When Leo Shew campaigned for the position of highway superintendent of Sanford in 2022, he took the stance that it's a job, not a position. He wasn't interested in the status of the title or the perks of the position. He vowed to put the needs of the town before his own and faithfully serve the community where he grew up.
He ran as a Democrat in a Republican township — and won. Every day since then, he's been fulfilling that campaign promise.
"I wanted the job," said Leo. "I worked to get the job, and now I'm going to do the job. You don't work for any one individual in this job, you work for the taxpayers. I try to give them their money's worth every day."
Serving Sanford
For the first six months Leo was on the job, he worked 6 a.m. to 6 p.m. six days a week. Much of that time was spent rebuilding. He re-established shared services agreements with other towns, as well as vendor relations, employee relations and relationships with the town government.
Town of Sanford Highway Department photo
"It is very important to have a board that you can work with," he said. "I am blessed to have both a town supervisor and a board that are interested and willing to work with me and back me up."
The new town supervisor finalized an equipment committee, a building committee and two road committees. Leo then made changes to how the paperwork is handled in the office and redefined the deputy superintendent's job description and opened up lines of communication with the deputy regarding the town's roads and with the mechanic on where the tax dollars are best spent.
"The deputy and I document all day-to-day tasks, material usage per road and issues that come up," Leo said.
He and the department's mechanic document all repairs and service to the equipment and he began keeping rigorous track of the department's spending.
"I am always aware that in this job, you are responsible for the safety and welfare of a lot of people and the highway department budget."
On the Job Training
Leo is still new to the job, having previously been self-employed as the owner of two construction companies — in general construction and excavation.
"I like construction and dirt work, but every day I learn something in this job," he said.
To educate himself so that he can improve his performance, he attends highway school every year and takes intermittent classes throughout the year.
He said he's getting "a little more in tune with the CHIPS program every year, but confesses that he knew little about the program, which makes up about a quarter of his budget, in his early days in office.
"Other town superintendents talked to me about it," he said. "It's tough to get the most bang for your buck out of CHIPS and know how much to cover out of my own budget."
That budget is "right around $2 million," with CHIPS allotment of approximately $500,00.
"We can easily spend $1,300 for tree removal," he said. "Then, there's blacktop, gravel, resurfacing and calcium chloride. I tried dust control oil last year; I try to stay up on new products and processes for keeping our roads in good shape. I was very impressed. It holds up, but it's twice the price."
During his first year in office, Leo had to deal with windmills. Northland Power had to seek permission and pay for installation. While that can be lucrative for the town, it also imposes a hardship. Each windmill is roughly 700 ft. tall and requires approximately 700 yds. of concrete per base.
"The roads took a beating," he said. "They hauled rebar, concrete, sand, soil and windmill parts. It affected several roads. There was a huge amount of damage."
It was his job, along with the town supervisor, to negotiate with the windmill company to make sure they repaired the roads.
Town of Sanford Highway Department photo
Repairing road damage from windmill construction pales in comparison with what he had to contend with in his second year on the job. Hurricane Debby hit the area on Aug. 9, 2024. The second hurricane of the 2024 Atlantic hurricane season and officially dubbed a slow-moving, destructive post-tropical cyclone, it caused record rainfall, widespread flooding, property damage and loss of lives in the eastern United States and Canada. New York Gov. Kathy Hochul declared a state of emergency.
Although Sanford's neighboring townships sustained minimal damage, the small town in Broome County saw 40 roads affected by the storm.
"Friday, when the storm came, we had 13 roads closed," Leo said. "By Saturday, we got down to just three [closed]."
In addition to washed-out roads, several pipes had shifted or separated due to the debris coming down the creek plugging them.
"We had holes 15 feet to 20 feet long and 8 feet to 10 feet wide," Leo said.
Because there was more damage than the town could fix, he logged a lot of calls to various state entities, looking for help.
Some assistance came from the state, which loaned them four 6-ft. diameter pipes. More aid came from the surrounding townships, which provided men and equipment to repair the roads. More assistance came from Gerick Construction, which helped make a dead-end road passable, thereby gaining access to people trapped on the other side.
"It was stressful," Leo said.
By January, the highway department got two roads open and two others with one lane open. They had lost 2,600 ft. of road, 5 ft. deep.
"The road was just gone," Leo said.
The New Yorker said he'd never seen roads damaged that bad and that Sanford had never experienced a storm like it. He attributed it to climate change and pointed out that his campaign emphasized that they'd have to work with a changing climate and that they needed upgraded, larger pipes to handle storm surge. One month after the storm, he warned the town board that they couldn't see all the damage the hurricane created and that they should expect things to show up.
Leo's Crew
One of the skills Leo brought with him from his business was the ability to work with a diverse group of people. He had run a mixed union/non-union shop, so he was accustomed to dealing with different types of employee situations.
The boss considers his crew of nine to be a "good mix" of seasoned employees and up-and-comers, with five HEOs, three MEOs and one mechanic. He said he's blessed with a good deputy and a really good mechanic.
"He knows the trucks and is a really good mechanic [who] keeps good records on what has been done to each and every piece of equipment we have. He can weld and fabricate, as well."
Experience goes hand-in-hand with talent.
Town of Sanford Highway Department photo
"They need to know the roads during blinding snow," Leo said.
Many of his crewmembers have been with the department a long time.
• Tom Mills, HEO: 38 years
• Andy Dagati, HEO: 17 years
• Scott Bowie, mechanic: 15 years
• Shaun Rynearson, HEO: 14 years
• Craig Card, HEO: 10 years
• Matt Barilla, MEO: five years
• Jason Eldrid, HEO: four years
• Jesse Caskey, MEO: three years
• Steve Logue, MEO: three years
• Dick Grifford, deputy superintendent
Leo also hires one part-time person during the summer. In his first year, he hired a female to clean sanders, run smaller trucks and do assorted tasks.
"She came from a good family and was ambitious," he said. "She swept the floors at the end of the day. That was good for the guys to see a young person wanting to work."
In addition to maintaining the department's vehicles, mechanic Scott Bowie built a blade to put on the excavator bucket for cleaning under the guiderails.
"He designed a piece to push material under the guiderail using an old carbide," Leo said. "The steel frame was mounted on an excavator. The bucket reaches over and back through the rail to pull out debris."
Another time-saving device the Sanford crew developed was a system to raise and lower the road rake. Using the pump, the plow control on one of their one-ton pickups raises and lowers the road rake.
"We ran hydraulic lines from the front to the back of the truck and put a cylinder on the rake," Leo said. "This saves getting out of the truck to raise or lower the rake when turning."
Equipment Inventory, Wish List
The Sanford Highway Department equipment inventory includes:
• 2012 International 10-wheeler dump truck
• 2018 International 10-wheeler dump truck
• 2006 Sterling 10-wheeler dump truck
• 2000 Autocar 10-wheeler dump truck
• 2009 Sterling single-axle dump truck
• 2006 Volvo 10-wheeler dump truck
• 2008 GMC 5500
• 2012 Ford F350 Super Duty
• 2018 Ford F550 dump truck
• 1998 Woodchuck chipper
• BOMAG blacktop roller
• 1987 Ingersoll Rand DD35 roller
• 2017 New Holland TS6 110 4WD tractor with an Alamo over-the-rail mower
• New Holland TL90 with front bucket
• 2019 Cat 420XE 4WD backhoe
• 2019 Cat 938M loader
• 1988 850 Gallion grader
• 2021 John Deere 672G 6WD grader
• 2015 Broce broom
• 2013 Volvo EW160D excavator
• 1996 Custom Country 20-ton trailer
• 2014 Cross Country 11,684-lb. trailer
• Two Army Surplus road rakes
The department needs a 15-ton rubber-track excavator, Leo said, and he has plans to update trucks and a chipper, but it's the facilities that will get the real upgrade.
"We're setting up an equipment program, as this is one of a rural township's year-to-year obstacles because equipment only costs more and more every year."
The crew has been working out of a shop that Leo doesn't even know the age of, but site work has begun on one of the three parcels owned by the town. The third town parcel is where they store stone and gravel and do pug milling, but it's the second parcel that is undergoing big changes.
Town of Sanford Highway Department photo
By September, the current site of the department's 4,100-ton-capacity salt/sand storage building might be home to the new 180-ft. by 90-ft. shop, 60-ft. by 80-ft. cold storage building and a 100-ft. by 100-ft. salt building. "I hope to be in by September before I order salt," Leo said.
The crew likes to mix a small amount of salt with the sand to keep it from freezing. They also add ¼ bucket of salt to sand for "hot loads." Together, the crew clears 199 lane mi, 33 percent of which are gravel. This requires six plow routes, each of which takes four to five hours.
Home Turf
When they're not clearing snow off the roads, the highway crew are working to improve them — the superintendent's favorite part of the job. Work currently under way includes resurfacing roads and large pipe replacement.
"We try to do major overhauls on one or two sections of road every year," Leo said. "There are a couple gravel roads I'd like to hardtop, but I have a lot of roads to get more manageable first."
The town of Sanford sits on former farmland in the foothills of the Catskills, in the Finger Lakes region of New York southwest of Syracuse. It was first settled circa 1787 by William McClure, a surveyor employed to survey a tract of land known as Fisher and Norton's Patent, aka Livingston's Patent.
Among the early settlers was the Sanford family, originally from England. When land on the east side of the town of Windsor was divided off in 1821, the new town adopted the name of these early residents.
A close community with a small-town feel, its current population is less than 2,500. Known for excellent schools, good restaurants, outdoor activities and a quiet atmosphere, the town has been attracting big city dwellers looking for a place to escape to, Leo said.
It's been his home all his life and it's where he lives with his girlfriend, Deb Proffitt. He has raised three girls and one boy here. His oldest girl is married, one lives in Windsor, and one lives in Albany, but his son is still in high school.
What's not to like about Sanford? Breathtaking views of rolling hills, wooded valleys and lush vineyards are common. Leo pointed out that there are six large lakes in the area. He enjoys fishing for bass, perch, crappie and bluegill on Blueberry Lake when he has time, but between his job as highway superintendent and the side work in plumbing, electrical and remodeling he continues to do, there's little time for other hobbies.
Beyond Roadwork
While the crew works 6 a.m. to 2:30 p.m., Leo often works longer hours. He's on the cemetery board and his department is responsible for mowing the cemeteries. He also maintains the building and grounds for an old local theater, where he's responsible for changing the marquee when new movies come to town.
Letting the public know about matters more urgent than the latest movie title is typically conducted by phone in the small town. He enjoys dealing with the public most of the time and makes sure he's visible, so they know he's "out there for them." He tries to educate the residents on what his department is doing and why. "Usually, that takes care of the situation," he said.
Dealing with employees has its ups and downs, he said.
"I try to keep in mind each employee is different. They have different personalities, different abilities and different ideas of what they want out of their job and time here."
He keeps in contact with his crew via county-wide radio and works particularly closely with his deputy and mechanic, as well as the town supervisor. He considers communication and cooperation of high importance in a job like this.
Town of Sanford Highway Department photo
"Every day, you deal with people," he said. "Everyone on the crew, vendors, subcontractors, engineers, taxpayers, the board, etc."
Some days, he says he's nothing more than an administrator — mid-level management. Other days, he's not so sure it can be pigeonholed that way.
"At different times, you are an administrator, a laborer, a boss, a student, a teacher, a phycologist, a meteorologist, an engineer and a desk jockey."
Wearing all those hats can be tricky, but Leo remembers at the age of five, he watched his dad, who worked in construction after leaving the Army.
"I learned to delegate," he said, adding he set high standards for his crew. "I'm very particular, but not a perfectionist. I take pride in my work. It's a tough job."
Next Election
It may be a tough job, but it's one he's always been interested in.
"I was friends with the superintendent before the one I replaced. We talked about the job a lot."
Now that he's got his dream job, his feelings about it haven't changed. Proud of getting the town's roads through a natural disaster, he said it's hard to get everything done in four years, so he plans to run again when his term expires in 2026.
He believes his prospects for re-election are good, as he joked that "it doesn't matter what you do in the summer; if you get people to work in the winter [by clearing the roads], you'll get elected. In this job safety is a top priority for the crew and anyone traveling the town's roads."
Make no mistake about why he'll run again: It's not about the image or the perks, it's about taking care of the town and leaving it in better shape than when he found it. P
