks second term
By Tyler Schuling
KNOX — Republican incum-bent Kimberly Swain is running for a second two-year term for town clerk.
Swain said her strength is that she is good with the public.
"I’m a people person," she said. "That’s for sure."
Swain, 29, is a stay-at-home mom. She has two children. She has lived in Knox her whole life, and graduated from Berne-Knox-Westerlo High School.
Swain defeated Deborah Liddle in 2005. Liddle had held the office since 2000.
After she won two years ago, Swain said she may have won because she visited over 800 homes during her campaign.
Swain said this month that she didn’t think she would get elected in 2005, and she is still learning the job. Before she was elected two years ago, Swain worked for about seven years at Atlas Copco in Voorheesville, a company that sells turbines and compressors.
Throughout this year, officials have discussed renovating Town Hall.
Swain said she agrees there is a need to make the hall accessible to those with handicaps.
"A lot of older folks have a dif-ficult time coming up the stairs to see me," she said. "Storage is a big concern," Swain said, add-ing that a lot of the town’s files are located in the attic and hard to get to if someone needs some-thing right away.
The town’s office computer, which, she said, has WordPerfect, an outdated program, could be updated. "But," she said, "for a smaller town, I guess we really don’t need something high-tech."
Swain is also endorsed by the Independence and Conservative parties.
Liddle looks to get her old job back
By Tyler Schuling
KNOX — Democrat Deborah Liddle is challenging Republican incumbent Kimberly Swain for town clerk.
Liddle was defeated by Swain in 2005 after serving three two-year terms, from 2000 to 2006. Liddle has been the town’s court clerk, an appointed position, since 1996. She was a deputy town clerk, also appointed, from 1983 to 2000.
Liddle said she doesn’t know what happened in the last election.
"Everybody was a little upset and shocked," she said. Liddle said she thinks she owes it to people in the town to try to win the office back.
"I think your actions speak for themselves," she said.
Liddle, 49, is divorced and has a daughter and a 4-year-old grandson, she said.
She graduated from Berne-Knox-Westerlo High School and then earned some college credits at Schenectady County Community College while studying criminology.
She has lived on Middle Road in Knox since 1974. She has worked for the state’s Department of Transportation as a secretary for nearly 23 years.
Liddle served 10 years with the Altamont Rescue Squad, got her defibrillator license, and has been a first-aid instructor. She is a notary public and Knox’s deputy registrar of vital statistics. She has worked for the county and the post office and has her own cake business.
"I just like to be busy, and I like a variety of things," said Liddle.
Liddle said it is not uncommon for her to work multiple jobs.
Liddle said that, as town clerk, she never charged for her mileage. Charging for mileage, a town official would make more at the end of the year than the budget calls for, she said. She performed her job as a clerk in "a timely and cost-effective way" to save the town money, and "treats things as her own," she said. She questions whether purchases are necessary, she said.
"I like things to be neat and organized," Liddle said.
Liddle said she has hand-delivered licenses to residents, which saves on postage.
She is able to accommodate "both the clerk side and court side," she said. Liddle said that recently a person was ticketed for not having a dog license and had to make four trips to Town Hall to take care of a ticket and to obtain a license. Had Liddle been at the hall, she said, she could have taken care of both that night.
On proposed renovations to Town Hall, Liddle said the town court definitely needs to be bigger and more space is needed for files. Town court is every Wednesday at 6 p.m. On the first Wednesday of every month, the hall is packed with public defenders, sheriff’s deputies, and State Police.
"You’ve got people all over the place," she said.
All of the clerk’s files should remain at the hall, and not be taken home, she said.
Liddle said, because Town Hall is not accessible to those with handicaps, she has had to meet people at the entrance and in the parking lot at their cars.
Town Hall, she said, "does need a little TLC."
There is "critical and sensitive" information at Town Hall, such as Social Security numbers, driver’s license numbers, and dates of birth, Liddle said, that needs to be "under lock and key," and there are policies that need to be followed. The town clerk, she said, needs to be on time, organized, efficient, and to act in a professional manner.
When she left the office, Liddle said, everything was left in perfect order.
Had an audit been performed, auditors would have been able to find anything, she said.
"All of it would have been accounted for," Liddle said.
For receiver of taxes
Catalfamo challenges Palombo
Karen Catalfamo, again, is challenging Delia "Barney" Palombo, the town’s longtime receiver of taxes. The part-time office is a two-year term that will pay $4,540.
Palumbo an incumbent for 25 years
By Tyler Schuling
KNOX — Delia Palombo is making another run for receiver of taxes in Knox. Palombo, a Democrat, has held the position for 25 years.
"It keeps my mind active," she said. Palombo is 85 and retired.
She and her late husband, Harry, owned the Township Tavern. Harry Palombo died in 1981, and she sold the restaurant in 1987.
While growing up in Massachusetts, Palombo attended school through 10th grade.
She then moved to Knox in 1956 and has lived there since. She is a member of the Altamont Seniors and attends St. Bernadette’s Church in Berne. She is a former member of the ladies’ auxiliary.
Palombo said she is running because she enjoys her job and meeting people.
She no longer drives a car, she said. Residents come to her house and call each day, she said, to learn how much they paid the previous year or to obtain copies of receipts they lose. She is also at Town Hall three Saturdays in January, she said.
"I’ve met a lot of nice people," she said.
The town’s records are now computerized, she said, making record-keeping more efficient.
"We do need a new town hall," Palombo said. "We’re running out of storage," she said, adding that accessibility is difficult for those with handicaps.
Knox, she said, is one of the lowest taxed towns in the state and has nice facilities.
"I’m very happy with my job," Palombo said. "I hope I get re-elected."
Catalfamo tries again
By Tyler Schuling
KNOX — Karen Catalfamo is making a second run for tax collector in Knox in this fall’s election.
Catalfamo made an unsuccessful first run two years ago against incumbent Delia Palombo.
Catalfamo, 42, said she is running because she thinks she is a good candidate for the job. She has worked in the bookkeeping field for over 15 years, she said.
Enrolled in the Independence Party, Catalfamo is endorsed by the Republican and Conservative parties.
Originally from Albany, she has lived in Knox for 16 years. She graduated from Guilderland High School and attended the State University of New York College of Agriculture and Technology at Cobleskill for one year.
Catalfamo has been married for 20 years and has two children.
Currently employed by the New York State Association of Counties in Albany, she worked for Price Chopper for 16 years, she said, with about six years in the company’s office.
She has worked in both national and state associations, for Capital Hill Management Services for 15 years, she said, and for Dime Savings Bank for five years.
"I’ve been around money a lot," Catalfamo said.
If elected as Knox’s receiver of taxes, Catalfamo would be available in the evenings and on the weekends during the morning, in the afternoons, or at night, she said.
For highway super
Salisbury runs unopposed
By Tyler Schuling
KNOX — Gary Salisbury, Knox’s superintendent of highways is running unopposed in this fall’s election. An enrolled Republican, he is cross-endorsed by the Democrats.
Salisbury, 43, grew up in Knox and graduated from Berne-Knox-Westerlo High School. He was first elected superintendent in 2003, after working for the department for 16 years.
He is married and has two girls. He volunteers with the Patroon Land Foundation, which raises crops for a local food bank that serves the poor.
Salisbury is also endorsed by the Conservative and Independence parties.
He is running because he really enjoys the job, he said. If the preliminary budget is approved, Salisbury will earn $50,661 in 2008.
Salisbury said he has a good relationship with the department’s seven employees
Upcoming department projects include work at the transfer station, which he hopes will begin in 2008, and an ongoing project to chip-seal gravel town roads, he said.