Low faces 3 challengers in 39th district House race

LAKE STEVENS — State Rep. Sam Low is looking to defend his seat from a retired nurse, a former state rep and a construction worker with a questionable background.

Low, also a County Council member, is a former small business owner and Lake Stevens City Council member.

Kathryn Lewandowsky, retired after 38 years in nursing, serves as the vice chair for Whole Washington, a grassroots coalition advocating for universal health care.

Robert Sutherland, a former biochemist specializing in cancer treatment therapies, made comments about election fraud ahead of the 2021 siege on the U.S. Capitol. After being elected to the state House in 2018, he was re-elected in 2020 before losing to Low in 2022.

Zephaniah Borynack did not respond to The Daily Herald’s interview requests, but his background is colored by criminal charges, alleged domestic abuse and religious extremism that contradict the progressive claims he makes in his voters’ pamphlet statement.

The district includes eastern Skagit and Snohomish counties and northeastern King County. It is mostly rural.

Republicans hold all three legislative seats in the district.

The candidates cited education, taxes and housing as among the top issues. In interviews, Low, Lewandowsky and Sutherland all declined to say who they plan to vote for in the presidential election.

The top two candidates from the primary will advance to the November general election. Ballots are due Aug. 6.

Sam Low

Low ousted Sutherland in 2022 to take the seat.

His campaign focuses on housing affordability and public safety.

Low sponsored a bill to authorize detached accessory dwelling units (DADUs) in rural areas. It moved out of committee, only to die on the House floor.

“That rural DADU bill is a bill that I believe will help with the affordable housing crisis that people are struggling with,” Low said. “I want to go back to Olympia next year and get that bill over the finish line.”

He wants to hire more deputies and officers, as well as fund public safety resources with a new sales tax that will be on the ballot in November.

He also wants to require the state take on more of the burden for trying the most violent cases, which currently falls mostly on counties.

“These cases can cost upwards of $1 million,” Low said. “It’s not just about putting people in jail. It’s making sure people have a fair defense.”

He has raised $138,390.51 in campaign funds, according to state Public Disclosure Commission filings.

Robert Sutherland

After a two-year absence, Sutherland is looking to return to the state House.

While in office, the Granite Falls Republican made national headlines for his comments about the 2020 election.

“Prepare for war. It appears inevitable at this point,” Sutherland wrote in a Facebook post in December 2020.

He also drew attention for opposing state COVID mandates, joining six other Republicans in suing Democratic leaders for requiring vaccines to be on the House floor.

The Legislative Ethics Board ordered Sutherland to pay a $2,500 fine for violating workplace ethics in 2022, when he allegedly cursed at a security worker denying him entry to a building for refusing to take a mandatory COVID test.

Sutherland’s campaign focuses on election integrity, public safety, housing and transportation.

He plans to reintroduce legislation that would make voting records more transparent.

“I believe it’s designed so that nefarious organizations and groups of people can cheat,” Sutherland said. “That information should be made available, publicly, online, for anyone to look at at, anytime.”

Sutherland argues that the state could better use the budget surplus, allowing them to cut property taxes.

“Many people cannot even afford to pay their property taxes,” Sutherland said. “We are running surpluses in the state year after year. They should give it back to the people.”

He has raised $17,392.53 in campaign funds, according to campaign filings.

Kathryn Lewandowsky

From Arlington, Lewandowsky’s platform is centered around health care, the environment and housing.

If elected, Lewandwosky, an Independent, would push for the Washington Health Trust, which would establish the nation’s first statewide universal health care program.

“I see our health care system as keeping our poor poor, making our middle class poor, and then keeping them there,” Lewandowsky said.

Lewandowsky would advocate for something like Seattle’s social housing program in the 39th’s cities. Last year, Seattle voters passed Initiative 135, establishing an authority to develop more affordable, publicly owned and operated housing. The housing authority is currently petitioning for a payroll tax to fund the program.

”I helped them to collect signatures to get the first measure on the ballot and also now to put in their financing,” Lewandowsky said. “Not every town can do that, but there’s a lot of towns in the United States that can.”

She also stressed the importance of listening to climate experts for solutions, even if they cost more for corporations.

“Businesses have come and gone, that’s how capitalism works. Businesses are replaced by better, newer, less expensive technology,” Lewandowsky said. “We can’t keep passing the buck to the next generation because we just aren’t able to now. It’s here.”

She has not reported any campaign fundraising.

Zephaniah Borynack

Borynack has not responded to the Herald’s requests for an interview.

However, he has a questionable history that contradicts many of his claims.

In 2013, Borynack, along with his brother and father, were arrested in Cherry Valley, California, for investigation of possessing explosives and munitions in an underground bunker beneath their home.

He accepted a plea deal to pay a $140 fine, according to California court documents.

After moving to Washington, his now ex-wife filed for three protection orders against him, citing a pattern of physically and verbally abusive behavior, according to court documents.

Her testimony, as well as the testimony of others close to them, described a “cult-like practice of Christianity,” and “skewed, abusive view of what a woman’s role should be.”

His statement in the voters’ pamphlet revolves around a woman’s right to choose, sustainability and reducing expensive housing costs and violent crime.

He has not reported any campaign fundraising.

Connor Zamora: 425-339-3037; connor.zamora@heraldnet.com; Twitter: @cgzamora02.