Rick Bart* - Snohomish County Sheriff
Age: 55
Residence: Marysville
Occupation: Snohomish County sheriff
Education: A.A., law enforcement, Shoreline Community College; B.A., criminal justice, Seattle University; FBI National Academy
Community/political experience: Board member, National Sheriffs' Association, Families and Friends of Missing Persons and Violent Crime Victims, Jim Lambright Foundation; member, Rotary Club; co-chair, Washington Association of Sheriffs and Police Chiefs traffic safety committee, Snohomish County Meth Action Group; spokesman, Washington state Three Flags Program; member, Governor's Organized Crime Committee.
Campaign Web site: sheriffrickbart.com
Questions:
1. How will you address your top three priorities for the position?
1. Add more deputies and increase staffing resources. 2. Establish a countywide emergency-radio system by completing three defined 800-MHz phases. 3. Foster better relationships between the sheriff's office and the diverse cultures in Snohomish County by creating a citizens advisory council.
2. What service/staff member/capital project would you most want to add to the department you'd head?
I would create a Methamphetamine Strike Team.
3. The majority of the budget goes to criminal-justice expenditures. Should they be scaled back or other services cut instead?
Public safety is the most important element of government. It should not be scaled back. However, money should be spent on the front end of the justice system on preventive programs such as Drug Court, Teen Court, drug-and-alcohol prevention programs and domestic-violence programs.