June 5th, 2006
Permanent Defense’s parent organization, NPI, has a report on its Official Blog about Tim Eyman’s latest and most deceptive trickery to date: lying to the media about turning in petitions for Referendum 65.
Eyman recently told the media by email that he was to coming to the Secrretary of State’s office this morning to turn in petitions, but he ended up turning in absolutely nothing.
June 1st, 2006
Good news from the Puget Sound Business Journal:
Whitman County and a coalition of nonprofit groups are suing the state, arguing that Tim Eyman’s Initiative 747, which capped state and local property tax increase at 1 percent per year, is unconstitutional.
At a hearing in King County Superior Court on Friday, June 2, the plaintiffs will argue that I-747 didn’t accurately describe the law it would amend and that the initiative’s ballot title didn’t accurately describe its subject. The group said similar arguments were used to invalidate Initiative 695, another Eyman initiative aimed at reducing car-tab taxes to $30.
The lawsuit is brought by Whitman County and several nonprofits, including Washington Citizen Action, the Welfare Rights Organizing Coalition, and Futurewise, the group formerly known as 1,000 Friends of Washington.
I-747 created a funding crisis for local and state governments, the group said.
“Initiative 747 has taken a dramatic toll on small county governments like those east of the mountains,” said Whitman County Commissioner Jerry Finch. “Under this initiative, our revenue simply cannot keep up with inflation and we are being forced to cut critical services.”
May 31st, 2006
The Executive Committee of the Greater Seattle Chamber of Commerce recently voted (on May 24th, 2006) to oppose Tim Eyman’s Initiative 917, which would destroy some $2.7 billion dollars of sorely needed, statewide transportation funding.
Recommendation
The Executive Committee of the Board of Trustees of the Greater Seattle Chamber of Commerce unanimously opposes Initiative 917 (I-917), an initiative which will likely be before voters in November 2006. This initiative’s negative impact is far-reaching, threatening our region’s social and environmental health as well as its economic health. It would repeal the fee portion of last year’s $8.5 billion Transportation Partnership funding package, repeal much of the multi-modal funding allotted in the 2003 Nickel package, undercut Sound Transit’s ability to collect MVET, and strip RTID of its MVET authority, making it almost exclusively reliant on the sales tax and jeopardizing its ability to craft a balanced and successful package that would complete our region’s most at-risk projects. If approved by voters, the Transportation Revenue Forecast Council estimates that transportation revenue would be reduced by $2.7 billion over the next 16 years.
Background
Last year, the Greater Seattle Chamber of Commerce helped lead a broad coalition of business, labor and environmental organizations to lobby the state legislature for a significant increase in transportation funding. The $8.5 billion transportation funding package that resulted was the Chamber’s number one legislative priority accomplished during that session. The package addresses unsafe and deteriorating roads and bridges throughout Washington State, and provides the multimodal infrastructure improvements that will ensure the safety and productivity of our state’s businesses and their employees. On July 13, 2005, the Chamber’s Board of Trustees opposed Initiative 912 which would have repealed the gas tax portion of that package. The Chamber played a central role in the campaign that successfully defeated Initiative 912. Initiative 917 would repeal the fee portion of this package as well as reduce other local revenues and funding options. Discussion Initiative 917 specifically: Reduces license tab fees to $30 per year for vehicles weighing 20,000 pounds or less. Repeals or reduces a number of fees including truck fees, vehicle weight fees & license plate fees. Removes a portion of the motor vehicle sales tax. Changes the vehicle valuation method for tax and fee purposes from manufacturer’s suggested retail price to a depreciation schedule based on purchase price. Repeals select local and RTID motor vehicle taxes and fees authorized for voter approval. Retires several outstanding bonds that have pledged the motor vehicle excise tax. Places major transportation improvements at risk, including: Viaduct, SR520, Sound Transit, and RTID.
Conclusion
The Greater Seattle Chamber of Commerce believes our region’s future economic health and the well-being of our communities is fundamentally linked to an efficient transportation infrastructure. The abilityto move people and goods through mass transportation and road improvements must be enhanced in ourregion to improve our economic vitality and quality of life. In addition, hundreds of hazardous bridges and roadways in Washington are in need of repair including the Alaskan Way Viaduct. This initiative would repeal critical transportation funding, therefore the Greater Seattle Chamber of Commerce opposes Initiative 917.
May 19th, 2006
Not too long ago, the lying initiative profiteer sent out an email to a few select supporters saying the campaign for R-65 was in trouble and in need of more signatures.
Now Eyman is boasting that his supporters are not overconfident, and he’s within striking distance of having enough signatures by June 6th. It’s typical Eyman.
Will he have enough signatures? While the reports we’ve been receiving indicate that signature gathering for R-65 has been stepped up, it doesn’t sound as if there’s been an all out aggressive push.
It could be like in 2004, where Eyman attempted to keep everyone in suspense until the very end, when he and his partners the Fagans brought in a table stacked with petitions to make the press think he was going to turn in, when in reality he was about a hundred thousand signatures short of what was needed.
We’ll know for sure when the deadline arrives.
In the meantime, we are not confused – we continue to work to educate Washingtonians about the danger of these attacks on our sustainable future.
Eyman’s press release:
It’s been nearly a month since our announcement that we needed a big increase in signatures. The effect couldn’t have turned out better. Our supporters now know the facts. They know there’s work to be done. Emails and phone calls have been pouring in ever since with offers to work even harder.
This is what Eyman says every year about every initiative effort, including those that have failed. Remember I-807 in 2003, which was going to be “wildly popular”?
The media stories have been remarkably neutral. Opponents are perplexed and disoriented (“Is it a political ploy? Do we stay quiet? Do you attack? What do we do??????????”). There’s not an ounce of overconfidence among any of our supporters now. We all know that it’s going to take a lot of hard work to get Referendum 65 on the ballot.
We’ve got 19 days left. 19 days is a lifetime in politics IF AND ONLY IF WE ALL GET GOING — AND GET GOING BIG TIME. Our deadline for signatures is Tuesday, June 6th. The number of valid signatures needed is 112,440.
THE MOST IMPORTANT THING TO KNOW IS THAT THERE IS ENOUGH TIME TO GET THE SIGNATURES FOR REFERENDUM 65. BUT ONLY IF WE ALL REDOUBLE AND RETRIPLE OUR EFFORTS RIGHT HERE, RIGHT NOW.
Remember, if you see right wing signature gathering activity occurring, please report it to Permanent Defense.
May 17th, 2006
Hundreds of union delegates from aross Washington gathered in SeaTac just last Saturday for the Washington State Labor Council’s (WSLC) 2006 Convention of the Committee on Political Education (COPE). Delegates voted to endorse NO on Initiative 917 and DECLINE TO SIGN on Referendum 65.
Delegates also endorsed NO on Initiative 933, the initiative that creates loopholes for wealthy developers, and Initiative 920, which would repeal the state income tax. It’s good to see the WSLC take an early position against this year’s crop of right wing initiatives.
May 8th, 2006
Tim Eyman today sent out an email to supporters and the media claiming that Washington State is the “4th highest taxed state in the nation”.:
Washington is the 4th highest taxed state in the nation. That means that 46 other states are providing education, transportation, and other government services at a lower tax burden than Washington does.
The problem with this argument is that it’s just not true. We’ve been through this before: Washington is not the “4th highest taxed state in the nation”. It’s a myth!
Yet Tim Eyman continues to repeat these bogus rankings to the media in the hopes that his misinformation will find its way into articles and broadcasts. The number Eyman uses has changed over the last few years, but it’s always stayed under 10 – and it always will. It sounds persuasive, until you pull back the curtain and check the math.
Fortunately, there is more credible and reputable information available from the Washington State Department of Revenue. In 2004 the DOR released a report entitled, “Comparative State and Local Taxes 2002“, compiled by Revenue Analysis Manager Don Taylor.
The report found that Washington State actually ranks 32nd in the nation when the comparative state and local taxes of each state across the country are checked as a percentage of personal income. The report found that residents of New York are the most highly taxed, while residents of Tennessee are the least.
When historical trends are examined, (except for a brief anomalous dip in the early 1980’s) the average amount of taxes paid is currently at a forty year low, and has been trending consistently down since 1996. When total state and local taxes are examined, they have actually declined as a percentage of personal income, to a point below historic levels and national averages.
Republicans like Tim Eyman often like to pretend that taxes are a terrible burden and should always be lowered. But in reality, taxes are public investments which make our communities safe, healthy, and livable. Quality police and fire protection, a robust parks and recreation system, strong schools and libraries, transportation infrastructure that’s safe and uncongested – these are all public services that cost money. Simply put, government at all levels – local, state, and federal – has made many wise investments with taxpayer money.
Rather than destroying needed revenues for important services provided by the government, we should reorganize our tax structure so that people are paying their fair share. Though Washington State is not a highly taxed state, the system is still regressive, and as a result, middle and lower income families are paying more then they should – while big businesses and wealthy Washingtonians enjoy exemption after exemption and tax break after tax break.
We need tax reform, but what Tim Eyman offers is not reform. It’s not practical, it’s not healthy, and it will not not benefit Washington taxpayers and their families.
Initiative 917 is a threat to the sustainable future of our state… and Permanent Defense will fight to ensure that it is defeated just as I-912 was last November.
April 27th, 2006
We have no way of knowing whether Tim Eyman is telling the truth, but we do know that Tim Eyman sent an email today to supporters and the media. In it, he says that only 8,718 signatures have been collected for Referendum 65.
112,440 valid signatures are required for qualification on the ballot, but Eyman will need a cushion of thousands more signatures because a certain percentage are always duplicates or otherwise invalid.
When the AP asked Rep. Ed Murray for comment, he voiced skepticism:
“I’m very suspicious that it’s a political ploy,” said Rep. Ed Murray, D-Seattle, who sponsored the gay civil rights bill and is one of four openly gay lawmakers in the Legislature.
Eyman, for his part, gave a curious response:
“I think we’re going to be scraping by the skin of our teeth,” he said. “They assume we’re smarter than we are. That’s not the case.”
Actually, we don’t assume Eyman is smart. But we do assume, based on what’s happened in the past, that special interests and wealthy backers (especially those who can’t stand the idea of equality) will in fact be willing to put up money to fund a paid signature drive to get Referendum 65 on the ballot.
Of course, so far, Eyman’s fundraising for R-65 has been less than lackluster, and we couldn’t be more pleased about that.
Some of Eyman’s supporters told the AP they are hoping the state Supreme Court will overturn the state’s ban on gay marriage, thereby providing “a spark” to inspire right wing religious zealots to gather signatures. That indicates they’re having some trouble gathering signatures now.
And to that – we say, good.
April 2nd, 2006
Washington state voters should be aware that Tim Eyman and the religious right are once again attempting to deceive and mislead the public. Permanent Defense has obtained copies of Eyman’s R-65 petition, which, strangely enough, he has not been distributing to his email list of supporters.
(Eyman’s small band of supporters have been getting fundraising emails and petitions for Initiative 917).
On the front of the Referendum 65 petition are the words:
NO PREFERENTIAL TREATMENT, NO QUOTAS, NO SAME SEX MARRIAGE
The entire subheading is a lie.
ESHB 2661 (which is the law Eyman is trying to repeal with R-65) does not give not anyone preferential treatment. In fact, it does just the reverse – it explicitly outlaws preferential treatment by banning discrimination on the basis of sexual orientation.
ESHB 2661 also has nothing to do with quotas or same sex marriage. To imply that it does is an outright fabrication, crafted to scare the electorate.
Ironically, below this subheader, there is the Ballot Measure Summary, which reads:
ESHB 2661 amends the state’s law against discrimination to prohibit discrimination based on “sexual orientation” in employment, housing, credit, insurance, health maintenance contracts, public accommodations, and commercial boycotts or blacklists. “Sexual orientation” includes heterosexuality, homosexuality, bisexuality, and gender expression or identity.
State marriage laws are not modified, employment goals or quotas are not required, nor any specific belief, practice, behavior or orientation endorsed.
Religious organizations and owner-occupied dwelling units are exempt from this law.
That Eyman has the gall to make voters think ESHB 2661 is about preferential treatment, quotas, and same sex marriage is an outrage. But it’s not a surprise.
Permanent Defense strongly encourages voters not to sign Referendum 65, and to report signature gathering activity for this measure when they see it.
March 20th, 2006
Does Eyman’s multimillionaire backer, Michael Dunmire, know that Eyman wasted thousands and thousands of dollars of Dunmire’s contributions printing up invalid petitions that the state won’t accept? Learn more about Eyman’s costly mistake in this Special Report from Permanent Defense.
March 20th, 2006
Once again, initiative profiteer Tim Eyman has made a costly mistake, printing up thousands of petitions for Initiative 917 that are invalid under state law, Permanent Defense has learned.
The news was first reported by MajorityRules.org, a citizen action organization which shares Permanent Defense’s mission of fighting Tim Eyman and his anti-tax initiatives, working for real tax reform in Washington State, and promoting the value of public services.
Eyman carelessly forgot about (or ignored) a new state law that requires initiative petitions to include an oath that must be signed by the signature gatherer who circulated the petitions.
The oath affirms that the person who circulated the petition followed state law and did not bribe voters or forge their signatures.
The Secretary of State has announced that petitions that are out of compliance with the law will be rejected – which apparently means all of the original petitions Eyman printed up for Initiative 917 are worthless and won’t count.
But that’s not what Eyman told his supporters. In a letter this month, Eyman blatantly lied, assuring his supporters that the old petitions are “still good and acceptable” when in fact they’re not.
Perhaps not surprisingly, this is not the first time Eyman has made such a costly mistake printing up petitions for an initiative. In 2003, MajorityRules reported that Eyman had failed to correctly print the initiative text on the reverse side of the petition as required by law.
Eyman sent out new petitions late in the signature drive, but never got enough new signatures on the valid petitions. Eyman lied to his supporters then as well, telling them it was OK to send in their petitions and failing to admit his error.
“You can’t trust anything Eyman says,” said Permanent Defense Chair Andrew Villeneuve. “He lies to the voters, he lies to the press, and he lies to his own supporters. He should not be taken seriously by anyone.”
“When Eyman fails or makes a significant mistake like this, he never admits it,” Villeneuve added. “Eyman refuses to talk about his failures. He doesn’t even acknowledge them. He seems to live in his own fantasy world.”
It will be interesting to see how Eyman will attempt to spin himself out of this one. He’s been caught explicitly lying to his supporters. Since the original petitions for Initiative 917 do not include the required declaration and the petitioner’s signed oath, they will be rejected by the Secretary of State. The original petitions are clearly not “still good and acceptable.”
“Eyman, just like his initiatives, is careless and reckless,” Villeneuve said. “He has taken money from his own supporters for personal profit and lied about it. He has routinely run afoul of the public disclosure laws. He continually distorts the facts and gives the public false information.”
“This guy would be out of business right now if it wasn’t for special interest money,” Villeneuve noted. “His last two initiatives were financed by a multimillionaire and the gambling industry.”
We wonder if Tim Eyman has told his wealthy backer, Michael Dunmire, about his costly mistake.
“Did Eyman go to Dunmire and admit that he made this mistake – or is Eyman lying to Dunmire too?” asked Villeneuve. “Either way, he has wasted a large amount of money on a serious oversight.”
Permanent Defense works to protect Washington by building a first line of defense against threats to the common wealth and Constitution of the Evergreen State — like Tim Eyman's initiative factory. Learn more.
