Catch any news Monday? If so, you probably heard the words "shocked" and "stunning." You didn’t hear them from me.
What’s the surprise? Tim Eyman, king of tax-cutting initiatives, pocketed thousands of dollars intended to fund his ballot-measure campaigns. He lied about the personal gain.
In November 2000, Herald writer Warren Cornwall wrote that the "political gadfly" had "gone pro." At the time, Eyman said he wouldn’t use money from his for-profit company, Permanent Offense Inc., to enrich himself.
Well, Eyman did enrich himself, which apparently is fine and dandy as far as the law goes.
What is a surprise is how blunt Eyman was once the cat was out of the bag. He told The Associated Press, "I want to continue to advocate issues, and I want to make a lot of money doing it."
Now there’s honesty.
It’s all about self-interest and not just Eyman’s.
His appeal is that he saves individual taxpayers a lot of cash. It’s about money — in his case making it and in voters’ case hanging onto it. It has nothing to do with the greater good.
He never lied about that, did he? He never said his piece-by-piece dismantling of government services, in which we all get to say what’s best for us, would make Washington a better place.
Whether it’s I-722, a cap on property tax increases; I-745, requiring that 90 percent of state transportation dollars go toward road building; or Eyman’s latest, I-776, which would roll back car-tab fees to $30 statewide, it’s all been about self-interest.
"I want to make a lot of money doing it."
That seemed to be no problem for many people I encountered at Claremont Vehicle Licensing and the state Department of Licensing offices on Evergreen Way in Everett on Monday. Many had car-tab renewal notices in hand.
"He did a lot of good things," said Eric Pederson, 32, who’s in the Navy. The Everett man used to pay $370 a year to license his Mustang. "If he lied, he made a mistake. But he never said it was a nonprofit," said Pederson, adding that he’d "absolutely" support tax-cutting initiatives in the future.
Robert Williamson, 59, of Everett is troubled by Eyman’s lie, although he’s been a backer of the cuts. "I think he’s doing a good thing, but he should have been upfront."
"He admitted he made a mistake. Why can’t we have politicians like that?" said Styvensen Vavesken, 51, of Everett.
Craig Ford, 44, of Clinton has voted against Eyman’s initiatives. He likes paying less for car tabs, but hates the higher ferry fares. Ford bemoaned Eyman’s "one-sided outlook, that government is all bad." He doesn’t begrudge Eyman getting paid, though. "He should have taken $70,000 a year, but he never should have lied."
The lying bothers Everett attorney Tom Gissberg, too. "Of course it matters. It’s a matter of integrity," Gissberg said. "He holds himself out as someone doing the public good. We’re all interested in lower taxes and efficiency, but this has nothing to do with those laudable goals. If I lied to a judge, I could get disbarred."
Chloe Wilcox, 26, of Snohomish said she’s a backer of the initiatives, not the man. She compared Eyman’s lying to religious leaders who’ve admitted personal foibles. "It doesn’t change the Christian message," Wilcox said.
Some were harder on Eyman.
Linda Toccoli, 52, doesn’t buy Eyman’s insistence that government can make up for tax cuts by trimming the fat. "If it sounds too good, it is. He didn’t save anything, he just rearranged it," said the Edmonds woman, whose son relies on bus service. Of his mea culpa, she said: "He’s pretty arrogant. I think he’s a very clever, smart man."
Hugh Gosselin, visiting from Kennewick, had harsh words.
"Everybody likes cheap tabs, but I also like decent roads and all the other things tax money pays for. I didn’t vote for his initiatives, and I’m glad I didn’t contribute," said Gosselin, who’s 65. "I don’t think because you saved people some money that it should go in your own pocket. A crook is a crook is a crook."
Perhaps Eyman’s aim — "to make a lot of money doing it" — will cause followers of this Pied Piper of tax cuts to take a new look at the consequences of their votes.
"The transit cuts, the firefighters, it hurts a lot of people," said Cory Jacoby, 26, of Everett.
But voting, I am reminded this day of elections, is a personal choice. I was stunned by only one thing Monday, which has less to do with Eyman than with the citizenry.
I talked with quite a few people outside the licensing place, maybe a couple dozen. About a third claimed not to know who Tim Eyman is. Now that’s shocking.
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