September 15th, 2006

If Tim Eyman had one ounce of compassion…

Rethinking and Reframing

If Tim Eyman had one ounce of compassion for his fellow Washingtonians, he’d see that his initiatives are not only unnecessary, but harmful. Most of Mr. Eyman’s initiatives have destroyed critical revenue for public services. Reductions in public services are bad for taxpayers and bad for the economy.

The truth is that Tim really doesn’t care about anyone but himself. His whole operation is self-serving. His fundraising appeals should read, “Please donate to Help Us Help Ourselves”.

Mr. Eyman’s strategy is simple. Always talk about the cost to taxpayers. The pocketbook. The family budget. NEVER talk about the consequences. “Politician” is Mr. Eyman’s code word for some evil person who doesn’t care about their constituents and serves only special interests.

Ironically, Mr. Eyman seems to have forgotten that he’s a politician, too. And even more ironic: Tim is a very-well paid politician who is not only unelected, but gets money (a lot of money) from gambling companies and millionaires.

But the people Mr. Eyman is attacking – our state legislators and our Governor – aren’t evil. They’re courageous. Most are intelligent, decent people who care deeply about their communities and their state. They care enough to run for public office and serve the people. They have an interest in good, efficient government.

Most are familiar with mathematics and logic (which Mr. Eyman is not) and understand that it costs money to operate a government. It also costs money for good roads and transportation. Therefore, they have made a decision to make an investment in our future.

Tim Eyman is the last person to give anyone a lecture about compassion. It doesn’t appear he understands what compassion really is. In fact, it doesn’t seem Mr. Eyman understands much of anything. If he does, he doesn’t show it.

The news media must take care to explain not just the cost of something to its readers, viewers, and listeners – but also the consequences. If we cut revenue from our budget, public services will undoubtedly be affected. The electorate must know and understand this in order to make an informed decision on Election Day.

September 8th, 2006

Statement on the failure of I-917

Statements & Advisories

The following is Permanent Defense”s response to yesterday’s news that Initiative 917 lacks sufficient signatures to qualify for the November 2006 ballot.

“We couldn’t be more pleased,” said Chair Andrew Villeneuve. “Originally, we expected Tim Eyman to buy his way onto the ballot as he has in years past, no problem. But he surprised us. We didn’t have to wage a campaign to defeat his attack on transportation funding. He defeated himself.”

“This is Eyman’s most spectacular failure – ever,” Villeneuve added. “It’s amazing because it seemed so likely that Initiative 917 would be on the ballot.  Michael Dunmire was writing the checks, the paid signature gatherers were circulating petitions. But as it turns out, Tim Eyman’s biggest obstacle to qualifying this sorry ballot measure was Tim Eyman.”

The defeat not only makes Eyman 0-2 for 2006, but extends his recent losing streak even further. I-917 joins other recent failures from the last four years, including Referendum 65, Initiative 892, Initiative 864, Initiative 807, and Initiative 267.

June 29th, 2006

Statement in response to submission of signatures for I-917

Statements & Advisories

Permanent Defense today responded to Tim Eyman”s submission of signatures to the Secretary of State’s office by renewing its commitment to fight the measure if it qualifies for the ballot.

“Anyone with half a million dollars can buy their way onto the ballot, no matter your issue or political ideology,” Permanent Defense Chair Andrew Villeneuve reiterated. “We always expected Tim Eyman to qualify I-917 with the backing of his sugar daddy – multimillionaire Michael Dunmire.”

“We will work diligently with a broad and diverse coalition of other organizations to defeat this measure in November and ensure that $2.7 billion in statewide transportation funding is protected,” Villeneuve added.

June 13th, 2006

Statement on the Initiative 747 ruling by Judge Roberts

In the CourtsStatements & Advisories

Permanent Defense today applauded the decision of King County Superior Court Judge Mary Roberts, who ruled that Tim Eyman’s Initiative 747 was unconstitutional.

“It’s a very simple concept: Washington State laws, including initiatives passed by voters, cannot violate the state Constitution,” said Permanent Defense Chair Andrew Villeneuve. “We agree with the judge and believe her reasoning in this case is sound.”

“What’s more, Initiative 747 has already caused significant damage to communities throughout Washington State,” Villeneuve added. “Police and fire departments, libraries, parks, pools, and other public services have been badly hurt by I-747.”

“Not only are Tim Eyman’s initiatives bad for public services and bad for our communities, but they are poorly written and out of compliance with our state’s constitution.”

According to the Department of Revenue, the loss to the state property tax totals $226,923,000 for the 2005-2007 biennium while losses to local taxing districts total $571,496,000. That’s $571 million dollars – an enormous sum of money. The loss to local governments in 2006 alone is some $285 million dollars (PDF).

Incidentally, there are several conflicts of interest in this court case: Attorney General Rob McKenna, who has (so far) unsuccessfully defended I-747 for the state, was a coauthor of the initiative. The other initiative coauthor is Jim Johnson. Johnson currently sits on the state Supreme Court, which may hear this case on appeal.

Permanent Defense will be calling for Johnson to recuse himself from the case if the state Supreme Court agrees to hear the appeal.

June 5th, 2006

Eyman dresses up as Darth Vader for ridiculous stunt

Announcements

Permanent Defense’s parent organization, NPI, has a report on its Official Blog about Tim Eyman’s latest and most deceptive trickery to date: lying to the media about turning in petitions for Referendum 65.

Eyman recently told the media by email that he was to coming to the Secrretary of State’s office this morning to turn in petitions, but he ended up turning in absolutely nothing.

Read the full report here.

June 1st, 2006

Whitman County, nonprofits sue to invalidate Initiative 747

In the Courts

Good news from the Puget Sound Business Journal:

Whitman County and a coalition of nonprofit groups are suing the state, arguing that Tim Eyman’s Initiative 747, which capped state and local property tax increase at 1 percent per year, is unconstitutional.

At a hearing in King County Superior Court on Friday, June 2, the plaintiffs will argue that I-747 didn’t accurately describe the law it would amend and that the initiative’s ballot title didn’t accurately describe its subject. The group said similar arguments were used to invalidate Initiative 695, another Eyman initiative aimed at reducing car-tab taxes to $30.

The lawsuit is brought by Whitman County and several nonprofits, including Washington Citizen Action, the Welfare Rights Organizing Coalition, and Futurewise, the group formerly known as 1,000 Friends of Washington.

I-747 created a funding crisis for local and state governments, the group said.

“Initiative 747 has taken a dramatic toll on small county governments like those east of the mountains,” said Whitman County Commissioner Jerry Finch. “Under this initiative, our revenue simply cannot keep up with inflation and we are being forced to cut critical services.”

May 31st, 2006

Seattle Chamber of Commerce votes to oppose I-917

Endorsements

The Executive Committee of the Greater Seattle Chamber of Commerce recently voted (on May 24th, 2006) to oppose Tim Eyman’s Initiative 917, which would destroy some $2.7 billion dollars of sorely needed, statewide transportation funding.

Recommendation
The Executive Committee of the Board of Trustees of the Greater Seattle Chamber of Commerce unanimously opposes Initiative 917 (I-917), an initiative which will likely be before voters in November 2006. This initiative’s negative impact is far-reaching, threatening our region’s social and environmental health as well as its economic health. It would repeal the fee portion of last year’s $8.5 billion Transportation Partnership funding package, repeal much of the multi-modal funding allotted in the 2003 Nickel package, undercut Sound Transit’s ability to collect MVET, and strip RTID of its MVET authority, making it almost exclusively reliant on the sales tax and jeopardizing its ability to craft a balanced and successful package that would complete our region’s most at-risk projects. If approved by voters, the Transportation Revenue Forecast Council estimates that transportation revenue would be reduced by $2.7 billion over the next 16 years.

Background
Last year, the Greater Seattle Chamber of Commerce helped lead a broad coalition of business, labor and environmental organizations to lobby the state legislature for a significant increase in transportation funding. The $8.5 billion transportation funding package that resulted was the Chamber’s number one legislative priority accomplished during that session. The package addresses unsafe and deteriorating roads and bridges throughout Washington State, and provides the multimodal infrastructure improvements that will ensure the safety and productivity of our state’s businesses and their employees. On July 13, 2005, the Chamber’s Board of Trustees opposed Initiative 912 which would have repealed the gas tax portion of that package. The Chamber played a central role in the campaign that successfully defeated Initiative 912. Initiative 917 would repeal the fee portion of this package as well as reduce other local revenues and funding options. Discussion Initiative 917 specifically: Reduces license tab fees to $30 per year for vehicles weighing 20,000 pounds or less. Repeals or reduces a number of fees including truck fees, vehicle weight fees & license plate fees. Removes a portion of the motor vehicle sales tax. Changes the vehicle valuation method for tax and fee purposes from manufacturer’s suggested retail price to a depreciation schedule based on purchase price. Repeals select local and RTID motor vehicle taxes and fees authorized for voter approval. Retires several outstanding bonds that have pledged the motor vehicle excise tax. Places major transportation improvements at risk, including: Viaduct, SR520, Sound Transit, and RTID.

Conclusion
The Greater Seattle Chamber of Commerce believes our region’s future economic health and the well-being of our communities is fundamentally linked to an efficient transportation infrastructure. The abilityto move people and goods through mass transportation and road improvements must be enhanced in ourregion to improve our economic vitality and quality of life. In addition, hundreds of hazardous bridges and roadways in Washington are in need of repair including the Alaskan Way Viaduct. This initiative would repeal critical transportation funding, therefore the Greater Seattle Chamber of Commerce opposes Initiative 917.

May 19th, 2006

You never know when Eyman’s telling the truth

Threat Analysis

Not too long ago, the lying initiative profiteer sent out an email to a few select supporters saying the campaign for R-65 was in trouble and in need of more signatures.

Now Eyman is boasting that his supporters are not overconfident, and he’s within striking distance of having enough signatures by June 6th. It’s typical Eyman.

Will he have enough signatures? While the reports we’ve been receiving indicate that signature gathering for R-65 has been stepped up, it doesn’t sound as if there’s been an all out aggressive push.

It could be like in 2004, where Eyman attempted to keep everyone in suspense until the very end, when he and his partners the Fagans brought in a table stacked with petitions to make the press think he was going to turn in, when in reality he was about a hundred thousand signatures short of what was needed.

We’ll know for sure when the deadline arrives.

In the meantime, we are not confused – we continue to work to educate Washingtonians about the danger of these attacks on our sustainable future.

Eyman’s press release:

It’s been nearly a month since our announcement that we needed a big increase in signatures. The effect couldn’t have turned out better. Our supporters now know the facts. They know there’s work to be done. Emails and phone calls have been pouring in ever since with offers to work even harder.

This is what Eyman says every year about every initiative effort, including those that have failed. Remember I-807 in 2003, which was going to be “wildly popular”?

The media stories have been remarkably neutral. Opponents are perplexed and disoriented (“Is it a political ploy? Do we stay quiet? Do you attack? What do we do??????????”). There’s not an ounce of overconfidence among any of our supporters now. We all know that it’s going to take a lot of hard work to get Referendum 65 on the ballot.

We’ve got 19 days left. 19 days is a lifetime in politics IF AND ONLY IF WE ALL GET GOING — AND GET GOING BIG TIME. Our deadline for signatures is Tuesday, June 6th. The number of valid signatures needed is 112,440.

THE MOST IMPORTANT THING TO KNOW IS THAT THERE IS ENOUGH TIME TO GET THE SIGNATURES FOR REFERENDUM 65. BUT ONLY IF WE ALL REDOUBLE AND RETRIPLE OUR EFFORTS RIGHT HERE, RIGHT NOW.

Remember, if you see right wing signature gathering activity occurring, please report it to Permanent Defense.

May 17th, 2006

WSLC endorses NO on Initiative 917

Endorsements

Hundreds of union delegates from aross Washington gathered in SeaTac just last Saturday for the Washington State Labor Council’s (WSLC) 2006 Convention of the Committee on Political Education (COPE). Delegates voted to endorse NO on Initiative 917 and DECLINE TO SIGN on Referendum 65.

Delegates also endorsed NO on Initiative 933, the initiative that creates loopholes for wealthy developers, and Initiative 920, which would repeal the state income tax. It’s good to see the WSLC take an early position against this year’s crop of right wing initiatives.

May 8th, 2006

Washington not the “fourth highest taxed state” in the nation

Rethinking and ReframingStatements & Advisories

Tim Eyman today sent out an email to supporters and the media claiming that Washington State is the “4th highest taxed state in the nation”.:

Washington is the 4th highest taxed state in the nation. That means that 46 other states are providing education, transportation, and other government services at a lower tax burden than Washington does.

The problem with this argument is that it’s just not true. We’ve been through this before: Washington is not the “4th highest taxed state in the nation”. It’s a myth!

Yet Tim Eyman continues to repeat these bogus rankings to the media in the hopes that his misinformation will find its way into articles and broadcasts. The number Eyman uses has changed over the last few years, but it’s always stayed under 10 – and it always will. It sounds persuasive, until you pull back the curtain and check the math.

Fortunately, there is more credible and reputable information available from the Washington State Department of Revenue. In 2004 the DOR released a report entitled, “Comparative State and Local Taxes 2002“, compiled by Revenue Analysis Manager Don Taylor.

The report found that Washington State actually ranks 32nd in the nation when the comparative state and local taxes of each state across the country are checked as a percentage of personal income. The report found that residents of New York are the most highly taxed, while residents of Tennessee are the least.

When historical trends are examined, (except for a brief anomalous dip in the early 1980’s) the average amount of taxes paid is currently at a forty year low, and has been trending consistently down since 1996. When total state and local taxes are examined, they have actually declined as a percentage of personal income, to a point below historic levels and national averages.

Republicans like Tim Eyman often like to pretend that taxes are a terrible burden and should always be lowered. But in reality, taxes are public investments which make our communities safe, healthy, and livable. Quality police and fire protection, a robust parks and recreation system, strong schools and libraries, transportation infrastructure that’s safe and uncongested – these are all public services that cost money. Simply put, government at all levels – local, state, and federal – has made many wise investments with taxpayer money.

Rather than destroying needed revenues for important services provided by the government, we should reorganize our tax structure so that people are paying their fair share. Though Washington State is not a highly taxed state, the system is still regressive, and as a result, middle and lower income families are paying more then they should – while big businesses and wealthy Washingtonians enjoy exemption after exemption and tax break after tax break.

We need tax reform, but what Tim Eyman offers is not reform. It’s not practical, it’s not healthy, and it will not not benefit Washington taxpayers and their families.

Initiative 917 is a threat to the sustainable future of our state… and Permanent Defense will fight to ensure that it is defeated just as I-912 was last November.

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