By Warren Cornwall
Herald Writer
The idea of paying himself for his initiative campaigning took root in early 2000, as Tim Eyman realized initiative campaigning had taken a toll on his family finances, according to his campaign treasurer at the time.
While the for-profit initiative company, Permanent Offense Inc., was launched in February 2000 with the intent of paying Eyman for his work, he publicly denied it until Sunday because he felt tainted by going pro, said Suzanne Karr of Everett, his former treasurer.
"More than anything it was my idea, because I saw that in order for him to stay in politics he needed to be compensated for his time," she said of the company.
Karr painted a picture of a dedicated amateur unable to continue his activism without hurting his business, but unable to admit to profiting from politics.
Eyman’s first initiative, the car tax-canceling I-695, was a ballot-box sensation in 1999. At the time, Eyman made his living selling mail-order watches from his Mukilteo house.
The two first confronted the contradiction in late 2000, when The Herald asked Eyman about his creation of the for-profit company, Karr said. Eyman, she said, was reluctant to admit that he would make money from it.
Because he hadn’t received money yet, he opted instead to say the money was being saved with the plan of building up their initiative organization and denied that any of the profits were going to his own pocket.
That wasn’t really a lie, Karr said, because he hadn’t taken any of the money yet. He was paid $45,000 one month after the story was published.
"At the time he answered you, ‘No,’ it was not a lie. But I warned him some day it would be," she said.
Eyman has since repeatedly denied profiting from the initiatives, until admitting Sunday to the previous payment and plans for another one. Eyman could not be reached for comment, and sent out an e-mail Monday saying he would not be taking phone calls "for a while."
Karr left Eyman’s organization shortly after the 2000 campaign season, but has remained in contact with him and is supportive of his political efforts.
She said she had always urged him to be open about his financial arrangement and spoke with him Monday.
"I told Tim I was pleased that he had decided to be honest about the issue. But I wished that he had not been so hard on himself and that he had done it in a way that would have given him a little more cushion from the fallout," she said.
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