This campaign began months ago with the launch of Tim Eyman’s so-called “25% property tax initiative” which Permanent Defense has opposed and fought for a year, since Tim Eyman announced it last June, along with many other opponents.

The test of all that hard work comes this week. The signature deadline for I-864 and I-892 is fast approaching. Tim Eyman needs more than 197,000 signatures- he needs 250,000 because of errors, duplicities, and other common problems with signatures.

Thus, paid signature gatherers will be out in full force- hoping to make a buck off of your name, and helping to qualify I-864 and I-892 for the ballot.

IT IS CRUCIAL that you be alert and focused when you are out and about over the next few days, especially the first couple days of this week. DO NOT allow yourself to be subverted or dragged into signing I-864 and I-892.

I-892 and I-864 would be DEVASTATING to Washington’s communities. There is simply no other way to put it- together, the two initiatives represent a cutback in needed public services like fire departments and libraries, and an expansion of gambling into neighborhood bars and bowling alleys.

For months, we’ve worked hard to fight this initiative. We must redouble, even retriple, our efforts, now, to ensure that I-864 and I-892 do not qualify for the November ballot. We do this by helping to inform voters. The more voters know about these initiatives, the less willing they are to sign them.

That’s because voters who are informed know of the consequences- the consequences of signing or voting for these initiatives.

So be especially alert this week, and help us out by spreading the word. Remember, the Voter Education Center includes a great deal of useful information, including flyers and an awareness handout that you can download.

The Release Center has been updated with a number of new links and downloads, as has the Action Center. These three centers will continue to serve as online hubs for, hopefully, the last week in our campaign against Initiative 864 and Initiative 892.

There are many ways for you to get involved. You can volunteer with us to help aid voters, report signature gathering activity when you see it by calling 1-800-856-2465, and spread the word in your community by downloading our flyers and distributing them among family, friends, and neighbors.

Even the smallest effort helps to make a difference. Working together, we can achieve victory this year and ensure that our communities will be safe from drastic cutbacks in public services and a huge expansion of gambling.

We’ll continue to keep you updated on our efforts throughout this week.