Otis Orchards Woman Will Run For Sterk’s House Seat

Lynn Schindler, a conservative touting cuts in taxes and government interference, will run for Rep. Mark Sterk’s 4th District seat in the House of Representatives next fall.

Schindler also plans to seek appointment to Sterk’s House seat if he steps down early - as he has said he will - during the upcoming Legislative session. Sterk, a Spokane police officer, has announced plans to run for Spokane County sheriff.

Either way, the 53-year-old Otis Orchards woman says she’ll spend the session shadowing Sterk and learning the ropes in Olympia. This will be Schindler’s second try at a House position. In 1995, she and Sterk competed for appointment to the same seat, which opened up after Mike Padden accepted an appointment to a District Court Judgeship.

County commissioners voted 2-to-1 for Sterk, despite the fact that Schindler had much wider support among the Republican party’s precinct chairmen.

Schindler later helped Sterk win election to the seat.

“He believes in most of the things I do,” Schindler said.

The difference, she said, is that Sterk’s passion is law and justice. Hers is education.

Schindler, who has 10 children and now home-schools the two youngest, believes the state needs to look closely at the results its schools are producing.

“I think there’s something in the system that’s wrong,” said Schindler, who doesn’t believe more money is the fix.

She said she opposes additional unneeded spending, such as Gov. Gary Locke’s $25 million proposal to create a volunteer tutoring program for reading.

As a legislator, Schindler said she would work to reduce the cost, and interference, of government.

A former vice-chairman of the Spokane County Republican Party, she would like to see additional reductions in the state’s business and occupations tax - and not just a tax credit for businesses that provide training and day-care funding, as Locke has recommended.

She believes vehicle excise taxes must be reduced. People who buy BMWs or other expensive cars shouldn’t be penalized for it, she said.

She’d like to see less reliance on government programs, such as welfare and the Basic Health Plan for the poor.

“I’m not a fan of the Basic Health Plan,” she said. “I’m scared to death that it’s going to grow to mammoth proportions.

“The more people become irresponsible, the more they turn to government for their problems,” she said. “We have to get back to strengthening the family.”

Schindler, a homemaker who helps her husband manage personal and commercial investments, has been active in local Republican groups and activities. She also ran Sen. Bob McCaslin’s reelection campaign in 1996. She has never held public office.

Schindler is the first 4th District candidate seeking Sterk’s position to file public disclosure forms with the county elections office. Official filing for the seat doesn’t open until July.

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