Dori’s top questions for Eyman’s gubernatorial campaign

Governor Tim Eyman? It may sound like a surprising combination, but initiative guru Tim Eyman’s gubernatorial campaign kicked off suddenly with an announcement at Thursday’s Sound Transit Board of Directors meeting.

Eyman, who has spent the past two decades bringing tax-lowering initiatives forward, most recently made headlines at the center of the I-976 campaign for $30 car tabs. Eyman argued that $30 tabs were necessary because Sound Transit was not honest with voters about how much their car tab bills would go up with the passage of ST3, and because the agency was using an outdated valuation system to overvalue cars and thus overcharge people.

The initiative passed, but is now being challenged in court by political leaders who say it will take away vital public transportation funding.

The anti-tax activist is not without his scandals. He has been embroiled in a court case with the Washington State Attorney General over allegations of violating campaign finance laws. Last year, he stated in a press release that this lawsuit had caused him to file for bankruptcy and divorce. Earlier this year, he was caught on video taking an office chair out of a Lacey Office Depot without paying for it.

Eyman on 976 lawsuit: Executive Constantine in ‘5 stages of grief’ 

1) Why did he announce his campaign at the Nov. 21 Sound Transit Board meeting?

“I just thought the contrast was perfect, that they’re not listening to people, they’re not actually representing anyone but themselves. They’re so arrogant, they just won’t listen,” he said. “And so it just seemed like a perfect contrast to say, ‘Because you guys won’t listen, this is why I’m launching this run for governor.'”

2) Why is he running for governor?

“I have just seen, over and over and over again, people getting to the point where they say, ‘Why am I even voting for this stuff? The people that we elect aren’t listening to us,'” Eyman said. “And it’s just clear that doing it one idea at a time just isn’t going to work, and the only way that we’re going to get the policies that we keep voting on is to vote for different people … Every single decision seems to be being made by Seattle, and I wanted to do something that was going to represent everybody else outside of Seattle, just regular folks who want to have their voices heard.”

3) Is he electable as governor?

“I was wearing a t-shirt yesterday that said, ‘Let the voters decide.’ I’ve heard for 20 years, ‘Hey, if you really want to make a difference, you ought to put your hat in the ring and actually run for office,'” he said, adding, “At the end of the day, all I can do is put myself out there, put my ideas out there, and have a really good, solid group of ideas.”

4) What is Eyman’s gubernatorial campaign platform?

“Jay Inslee promised to veto any tax increase, and he has now raised taxes 29 times, [costing] taxpayers $50.6 billion … I will veto any tax increase that lands on my desk,” Eyman stated. “There is no way they’re ever going to be able to raise the tax where I sign it. The only way they’ll actually be able to implement the tax is to override it with a two-thirds vote, or put it on the ballot for the voters to decide.'”

5) Will Eyman’s gubernatorial campaign have the support of the Washington State Republican Party?

“Who knows? … It really boils down to each person, each candidate [having] to raise their own money. That’s just the way the world works in politics these days — you’re on your own,” he said. “And I’ve been raising money nonstop for the last 21 years for ideas, and that’s exactly what I’m going to continue to do with this one. People are going to know more about the public policy ideas that I’ve got than probably any other candidate that’s ever been [around].”

6) Can he handle the personal mudslinging that comes with a campaign?

“For 21 years, it’s been a nonstop effort to try to get voters to say, ‘Vote no on $30 tabs because Tim Eyman is a bad guy.’ That’s all we’ve ever heard for so many years … [The office chair video] is exactly what they’re going to throw out, and that’s not really what they’re afraid of,” he said. “What they’re afraid of is going to be the ideas that are going to end up coming forward, and the idea of vetoing any tax increase that this Legislature ends up passing.”

7) Can he beat Jay Inslee?

“Jay Inslee is somebody who just doesn’t even want to be governor,” Eyman said. “I mean, he ran for president when he got zero percent of the vote. He ends up scurrying back here, and then he waits for his consolation prize. But he just wants to win so that he can then be named into a cabinet position.”

8) Can he beat Dori Monson?

“I’m willing to put my name out there, willing to fight the good fight, and at the end of the day the voters will decide who the top two [candidates] are,” he said. “It’s going to be Jay Inslee versus somebody, and I think that somebody is going to be me.”

Listen to the Dori Monson Show weekday afternoons from 12-3 p.m. on KIRO Radio, 97.3 FM. Subscribe to the podcast here.