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Local advocates tell commissioners Skagit needs more public defenders; calls to protect due process
Summary
Speakers during public comment urged the county to address what they described as a shortage of public defenders and broader due-process concerns; Rebecca Peck said the county needs 22 more public defenders and urged using new tax authority to fund hires.
Rebecca Peck (BOE) told commissioners that Skagit County needs more public defenders to reduce caseloads to legally required levels. "At the Skagit County level, we need 22 more public defenders to get the case loads down to what is now legally required," she said, adding that the county has 10 years to meet that requirement.
Peck suggested the county could use a newly available tax to fund hires and described the issue as directly tied to the Constitution and due process. Her remarks linked local responsibility for ensuring defense capacity with the county’s broader obligations.
Anthony Romano of Rockport offered an individualized account alleging due-process failures: he said he has been slandered, had property issues including disputed water rights and restraining orders by code enforcement, and described himself as a victim of the county’s handling of his case. Romano presented these as personal claims rather than findings by the board or staff.
The transcript records public comment and commissioners listening; the meeting record does not include a detailed plan or vote on new public-defender hires during this session. Separately, the chair noted that she had testified in Olympia in favor of adding a fifth Superior Court judge for Skagit County, an action consistent with efforts to expand judicial capacity.
