Eyman donates time, money as I-776 falters

By Paul Queary

Associated Press

OLYMPIA — Tim Eyman’s latest initiative campaign is scrambling for money and urgently appealing to the tarnished tax rebel’s supporters for more cash to pay signature gatherers to get the measure to the ballot.

Meanwhile, Eyman himself is donating both money and professional services, apparently giving back some of the money he admitted diverting from campaign funds to his own pocket. The admission brought a wave of negative news coverage and a lawsuit from Attorney General Christine Gregoire, who alleges violations of the state campaign finance laws.

I-776 would limit state and local car-tab fees and taxes to $30 per year.

Permanent Offense, the political action committee pushing Initiative 776, typically spends heavily on paid signature gatherers to qualify its measures for the ballot. A recent letter to supporters makes a blunt appeal for money for signatures.

"We will not get enough signatures if we don’t raise another $124,000," said the letter signed by Eyman and co-sponsors Monte Benham, Jack Fagan and Mike Fagan. "Every $1.25 you donate is like gathering one signature. Donating $1,000 means you’ve guaranteed us 800 signatures, $500 equals 400 signatures, $100 equals 80 signatures, etc."

Permanent Offense raised $52,960 in cash last month, according to figures it provided the Public Disclosure Commission. A year ago, the same group raised $65,725 in April during its campaign for Initiative 747.

Eyman accounted for nearly 18 percent of last month’s income with a $9,500 contribution. Permanent Offense Inc., the private corporation Eyman used to divert campaign money to himself, has also paid $24,771 in legal fees for the political group that shares its name.

Benham said the legal costs prompted by Eyman’s money-shuffling scheme will all be borne by Permanent Offense Inc. as a way to separate those costs — and Eyman — from the ongoing campaign’s finances.

"All the money that people donate to the campaign goes to the campaign, period," Benham said. "Tim isn’t on the checkbook."

Benham wouldn’t discuss Eyman’s contributions further, and Eyman himself didn’t return a telephone call from the Associated Press.

Permanent Offense Inc. has also contributed $35,444 in fund-raising services to the campaign, including $10,672 in April. In past years, the campaign often paid the corporation for such services as part of the scheme that channeled money to Eyman.

Eyman’s attorney, Bill Glueck, wouldn’t discuss the cash contribution, but said the services were reported as a contribution to avoid further conflict with the campaign finance law. Part of the state’s lawsuit against Eyman accuses him of donating services without reporting their value.

Eyman’s opponents see his contributions as a symptom of the drag his problems put on his anti-tax movement.

"Tim Eyman basically put more money into that campaign than they got from outside donors," said Christian Sinderman, a political consultant for the public employee unions that have been Eyman’s most vocal opponents. "It just shows how much their fund-raising base has dropped off as a result of his lies."

As of April 30, the I-776 campaign has spent $176,093 during its campaign to get I-776 on the ballot, compared with $192,001 last year during the same period for I-747. But Permanent Offense started last year with more money and had $86,321 in the bank and no debts at the end of April.

This year, it has $65,348 in the bank and debts of $27,432.