By Warren Cornwall and Susanna Ray
Herald Writers
OLYMPIA — Tim Eyman, the Mukilteo man who enjoyed the spotlight for three years as he drove three tax-cutting initiatives to passage, is stepping aside, for now.
But the initiative movement he helped create will continue, this time as an Eastern Washington father-and-son affair.
Monte Benham of Kennewick, and Jack Fagan and his son Mike Fagan, both of Spokane, are taking over as the board of directors of Eyman’s Permanent Offense organization. Benham’s son, Royce Benham, who also lives in Kennewick, will be the new accountant.
Benham, a 65-year-old retired engineer, will be the new public face, or as he put it, "quarterback" of the campaign, he announced at a press conference in Olympia Tuesday.
But Eyman "is still part of our team," Benham said. "He just happens to be sitting on the bench right now."
The upheaval in one of the state’s most potent initiative organizations comes one week after Eyman revealed that more than $200,000 in campaign funds were funneled to a company he owns, and the funds were destined for his personal expenses.
It also signaled a major change of fortune for Eyman.
The four Eastern Washington men have control over Permanent Offense’s checkbook, which Eyman signed over to them Monday after a weekend reorganization meeting at his Mukilteo home, Benham said.
"He does not control the gold now," Benham said. "We do."
Eyman didn’t show up at Tuesday’s press conference, but sent a short statement that asked supporters to work hard to get enough signatures to qualify Initiative 776 for the ballot this year. The group’s most recent effort, it would continue in the vein of Initiative 695 by cutting car tabs to a flat $30 with no extra fees, and would force a vote on future tax collections for Sound Transit.
"The press and our opponents have never understood that our thousands of supporters were always the leaders of this movement, and Monte, Jack, Mike and I were the followers," Eyman’s statement said.
Benham and the Fagans are veterans of initiative campaigns stretching back to I-695 in 1999, the one that launched Eyman to fame.
But many are watching to see if Eyman’s departure has a lasting effect on the success of an initiative movement that had become synonymous with his name.
Sherry Bockwinkel has seen a lot of initiatives come and go, as the owner of the state’s only professional signature-gathering company, which collects names for initiative petitions.The Tacoma woman said others have tried to push tax-reform efforts, and failed.
"I think that Tim’s the magic. And I don’t think anybody can replace him," said Bockwinkel, whose firm collected signatures for three Eyman initiatives.
She also questioned whether the new financial arrangement really offered any better financial controls. She suggested it would have been more reassuring if the new treasurer was an independent accountant or a veteran of managing other campaign finances.
"They could have done many things to inspire confidence, and what it looks like to me is they hijacked the campaign," she said.
Suzanne Karr, who worked closely with Eyman and Benham in three earlier campaigns before leaving the organization after the 2000 elections, voiced similar reservations.
Eyman, she said, had a gift for staying focused on key messages, working with the press and conveying his ideas to the public.
"It’s going to be much harder for them to raise money," said Karr, who has clashed with Benham during past campaigns. "He doesn’t have Tim’s charm and charisma."
But Rob McKenna, a Republican King County Council member who collaborated with Eyman in promoting the recently approved Initiative 747, said voter support for the initiatives had more to do with the content than the spokesman.
"I think those initiatives passed or failed on their own merits, not because of Eyman. The second question is, ‘How will his being in the background affect their fund-raising?’ And I don’t know," McKenna said.
Mike Fagan granted that they can’t match Eyman’s speaking talents.
"We are not as gifted as Tim, that’s real obvious," he said.
Another marked difference between the old spokesman and the new: Benham told reporters he would given them lots of time Tuesday — more than an hour — and so now he’d like to be left alone for "at least a couple of weeks." Until recent events, Eyman was almost always available to talk to reporters, often calling them himself.
The new changes left unanswered the fate of more than $150,000 collected by Eyman’s for-profit Permanent Offense.
Benham said the political action committee sponsoring the initiatives has severed ties with the company, which remains under Eyman’s control. Eyman has said he was planning on pocketing $157,000 in the company’s bank account in the coming months, and took $45,000 in late 2000.
After his revelation, Eyman said he would consult with his supporters to see what they wanted done with the money, but left open the possibility that he still might use the money himself. He could not be reached Tuesday for comment.
Benham said he and the Fagans wouldn’t be paid for their political work.
"Jack, Mike and I have never been into it for the money," Benham said.
Benham said he and 65-year-old Jack Fagan are retired, so they no longer have jobs to attend to or families to raise.
But will Eyman get a salary in the future?
"Obviously, he is going to," Benham said. "He has already said he needs to be paid for his efforts."
You can call Herald Writer Susanna Ray at 360-586-3803 or send e-mail to ray@heraldnet.com.
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