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ReElect Judge Chuck Snyder

Campaign News & Upcoming Events

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WHAT IS THE TRUTH ABOUT THE STATE FUNDING?

            Now the real facts have come out about the claim that Judge Chuck Snyder somehow lost Whatcom County a million dollars as reported in the Cascadia Weekly on Wednesday, August 13.
            Friday, August 15, in a post on the Bellingham Herald website, Joanne Moore, the director of the Washington State Office of Public Defense (OPD) explained the situation.
            “It’s absolutely not true,” said Moore.  “It wasn’t because the County didn’t file in time, it was because Whatcom County was never eligible.”
            “We only had enough funding to implement in counties that had a smaller number of dependency and termination cases than Whatcom County,” Moore said.  Those types of cases involve juveniles.  “We would not have been able to fund them” Moore said.
            “The court and county very earnestly contacted us to see if they were eligible for this funding and they have worked very hard to get it,” she said.
            In 2008 the county, the court and the public defender’s office worked with OPD to specifically go to the Legislature and request this money again.  That request was for $500,000.   Moore said it would be impossible to say how much the county would have received in 2007 because they were ineligible for the funding.  The money that was allocated for the 2008 budget was vetoed by Governor Chris Gregoire, so the county didn’t receive any money for this year, either.
            Moore said that she has met with Judge Snyder and the public defender’s office, and they are preparing another state funding request for the upcoming legislative session.  “Whatcom County is at the top of our list to ask for funding for this program.”  Moore said.

Bellingham Herald Endorses Judge Chuck Snyder

In its August 2 issue the Bellingham Herald issued a strong endorsement of Judge Chuck Snyder, saying "Whatcom County Superior Court Judge Chuck Snyder has worked tirelessly for nearly two decades in support of the local judicial system. He deserves reelection to his seat on the bench."

Noting that Judge Snyder has earned a reputation as an innovator with the Drug Court and the Teen Court, the Herald also stated: "That kind of innovation is needed in a court system that is too bogged down, too slow, and too expensive".

The Herald pointed out at the time of its endorsement in 2004 that "...Snyder had the experience, years of involvement and a keen understanding of what was going right, and what needed fixing with the system". The latest endorsement went on to state "Those facts are still true today. We encourage voters to return Chuck Snyder to the Whatcom County Superior Court bench for four more years."

Chuck Snyder to Participate in 2 Candidate Forums

"Chuck will be at the Bill Mize Forum at the Rome Grange on Wednesday, July 23.  The forum begins at 7:00 and is one of Whatcom County's longest-standing political events.  Join us there."

The Whatcom Women Lawyers will hold a forum for the candidates in the Whatcom County Superior Court election on Thursday, July 24 at 5:30 P.M. in the Whatcom County Council Chambers, 311 Grand Avenue.   Please come and meet Chuck and participate in this event.

Judge Chuck Snyder launched his re-election campaign on August 1 at the Hotel Bellwether in Bellingham. Over 100 people were present to hear Bellingham residents Margaret Curtis and Bob Diehl speak about Chuck’s accomplishments their support for him.  Chuck also spoke, outlining his more than 18 years on the Superior Court bench and describing his accomplishments since his election in 2004.