Tim Eyman

Letting Tim Eyman dictate state policy, the Governor toes the "no new taxes" line and leaves the state budget about as stable as a two-legged stool.

The short-term savings of any Eyman initiative are miniscule compared to the long-term, widespread costs. The net Eyman effect is pushing our state over the red line, and into a deficit.

Tim EymanTwo of the three initiatives that seem to be headed for this November's ballot could bring, in addition to the will of the people, nearly $300 million in deficit spending. Chris Mulick at the Tri-City Herald reports Sunday that preliminary estimates from the state department of revenue show that Tim Eyman and company's I-985 and the SEIU-backed I-1029 would combine for $313 million in extra spending between now and the end of the next two-year budget cycle. This comes in addition to a projected deficit of $2.7 billion.

I-985 would do the brunt of the damage. The proposed legislation to change Department of Transportation priorities to include faster accident clearing and broader access to HOV lanes in order to reduce congestion would take $290 million out of the state's general fund.

The deadline for turning in signatures to place an initiative on the November ballot is July 3, and three big campaigns are gearing up to take their “oughta be a law” ideas directly to the people.

Rich Roesler at the S-R has a rundown of expenditures for Washington's ballot initiatives. Initiative 1000, which would legally grant physicians the power to prescribe lethal drugs to the terminally ill, leads the charge with more than $1.2 million raised and over a million spent. Their opponents, the Coalition Against Assisted Suicide, spent about $54,000 and have a little less than $40,000 on hand.

Tim Eyman's Initiative 985 has raised $511,170 and spent $454,287, both relatively small figures compared to the amount of press the initiative receives with Eyman's promotion talents. Also of note is Initiative 1029, which would expand training and background checks for certain health care workers and has brought in $350,000 and spent $267,159.

Porn model walks, airplane modeler gets a do-over and remodelers may have overdone it. Here are the Winners & Losers for June 20, 2008.

Tim Eyman, the driving force behind ballot initiative 985 which seeks to implement State Auditor Brian Sonntag's recommendations to reform the Department of Transportation to focus on reducing congestion, is headed to Olympia today to turn in the 225,000 signatures required for ballot access at 11 am.

This is the first initiative to reach that mark. Still no word on the signature status of the other major ballot initiative of the cycle, I-1000 or, death with dignity. The deadline for turning in signatures is July 3. 

UPDATE: No one showed up at Eyman's press conference, per Mulick.

Eyman is maximizing free press to mobilize the surprising number of people who still think he’s a good idea. Famous for being famous, for wearing silly costumes, for ruining serious news coverage and for misdirecting the state economy, Tim Eyman is our very own Paris Hilton. Only not as pretty.

Tim Eyman, the chief sponsor of the Initiative 985 that would require the implementation of certain traffic congestion reduction measures recommended by State Auditor Brian Sonntag, announced today that the campaign is on the cusp of the 225,000 signatures required to gain access to the ballot in November.