National Common Cause plans to restaff Delaware office in the future

Although the organization’s Delaware office has not been staffed for about a year, an official with the Common Cause national office says it will reopen.

“We don’t have an immediate plan to rehire, but Delaware is absolutely a priority for us,” said Heather Ferguson, director of state operations for the Common Cause Education Fund in Washington, D.C.

Claire Snyder-Hall was the previous executive director of Common Cause of Delaware, but had stepped down about a year ago when she decided to run for the state Legislature. She was elected in November to serve the 14th District representing Rehoboth Beach and Lewes.

After Snyder-Hall resigned, Ferguson said the group hired a lobbyist to cover the state Legislature instead of staffing the office.

“There was nobody else in Delaware at the time, and we had other states that we had to bolster up to deal with the administration,” she said.

Long term, the organization’s strategic vision for the future is to have a presence on the ground in all 50 states, she said, but the group is focused on fully staffing offices in states that already have staff.

“It’s not that we don’t want to put resources in Delaware,” she said. “We plan to restaff and reopen a Delaware office in the future.” 

Ferguson said they are working on a timeline to achieve that goal.

As for now, she said the group will continue to keep Delaware voters informed through regular communications letting them know how to stay involved.