Surrounded by his family, Lewis County Undersheriff Rob Snaza, center-left, reacts after it was announced that he held a 50-point lead over challenger Brian Green on Tuesday evening at the Historic Lewis County Courthouse in Chehalis.
Current Lewis County Sheriff Steve Mansfield and Undersheriff Rob Snaza pose for cameras after preliminary election showed that Snaza held a 50-point lead over challenger Brian Green on Tuesday evening at the Historic Lewis County Courthouse in Chehalis.
Lewis County Auditor Gary Zandell, left, talks with Lewis County Undersheriff Rob Snaza after it was announced that Snaza held a 50-point lead over challenger Brian Green on Tuesday evening at the Historic Lewis County Courthouse in Chehalis.
Thurston County and Lewis County will have twin sheriffs.
Lewis County Undersheriff Rob Snaza appears to have moved up in law enforcement after voters overwhelmingly chose him as Lewis County sheriff Tuesday.
His twin brother, John Snaza, is the Thurston County sheriff.
Preliminary results show Snaza, a Republican, received 12,733 votes for 77.29 percent of the total tally. Brian Green, running as an independent, earned 3,741 votes for 22.71 percent of the initial count.
The next count is Friday.
When Snaza announced he captured 77 percent of the vote to family, friends and colleagues gathered at the Riverside Golf Club in Chehalis, the crowd burst into applause and cheers.
“I’m humbled the community supports me that much,” he said.
Snaza said he plans to dive straight into the job and is excited to work with the community, county government and cities to provide the best service possible.
Snaza said he enjoyed talking to Green during the election season and thought he made some valid points.
Green said he thinks Snaza will do a great job as sheriff.
Although the numbers show Green lost the race, he said he won in a way because he got to meet many people and learn about issues facing the county.
Green, who manages and performs in the Brian Green Band, said now that the election is over, he’ll probably go back to playing music and keep watching county and court issues.
In a previous editorial board interview with The Chronicle, Snaza said he wants to better Lewis County as a whole. He hopes to build partnerships, particularly through deputies participating in programs in schools.
Snaza has served in the Lewis County Sheriff’s Office for more than 20 years. He is part of the Regional Drug Task Force and Marine Patrol and is the SWAT team commander for the Sheriff’s Office. He has more than 2,000 hours of law enforcement training.
Snaza is married and has two daughters. His twin brother, John Snaza, is the sheriff in neighboring Thurston County.
Snaza is also a commissioner for Lewis County Fire District 5 in Napavine.
On the campaign trail, Snaza has acknowledged a need for help with mental health care. He said at an Onalaska candidate forum that the Sheriff’s Office is seeing more people with mental health, drug addiction and alcohol issues and an increase in costs in medical care at the Lewis County Jail is constricting the budget for the Sheriff’s Office.
Both Green and Snaza were both against Washington State Initiative 594, which sought to require background checks for all gun deals, including private sales.
Green is an Onalaska resident and self-described constitutionalist. According to the Lewis County elections website, he served in the U.S. Navy and has experience in advertising. While campaigning he said his focus was individual rights.
At an October forum, Green said he doesn’t think the way law enforcement is handling drug issues is working. He said the majority of drugs in the U.S. come from outside the country and stopping them from coming in would get rid of some issues.
Election results will be certified Nov. 25.
