Associated Press
CENTRALIA — Lewis County Republicans have pulled Tim Eyman’s invitation to headline their Lincoln Day dinner.
The disgraced initiative king apparently doesn’t have the "moral integrity" needed to uphold the standards of Honest Abe, the party said.
Eyman, who revealed Sunday that he lied about paying himself from campaign donations, had been scheduled as the keynote speaker for the annual $30 dollar-a-plate dinner in Centralia Feb. 23. Eyman is best known for giving the state $30 license tabs.
The decision to drop Eyman was made by the executive board after a long discussion by activists who have backed Eyman’s tax-limiting initiatives, said county party chairman Ron Averill.
The decision came down to one of morality, he said.
"We’re taking a high line stand on many issues, demanding moral integrity of our elected officials," Averill told The Chronicle of Centralia. "If we’re going to stick to that, we need to represent that in all of those functions and policies that the party puts out."
He also worried about media coverage if Eyman had made the appearance.
Eyman has spoken at previous Lewis County Republican conventions and was a delegate to the state GOP convention and an alternate to the national convention in Philadelphia in 2000.
King County Republicans’ central committee, meanwhile, sent a different message. County chairman Reed Davis told the Seattle-Post Intelligencer his board voted to write a letter of encouragement to Eyman, "just to let him know that we were pleased with the work that his organization had done, and we urged the continuation of the organization."
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