George Snyder (politician)

George Snyder
Member of the Maryland Senate
from the district
In office
1959–1974

George Elmer Snyder (January 12, 1929 – April 5, 2017[1]) was an American politician, businessman, inventor, and marketing professional. He served in the Maryland State Senate from 1959 to 1974, and was Chairman of the Senate Finance Committee and Senate Majority Leader from 1971 to 1974.

Biography

Born in Hagerstown, Maryland, Snyder went to the Hagerstown public schools. He then graduated from the University of Maryland and attended the University of Maryland School of Law. Snyder was married to Karen Englehart Snyder and had six children and ten grandchildren.[2] He served in elected office as a Democrat,[2] although he ran as a Republican in the 1982 Florida Senate Race for the seat occupied by Lawton Chiles.[1] He served as the President of the National Taxpayers Union and led a nationwide effort to pass a Balanced Budget Amendment to the United States Constitution.

Maryland General Assembly

  • Member of Maryland State Senate, 1959–74
  • Chair, Aviation, Roads, and Transportation Committee, 1963–66
  • Correctional Administration Committee, 1965–68
  • Taxation and Fiscal Matters Committee, 1965–68
  • Special Joint Committee on Prisons, 1967
  • Finance Committee, 1971–74
  • Member, Legislative Council, 1971–74
  • Majority leader, 1971–74

Balanced Budget Amendment and the National Taxpayers Union

Snyder lobbied and testified before more than 40 state legislatures in a campaign to get the states to force a constitutional convention to pass a Balanced Budget Amendment.[3] By 1979, the effort to push the states to support an amendment had made serious progress with 29 of the 34 states required for a constitutional convention. An opposition effort was led by Massachusetts Lt. Governor Thomas P. O'Neill III and a group of labor and liberal cause organizations including the AFL–CIO and Common Cause.[4]

After the departure of Grover Norquist from the leadership of the National Taxpayers Union in 1982, Snyder was appointed Executive Director.

Later career

Snyder moved to Sarasota, Florida and worked as a business consultant. He became a Republican and ran against United States Senator Lawton Chiles in the Florida United States Election of 1982. He was defeated in the Republican primary. In 2006, Snyder moved to Blowing Rock, North Carolina. He died at the Glenbridge Health and Rehabilitation Center in Boone.[5]

Bibliography

  • Don't Be a Spin Sucker: What You Need to Know to Restore the Republic Our Founding Fathers Envisioned, Writers Club Press, October 2000, ISBN 0-595-14529-9
  • Beyond the Game Plan, Hub Publishers, 1974, ISBN B0006CDS2Y
  • PQ Trumps IQ, Xlibris, April 2010, ISBN 1-4500-8453-2 (self-published)

References

  1. 1 2 Baker, Tamela (4/7/2017). "Former Md. Sen. George Snyder dies at 88". The Herald-Mail. Retrieved 4/11/2017. Check date values in: |access-date=, |date= (help)
  2. 1 2 /html/snyder.html Maryland State Senate Archives
  3. ↑ "CONSTITUTIONAL AMENDMENT DRIVE ON BALANCED BUDGET PUSHED ANEW". The New York Times. March 6, 1981.
  4. ↑ "Working Against a Balanced Budget Convention," Richard E. Cohen. The National Journal. April 21, 1979.
  5. ↑ Baker, Tamela (April 7, 2017). "Former Md. Sen. George Snyder dies at 88". Herald-Mail Media. Retrieved April 9, 2017.
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