Tag Archives: I-864

July 2nd, 2004

Initiative 864 fails to qualify!

AnnouncementsBallot Watchdogging

WE DID IT!!!! Thanks to all of your hard work and perseverance, and that of our allies and fellow Eyman opponents, we’ve helped to ensure the defeat of I-864.

Eyman first began working on this measure over a year ago. More than 365 days later, Eyman has nothing to show for efforts. Our victory means that thousands of firemen, librarians, and other public services employees can rest comfortably tonight knowing their jobs will not be on the chopping block in November.

We’ve worked hard from the beginning to stop Initiative 864, and we’ve succeeded. It’s obvious that Washingtonians do not support or desire the radical, dangerous proposal that Tim forcefully advocated for over a year. The citizens of this state clearly do not support drastic rollbacks of public services.

Tim’s lack of support was evident in the fact that he couldn’t raise more than $260,000 for Initiative 864, and collected less than 160,000 signatures.

About 198,000 are required and it usually takes more than 230,000 signatures to ensure qualification for the ballot.

Not only is Tim’s support base eroding, but so is the electorate’s patience with Tim. Voters refused to be lured into signing their communities into oblivion. The qualify of life in our state’s communities is clearly more important to Washingtonians than a “slash and burn” approach to taxation.

Our efforts have significantly helped to broaden the public awareness of Initiative 864, and doubtless contributed to its defeat.

To everyone who participated in the effort, joined the complaint to the PDC, wrote letters to the editor or to legislators, to everyone who stood up in their community and called attention to this issue, to everyone who volunteered their time and energy to help get the message out – THANK YOU.

While we have a great victory in the death of Initiative 864, there is still Initiative 892. Tim’s other measure is the largest expansion of gambling in state history and will be on the November ballot. Thousands upon thousands of dollars were contributed by out of state, foreign gambling consortiums that went to hire paid signature gatherers to help the industry buy its way onto the ballot.

In response to the threat of I-892, opponents are forming a powerful coalition of diverse interests, from Native American tribes to the Christian Coalition, to stop this measure. And in a few days, we’re re-launching Permanent Defense to rededicate ourselves to the task of fighting Eyman and I-892.

No matter what lies ahead in the future weeks and months, Permanent Defense will be there, doing its part to oppose Eyman and promote real tax reform.

And we know you’ll be there with us as we move forward on this important mission: to bring fairness and sanity to the tax structure in the state of Washington. We cannot move forward without removing the obstacles in our path, and the biggest obstacle is Tim Eyman.

I-892 most likely will be on the ballot, but I-864 is dead. That’s worth a pause for celebration. And then the fight against expanded gambling in Washington will begin. We’ll be in the thick of it, and we hope you will be too.

Be sure to check back on July 6th for the Permanent Defense July Relaunch!

Have a great Fourth of July, and thank you

June 28th, 2004

Critical moment in 2004 campaign season

Ballot Watchdogging

This campaign began months ago with the launch of Tim Eyman’s so-called “25% property tax initiative” which Permanent Defense has opposed and fought for a year, since Tim Eyman announced it last June, along with many other opponents.

The test of all that hard work comes this week. The signature deadline for I-864 and I-892 is fast approaching. Tim Eyman needs more than 197,000 signatures- he needs 250,000 because of errors, duplicities, and other common problems with signatures.

Thus, paid signature gatherers will be out in full force- hoping to make a buck off of your name, and helping to qualify I-864 and I-892 for the ballot.

IT IS CRUCIAL that you be alert and focused when you are out and about over the next few days, especially the first couple days of this week. DO NOT allow yourself to be subverted or dragged into signing I-864 and I-892.

I-892 and I-864 would be DEVASTATING to Washington’s communities. There is simply no other way to put it- together, the two initiatives represent a cutback in needed public services like fire departments and libraries, and an expansion of gambling into neighborhood bars and bowling alleys.

For months, we’ve worked hard to fight this initiative. We must redouble, even retriple, our efforts, now, to ensure that I-864 and I-892 do not qualify for the November ballot. We do this by helping to inform voters. The more voters know about these initiatives, the less willing they are to sign them.

That’s because voters who are informed know of the consequences- the consequences of signing or voting for these initiatives.

So be especially alert this week, and help us out by spreading the word. Remember, the Voter Education Center includes a great deal of useful information, including flyers and an awareness handout that you can download.

The Release Center has been updated with a number of new links and downloads, as has the Action Center. These three centers will continue to serve as online hubs for, hopefully, the last week in our campaign against Initiative 864 and Initiative 892.

There are many ways for you to get involved. You can volunteer with us to help aid voters, report signature gathering activity when you see it by calling 1-800-856-2465, and spread the word in your community by downloading our flyers and distributing them among family, friends, and neighbors.

Even the smallest effort helps to make a difference. Working together, we can achieve victory this year and ensure that our communities will be safe from drastic cutbacks in public services and a huge expansion of gambling.

We’ll continue to keep you updated on our efforts throughout this week.

June 1st, 2004

Folklife efforts a great success

Ballot Watchdogging

The volunteer effort at NW Folklife throughout Memorial Day weekend was a great success. Volunteers from Permanent Defense, TaxSanity.org, and the Voter Education Committee alerted voters to the dangers of I- 864 and I-892.

Many voters were dissuaded from signing the petitions after what they learned about the initiative’s devastating effects on Washington communities.

Tim Eyman is relying on out of state paid signature gatherers to collect names for his initiatives. Thanks to the volunteers at Folklife, many of these paid signature gatherers decided to stop deceiving voters. They gave up and left.

Our success at Folklife is noteworthy, but we’re not out of the woods yet. We still need your help to get voters informed about the dangers of Eyman’s initiatives and the problems with paid signature gathering.

The new Voter Education Center includes a great deal of useful information, including a couple new flyers and a voter awareness handout that you can download.

The Release Center has been updated with a number of new links and downloads, as has the Action Center. These three centers will serve as online hubs for the last great stage in our campaign against Initiative 864 and Initiatives 892.

There are many ways for you to get involved. You can volunteer with us to help aid voters, report signature gathering activity when you see it by calling 1-800-856-2465, and spread the word in your community by downloading our flyers and distributing them among family, friends, and neighbors.

Even the smallest effort helps to make a difference. Working together, we can achieve victory this year and ensure that our communities will be safe from drastic cutbacks in public services and a huge expansion of gambling.

We’ll continue to keep you updated on our efforts throughout the weeks ahead.

May 25th, 2004

Permanent Defense joining forces with other Eyman opponents to educate voters

Ballot Watchdogging

We are pleased to announce that we are now working together with other Eyman opponents to work for reform in the initiative process and promote good ethics for signature gatherers.

Since 1999, Tim Eyman’s initiative factory has churned out a number of proposals which have done nothing to create real tax reform and have instead caused major cuts and reductions in public services.

Tim Eyman is always quick to point out that we are highly taxed and that taxes have “skyrocketed” since 1980 or whatever other date he dreams up. Has Tim ever gone back to look to check at the increase in services the state has experienced, or the increasing number of citizens the state must serve?

Better education, higher quality fire protection, new libraries, clean pools, and green parks are just some of the things our tax dollars pay for. But many voters don’t equate dramatically lower taxes with drastic cuts in public services.

That’s often because voters don’t know the truth about what they’re signing and what they’re voting for. Many voters don’t realize that their signature is just like their primary vote.

And with out-of-state mercenaries patrolling Washington’s strip malls and public gatherings, hunting for primary “votes” so they can be paid, we see a system in which proponents are able to deceive voters into signing on for their plan without any critical voice to balance the petitioners’ quick sales pitch.

These proposals aren’t just minor changes in Washington’s tax structure. What’s possibly the largest rollback in local property taxes in state history is being sold to voters without any mention of the consequences- namely, horrific cuts in public services.

Or the fact that the largest expansion of gambling in the state’s history, which legalizes 19,000 new slot machines and means that your local neighborhood bar or bowling alley can become a mini casino, is being touted primarily as a state property tax cut.

Indeed, Tim Eyman’s I-864 and I-892 do so much damage that it’s impossible for any concerned citizen not to take action. Permanent Defense, a group of longtime concerned citizens which counts over two dozen Washingtonians from all walks of life, age, and political belief among its membership, believes that voters must have access to all the information in order to make an informed decision.

To fulfill its vision of aiding taxpayers and alerting voters, Permanent Defense is joining other Eyman opponents in an effort to get the information to voters who need it, and to spread the word about the shortcomings of the initiative process and the dangers of I-864 and I-892.

We cannot simply exist as a voice on the Internet. We must do our part to get the message to voters this year.

Our mission will not be simple and it will not be easy. If we do not create a strong spirit of action and become more involved, we will lose to Eyman again.

We have been working hard to get the message out to an increased number of people, as have a number of Permanent Defense members. We are proud of our efforts, and we thank those who have stepped forward.

But we have a ways to go. July 2nd is a little over a month away, and this is the last stage of the campaign. Your help is needed now. Our new working relationship with other Eyman opponents gives you access to a wider array of resources, and allows us to work with people who have the same goal that we do.

The new Voter Education Center includes a great deal of useful information, including a couple new flyers and a voter awareness handout that you can download.

The Release Center has been updated with a number of new links and downloads, as has the Action Center. These three centers will serve as online hubs for the last great stage in our campaign against Initiative 864 and Initiatives 892 . These three centers will serve as online hubs for the last stage in our campaign against Initiative 864 and Initiatives 892.

There are many ways for you to get involved. You can volunteer with us to help aid voters, report signature gathering activity when you see it by calling 1-800-856-2465, and spread the word in your community by downloading our flyers and distributing them among family, friends, and neighbors.

Even the smallest effort helps to make a difference. Working together, we can achieve victory this year and ensure that our communities will be safe from drastic cutbacks in public services and a huge expansion of gambling.

We’ll continue to keep you updated on our efforts throughout the weeks ahead.

March 31st, 2004

Eyman helps himself early this year

Eye on Money: Developments

Initiative profiteer Tim Eyman has decided that this year, rather than tell his supporters he’s going to ask for donations if he’s successful, and then, despite failure, ask anyway, that he’ll start a little early.

Eyman is helping himself to a $3,100-a-week salary from campaign contributions to his new initiative, which would open up the state to gambling and pretend to cut state property taxes by $400 million.

For the next 15 weeks, until the July 2nd petition deadline, Eyman will collect about $46,500 total in funds. This new revelation is not shocking or monumental. Rather, it is just another confirmation that Eyman’s initiative factory has always been about business and not about policy.

It all started back when Eyman pocketed $200,000 of his supporters’ donations and lied about taking the money. He was forced to admit what he had been doing after persistent work by critic Christian Sinderman to alert the media.

Eyman then said he wanted to begin taking a salary for his work. So in December of 2002, touting his new “wildly popular” Initiative 807 (as Tim himself described it in an email to supporters) he promised to take a salary only if they were successful in getting I-807 on the ballot.

Initiative 807 didn’t get on the ballot, mainly because of a lack of contributions, lack of interest, and a number of mistakes committed by Eyman.

But that didn’t matter to Tim. Even though the watchmaker from Mukilteo had not registered as a paid lobbyist, he decided to collect money for his “effective work for taxpayers” and pocket it.

From July 2003 until December 2004, Eyman accepted donations for himself and the Fagans to pay “Voters Want More Choices” for NOT getting on the ballot.

Tim never did any effective lobbying. He took credit for the efforts of Senator Dino Rossi, Senator Pam Roach, and Governor Gary Locke, who each directly or indirectly worked towards the same thing Tim wanted: a no-new taxes budget.

Except Tim couldn’t prevent the nickel gas tax from being enacted, and so he promised “revenge”. Initiative 864 is supposedly his revenge, although that initiative effort looks extremely shaky… hence the conveniently timed gambling initiative.

And now, 2004. Tim is working together with the gambling industry and helping himself to their funding- with or without their blessing. Tim plans to collect almost half of $100,000 in just fifteen weeks- more than some people make in a year.

Clearly, Tim Eyman does not mind helping himself. And that’s what Tim’s initiative factory has always been about.

March 19th, 2004

Eyman flouting public disclosure law… again

Eye on Money: Developments

Tim Eyman is once again disregarding public disclosure law.

For whatever reason – laziness, or reluctance to report according to the law, Eyman has withehld the names of contributors for the second month in a row from the public’s eye.

Eyman alleges his treasurer is sick, and so he wasn’t able to get the names in. That’s all well and good…except this is Tim Eyman, and Tim offered the exact same excuse in February! Eyman has plenty of money. The profligate initiative filer could find and hire another data-entry person. It’s not like Tim is short of money.

According to an article in the Seattle P-I by Neil Modie:

Voters Want More Choices had $27,967 in the bank as of Feb. 29. Help Us Help Taxpayers had $7,213 in the bank Feb. 28 after Eyman and the Fagans paid themselves a total of $100,635 between Dec. 29 and Jan. 2 from supporters’ non-campaign donations. Eyman pocketed about half that amount, $50,305, according to disclosure commission filings.

Eyman’s violations include:

  • Failure by Voters Want More Choices and Tim Eyman on Feb 10, 2004 to file names and addresses of contributors on C-3’s
  • Failure by Voters Want More Choices and Tim Eyman on March 10, 2004 to file names and addresses of contributors on C-3’s
  • Failure by Help Us Help Taxpayers and Tim Eyman on Feb 10, 2004 to file names and addresses of contributors on C-3’s
  • Failure by Help Us Help Taxpayers and Tim Eyman on March 10, 2004 to file names and addresses of contributors on C-3’s
  • Failure by Tim Eyman to file a campaign committee for I-885 14 days after he expected to receive or spend money on campaign. Tim Eyman filed I-885 with the Secretary of State on March 1, 2004 and a campaign committee had not been registered as of March 16, 2004.

Permanent Defense has joined with Taxpayers For Washington’s Future, TaxSanity.org, and the Washington State Council of Firefighters in filing a complaint to the Public Disclosure Commission.

Eyman’s arrogance towards the public disclosure law is unacceptable. Tim believes he is above the law and the rest of the state in that he can get away with whatever he wants.

Permanent Defense urges you to visit our Action Center and Take Action against Tim and his initiatives.

March 12th, 2004

Firefighters speak out

Rethinking and ReframingThreat Analysis

A number of firefighters have contacted us, concerned about the effects of Initiative 864, and asked us to help them spread their message. Initiative 864 means REAL cuts for REAL firefighters, and that’s jobs lost in an already downbeat economy. Not to mention the drop in your level of protection, would could lead to higher insurance rates. So, here’s the firefighters in their own words:

From Brandon Knopp, a King County volunteer firefighter:

It would be great to cut taxes and all. But has anyone stopped and thought about what it will do to the Fire and Police departments?

I am a volunteer fire fighter out in a rural are in King County. My Chief met with the King County Police Chiefs and Fire Chiefs, and they are all concerned about this 25% cut.

A few examples of how it would back just some of the local fire and police departments:

  • Federal Way Fire Department would lose about 10 fire fighters.
  • Maple Valley would lose 3 or 4.
  • King County would not be able to fund King County Medic One and therefore we would not have ANY paramedics in the South King County area.

And one of bigger issues is that departments like mine would be shut down. Our district is adjacent to Maple Valley and Enumclaw.

If this 25% cut went through, Maple Valley and Enumclaw would not be able to cover our 26 square mile district. There would be no fire or aid protection in that area.

And if you look in Eastern Washington, it’s almost ALL volunteer departments So, say goodbye to our forests if they catch fire, because there won’t be anyone to put them out.

So…please, please, please take what I have said into consideration before supporting this 25% cut.

From Tim Kienitz, Clark County Fire District #6:

As a firefighter I am faced with the potential of losing my job. That in itself is a bad thing, as I have a family to support. The worst part of it is what it would do to the community that I serve.

The service of EMS and Fire protection we offer to the community would be crippled because of manpower cuts and service would suffer. I fear that because of the political climate in the country about taxes people will not understand that the money they pay goes to protect their very lives.

From Shawn, a suburban firefighter:

I am a member of a mid sized fire department with less than 50 paid employees, serving a mostly suburban community. Recently we met with our administration regarding a contingency plan in case I-864 passes. Losing revenue by cutting property taxes in our Fire District translates to laying off 15 firefighters and firefighter paramedics and closing one of our 3 fire stations.

In turn, our response times would increase and service levels would decrease to that of the early 90’s while our call volume will have doubled from the same time. I hope the voters in the state of Washington will come to realize that this initiative WILL gut our public services and our Fire Departments will lose their effectiveness in making a timely response to their emergency.

Protect your quality of life and your local community… decline to sign Initiative 864.

March 9th, 2004

Eyman proposes gambling-for-tax cuts scheme

Threat Analysis

Tim Eyman’s new plan to add to the state’s list of woes involves a $400 million state property tax cut. Eyman says education would be shielded, but that claim is as phony as Eyman himself.

He’s proposing to pay off the $400 million cut, which would have been deflected onto criminal justice and other state programs, by opening up the rest of the state to gambling. It’s an idea so pitiful it goes below the legislature’s half-hearted plans to fix our state’s regressive tax system.

The latest plan, a complete disgrace, just serves to prove the profligate initiative filer is all about announcing and not about doing. For the past ten months, Eyman has done nothing but announce new plans and shake his electronic tin cup.

Last June he said his intention was go after state property taxes. In the meantime, he was busy collecting money for himself. In December, he announced a new version of his 25% property tax slashing plan: local property taxes, not state property taxes, would be targeted. Since then, he’s supposedly been working on Initiative 864. And now, he announces he plans to attack state and local property taxes – and use expanded gambling to cover the costs of cutting the former.

Eyman doesn’t produce results for his supporters. He has had no successful initiative since 2002. And his plans slash millions of dollars from parks, libraries, pools, police, & fire response.

Real savings from reduced taxes equal real cuts, and at the local level, the cuts are direct. What’s the great thing about saving a couple hundred dollars a year if your local fire station is forced to shut down?

Eyman never mentions that insurance rates could also rise if Initiative 864 is passed. He also never takes note that his initiative badly hurts the local governments that are already doing an efficient job. And he proposes to jack up gambling to pay for his latest idea.

The two-part tax-cut drive is not much of a new twist for Eyman. He’s changed his story so many times that it’s more like a ten part plan, with each part of the plan changing the part that came before. The new plan would only add to the woes now facing Washington State. Eyman would have us believe that we’d be better off laying off  local firefighters and policemen and saving money, but he’s wrong.

Eyman’s constant mantra about government waste, corruption, and inefficiency is tiring and old. Year after year, it’s the same laundry list of complaints: Sound Transit, vehicle tabs, property taxes, the state Legislature, and on and on.

The new initiative will not shield education. It’s a lie that is so pathetic, it’s hard to describe. Schools are hardly shielded when funding for libraries, pools, parks, and extra curricular programs is slashed.

Education is more than just school. Kids need support outside of school, especially kids in need of help. And the money that will “save” education will come from prisons and the criminal justice system.

Is Seattle destined to be the Las Vegas of the Northwest? If Eyman has his way, Washington will transform into a lawless society like Haiti where a powerless government can do nothing to serve or protect its citizens, or another Reno/Las Vegas, the “sin capital of the world.”

Initiative 864 and his new plan will not create new jobs. His plan will, in fact, cut jobs. Washington has a regressive tax system, but Tim’s initiatives just make an already broken system worse.

The reason that Kemper Freeman Jr. and the Lemattas of Vancouver give money to Eyman is because the initiatives give huge windfalls to wealthy property owners. Both the Lemattas and Freeman own a lot of property.

Don’t let Tim Eyman and Voters Want More Choices deceive you. There is no free lunch. A 25% property tax cut, and a state property tax cut to boot, is madness and insanity. It will break more than it will fix.

There is no benefit in having less firemen and policemen on patrol. There is no way to make up for library cutbacks, park closures, and mothballed pools. The cuts that would result from Initiative 864 would be so sweeping, so drastic, that there would be no way to plug them.

February 21st, 2004

Action Center launches

AnnouncementsBallot Watchdogging

In response to Tim Eyman’s launch of Initiative 864 ballot petitions, we’ve created a completely new section intended just to help site visitors get involved. Thus, the new Permanent Defense Action Center was created and is now online. What’s at the action center? We’ve included six different things that you can do to become more involved.

  • Write Your Local Newspaper. We’ve created a form that allows you to recieve customized lists of newspapers and the contact information for their Opinion editors. The form is easy to fill out and includes four simple steps.
  • Contact Your Legislators. We’ve provided links so that it’s easy for you to email your legislators. We’ve also put the legislative hotline on the page if you prefer phone.
  • Download A Flyer. Download the half page or full page Permanent Defense flyer urging readers to remember the importance of public services and to decline to sign Initiative 864.
  • Sign Up for the Mailing List. By joining the mailing list, you can become more informed. If you are reading this now, you are already on the mailing list, so there is no need to subscribe. However, you can urge friends and family to subscribe.
  • Join Permanent Defense. Want to really get involved? Sick of Eyman and his anti-tax rhetoric? Feel the need to do something? Then Permanent Defense is for you!
  • Recommend the Site/Bookmark the Site. You can reccomend Permanent Defense to friends and family. Simply click on the link and send a message via web form to recipients. You can also bookmark the Permanent Defense site for future reference.

Continue to watch the Action Center- new features and ways of getting involved will be added periodically. Extra! will also alert you to changes at the Action Center, for your convenience. Take action today!

February 13th, 2004

Two Years: Statement from the Founder

AnnouncementsThreat Analysis

It’s exciting and amazing to think that Permanent Defense is now two years old and still going strong! As we celebrate our two year birthday, I’d like to say thank you to all our supporters, who have responded to our requests to lobby legislators and promote real tax reform. Those of you who have subscribed to Extra! have done a great thing- you’ve committed yourselves to staying informed on what’s going on in Washington politics.

As in years past, we need to stop Tim to protect our state. And we’re confident that we can do it this year. Tim’s proposal is so downright awful that people are becoming opposed to it as soon as they hear about it.

Initiative 864 is too devastating to ignore. If we don’t act, we will lose the quality of life we enjoy in our communities.

I’d like to reflect on some of the things we’ve accomplished this past year- from February 2003 to February 2004.

We saw the defeat of Tim’s initiative last year, Initiative 807, in July, after fighting it with our allies David Goldstein and Steve Zemke. We won, and Eyman’s measure never made it onto the ballot… his first initiative failure in four years.

We relaunched our site in July with a redesign, including new features, and content. We launched our new domain name, www.permanentdefense.org, to make our site more easily accessible. We continued to send messages to the media and to legislators about the defects in Tim’s plan.

Last spring, last summer, last fall, and last winter, we have been preparing to fight the 25% property tax initiative. It’s here, and we’re fighting. Opponents to I-860/I-864 filed a ballot title challenge and language challenge, causing Eyman to try and “back out” of his initiative and go for legal advice. Opponents also made the rounds with the media in December 2003. A surprised Tim was then confronted with questions from his ready opponents while he tried to reel off his latest proposal- the 25% property tax initiative.

Incredibly enough, Tim hasn’t even told his supporters about his filing of Initiative 860, or Initiative 864. That’s because he knows it’s being challenged and doesn’t want his people to even know it.

Just like when Tim shut them out in the dark for years about his pocketing of $165,000. Instead, Tim attempts to rouse fury and anger out of his supporters towards Washington government. One of the worst things about Tim’s across the board tax cuts is that it really penalizes the local governments doing a good job… the ones that can’t cut any “fat”. Tim thinks everyone should be accountable to his “standard”, but his proposals hurt the localities that are already efficient. This doesn’t make any sense!

With our alternative Homestead Exemption proposal, which was endorsed by the Seattle Post-Intelligencer, we offer the means for real tax reform, not just the “slash and burn” advocated by Eyman and his fellow cronies. Eyman wants to burn down the “rainforest” so that the wealthy can use the land for cattle grazing.

That’s not our approach.

We want positive human interaction with the “rainforest”- an effective solution for Washington’s regressive tax system. Our proposal directly benefits middle and lower income families. It doesn’t give large windfalls to the rich as Tim’s proposal does.

Two years of opposing Eyman is a great track record. And we’re now excited to bring you January Launch, which commenced on January 30th. You can read all about it via the link from our home page. Please take the time to check out the new content.

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