Eyman quiet as anti-tax campaign continues

$30 car tab initiative still being pursued, but I-747 follow-up measure likely dead

BRAD SHANNON AND PATRICK CONDON, THE OLYMPIAN

Originally published Wednesday, February 6, 2002

OLYMPIA -- Tim Eyman will lie low while his associates take over his latest initiative and try to keep a head of steam behind their anti-tax crusade.

"We can go forward with or without him," new Initiative 776 leader Monte Benham said Tuesday, two days after Eyman admitted he took money from previous campaigns and lied about it. "We've asked him not to talk to the press. Let's ride this thing through."

Indeed, Eyman remained silent and sent out a letter to supporters deferring all questions to Benham.

In a sign that Benham was already easing into his new role, he made the rounds at the Capitol, stopping in to talk with reporters as Eyman frequently did. Benham said the anti-tax movement could make a quick change of direction.

The new team likely will drop plans for a second initiative in 2002, one that Eyman announced last week, days before he admitted his lies.

The second initiative would have followed up last year's Initiative 747, placing even stricter controls on local government access to taxes.

Benham said he disagreed with Eyman's decision to go forward with the second initiative, thinking voters would be confused by two tax-cutting measures on the same ballot.

Eyman still a target

Even as Benham and his team prepare their push for I-776, opponents said they'll keep tying Eyman to the effort.

"With or without Tim Eyman, this is still a Tim Eyman initiative. That means it can't be trusted," said Christian Sinderman, a political consultant who unsuccessfully fought the property-tax-capping I-747 last year.

"I think all of us who have opposed his initiatives are waiting for the dust to settle," Sinderman said. "But there will be opposition to this latest initiative, and it will take form in the next several weeks."

Benham said Eyman's proven ability to deliver money over the years could be a factor in whether Eyman returns to the I-776 campaign or any future anti-tax efforts.

"We'll have to see. I have no problem with Tim Eyman. Give me an example of anyone else who has shown the courage Tim has and has bared his soul, his sin, to the world." Benham said. "He has a lot of guilt. The biggest challenge for Tim is to forgive himself."

Message still powerful

Benham of Kennewick, a one-time Eyman adversary who later joined forces with him in 1999 for the successful Initiative 695 rollback of car taxes, has been involved with Eyman on a handful of initiatives.

Benham, a lanky former nuclear engineer, helped craft the tax-reduction initiatives, but he has always kept a lower profile, letting Eyman act as the primary pitchman.

Benham, 65, ran for the Legislature but lost to Republican Rep. Shirley Hankins in 2000. He said no one really connected his name to I-695, though he'd been a key member of the team.

I-776 would cap car taxes at $30 statewide, rolling back locally adopted fees that help pay for local projects, including Sound Transit in King, Pierce and Snohomish counties.

Benham insisted the measure won't be hurt without Eyman, but he acknowledged it will take time for the campaign to reorganize.

"Until we get a board in place and we make those decisions, it's the Fagans (Mike and Jack) in Spokane and me right now as the leadership," Benham said, adding that he's not as comfortable in the role of spokesman that he's occupying at least temporarily.

"I've enjoyed letting Tim Eyman be the spokesman," Benham said. "If there's someone willing to do it who's better than me, I'll let them step in."

Erne Lewis, an Olympia man who recently established Liberty Initiatives to push Libertarian causes, said Eyman was able to tap into a strong vein of voter discontent.

That discontent won't dissolve, even if Eyman withdraws from the scene, Lewis said.

"People will look at what he has done," Lewis said. "They'll look at the fact that their car tabs went down. That's not going to go away, even if Tim Eyman does."

Brad Shannon and Patrick Condon can be reached at 360-753-1688.

On the Web:

- Permanent Offense

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