MajorityRules.org: Press Releases

March 16th, 2004

Eyman Again Thumbs Nose at Public Disclosure Commission

Eyman has not filed names of contributors to his PAC's since January

Contact: Steve Zemke

206-366-0811

stevezemke@msn.com

Seattle, WA—Tim Eyman has not filed the names of his contributors to his two PAC’s -Voters Want More Choices and Help Us Help Taxpayers since January 2004. For two months in a row he has filed a letter saying his treasurer was sick and saying he would sent the names the next month.

He filed no names by the February 10th deadline for January reports and again filed no names by the March 10th deadline for February reports. He is now saying he will first file the names April 10, 2004. He has reported the total amounts raised and his expenses but not who gave and how much.

The Public Disclosure Act says that “each report required …shall disclose the name and address of each person who has made one or more contributions and the aggregate value of all contributions….” Eyman is aware that he has a problem with his treasurer being sick but he has chosen not to take any action to bring him in compliance with the law.

Eyman claims he has “thousands of supporters” but he has decided not to ask any of them to help. He probably could enter the information himself with a little help. I don’t think his lifetime prohibition on being a treasurer of a campaign committee because of his past violations of public disclosure law prevents him from data entry.

On March 1st he had $27,966.90 in the bank for Voters Want More Choices and $7,213.40 in Help Us Help Taxpayers. Surely if he wanted he could have paid someone else beside his treasurer to do data entry to bring him into compliance with the law. The task is not horrendous Since Voters Want More Choices had 1025 contributors in January. and only 768 in February. And Help us Help Taxpayers had 161 contributors in January and only 42 in February.

Eyman’s hatred of public disclosure is well known. He continues to comply it seems only under duress rather than voluntarily. That is why today three organizations filed an official complaint with the Public Disclosure Commission asking that they quit turning a blind eye to Eyman noncompliance and insist that he file the late reports within 10 days or face fines.

The complaint was filed by e-mail today on behalf of Kelly Fox of the Washington State Council of Firefighters, Steve Zemke of Taxpayers for Washington’s Future and David Goldstein of TaxSanity.org.

In addition on March 1, 2004 Eyman filed what is now I-885 to increase gambling in Washington State and has not filed a campaign committee with the PDC as required by law. RCW 42.17.040 states “Every political committee within two weeks after its organization or, within two weeks after the date when it first has the expectation of receiving contributions or making expenditures in any election campaign, whichever is earlier, shall file a statement of organization with the commission…

By all accounts it appears Eyman has passed the two week deadline since as the morning of March 16, 2004 no campaign committee has been filed with the PDC. We ask that the PDC also investigate this as a violation of public disclosure law and fine him if appropriate. Each day should be a violation. We can expect that the campaign for I-885 because of its support by the gambling and entertainment industries will exceed several million dollars.

If the PDC does not act now to tell Eyman he needs to comply with public disclosure law or be fined, will we see more letters – this time regarding I-885 saying that he is unable to comply with disclosure of contributors in a legal manner for whatever reason?

The public has a right to know who is funding Eyman’s anti-government, libertarian and gambling initiatives. Unless the PDC show some backbone, the public will be denied information about who is funding campaigns that affect them.

To not demand compliance is to give Eyman preferential treatment. He should be required to comply with state law the same as everyone else.