South county mayor aiming for senate

Alicia Robinson

Flying a helicopter on 1,200 combat missions in Vietnam and being

shot down twice left retired Marine Col. Joe Snyder with a greater

appreciation of the freedoms Americans enjoy. Now, Snyder wants to

protect those freedoms for Californians in the state Senate.

Snyder faces 68th District Assemblyman Ken Maddox and 70th

District Assemblyman John Campbell in the March 2 Republican primary

for the 35th District state Senate seat.

This isn’t Snyder’s first time on the ballot. He has run for the

Capistrano Unified School Board and the 48th District congressional

seat, neither of which he won, and he was successful in a 2000 bid

for Dana Point City Council.

His interest in politics is rooted in his military career, during

which he worked as a war planner and government liaison in the

Pentagon under President Reagan.

“I decided right then and there that I could probably do as good a

job or a much better job than most of the people I was working with,”

he said.

Snyder cites the progress in Dana Point during his tenure as proof

of his political abilities. The city operates in the black and has a

budget reserve fund, a strategic plan and a vision statement.

“I tell people that we have a city that runs like a business,” he

said. “My city runs the way the state of California should run.”

Although the pay is low, being mayor is a full-time job and one

Snyder has enjoyed, he said.

He leads city staff, sets the agenda for council and talks

frequently with his constituents.

“If you like people, it’s a wonderful job,” he said. “I love

people and I love campaigning and I love serving. I’ve dedicated my

whole life to it, so it suits me to a T.”

Leadership skills were a lasting benefit of Snyder’s military

experience, and he wants to take those skills to Sacramento, he said.

His experience as mayor will help him in state government, but

he’s not an insider, he said.

“I have no problem telling people what I think or making a stand,”

he said.