KNOX — The two Republican-backed incumbents on the Knox Town Board, Kenneth Saddlemire and Karl Pritchard, kept their seats while the Democratic supervisor, who did not seek re-election, will be replaced by a Republican, Traci Delaney — making the board entirely GOP-backed.

Delaney, currently the town clerk, will be Knox’s first female supervisor after three women previously failed to win the post.

The Republican highway superintendent, Matthew Schanz, was ousted by Joshua Gebe, an independent, who ran on the Democratic and Conservative party lines.

Knox, like Berne and Westerlo, had town boards dominated by Democrats for decades as most voters were Democrats but, in recent years, Republicans made inroads until the entire board was GOP-backed.

Delaney got close to 59 percent of the vote for supervisor: 355 on the Republican line and 170 on the conservative line.

She bested Democrat Chasity McGivern, making her first run for a town office, who got 41 percent of the vote with 367 votes on the Democratic line.

All results reported here are unofficial, posted Election Night by the Albany County Board of Elections.

Delaney, who has been Knox’s clerk for eight years, wrote to The Enterprise before the election, saying, “I believe I am known for my integrity, teamwork, accountability, and dedication to doing the right thing, even if it is not the most popular decision.”

She also said her main goals are “to offer more community-based gatherings to bring our town residents closer together, to strengthen our town relationships with our surrounding communities, to work with a balanced budget that relates to the needs of the entire town and the town’s long-term financial stability.”

On Jan. 1, she will replace Democrat Russell Pokorny who served two terms as supervisor.

In a three-way race for two town board seats, Saddlemire, a farmer who serves as deputy supervisor, was the top vote-getter by a wide margin with close to 38 percent of the vote; he had 386 votes on the Republican line and 173 on the Conservative line for a total of 559.

Pritchard, a mechanic and business owner, squeaked out a win over Democratic challenger Justin Zimmer by just 6 votes, according to the unofficial results.

Pritchard got 318 votes on the Republican line and 141 votes on the Conservative line for a total of 459.

Zimmer, a construction manager, got 453 votes, entirely on the Democratic line.

Longtime tax collector, Elizabeth Walk, was unchallenged. She received 459 votes on the Republican line and 221 votes on the Conservative line.

Political newcomer Tiffany Snyder was unopposed for town clerk. She received 446 votes on the Republican line and 215 votes on the Conservative line.

Incumbent Town Justice Timothy Frncis was also unopposed. He received 437 votes on the Republican line, and 218 on the Conservative line.

Joshua Gebe received over 52 percent of the vote for highway superintendent: 344 votes on the Democratic line and 126 on the Conservative line.

Schanz received 431 votes, entirely on the Republican line.

He has worked for the highway department since 2004 and ran on his record. He wrote to The Enterprise before the election, “Despite a significant inflationary increase in fixed costs over recent years, I have never exceeded my budget in part by appropriately staffing our highway department, prioritizing essential maintenance, and negotiating materials and equipment costs at every turn.”

He also wrote, “My team and I have focused on responsive service and open communication.” Six members of the Knox highway crew signed a letter in support of him.

Gebe works for the Berne Highway Department, has run his own trucking business, and volunteers as a firefighter.

He told The Enterprise before the election, “I’m running to offer the transparency, integrity, and steady commitment our community deserves.”

Gebe said the most important issue in the race is “the lack of collaboration between Knox and our surrounding highway departments … I would take a proactive approach to rebuild these relationships.”

This past winter, Knox disagreed with Albany county’s accusation that the town misappropriated $18,000 worth of road salt from the shed it shares with the county.

Asked about this, Gebe said, “Knox can either build its own salt shed for full control and transparency or pursue a shared resource agreement with Albany County. Independent storage ensures accountability but requires upfront investment A joint oversight plan with clear tracking, regular meetings, and shared upgrade coil rebuild trust and improve collaboration whole mating access to shar resources.”