Dori: Why anti-tax activist Tim Eyman won’t quit

Say what you will about anti-tax initiative activist Tim Eyman, but he’s no quitter.

Eyman joined Friday’s Dori Monson Show to talk about the latest news that he has defaulted on two months worth of court-ordered $10,000 payments. It’s part of the $5.4 million he owes to Washington state for his loss in a four-year lawsuit by state Attorney General Bob Ferguson for violations related to campaign finance laws.

Eyman – who filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy almost three years ago – was expected to make monthly payments or face default. In his case, the bankruptcy plan dictates that his entire debt is due immediately if he fails to pay, and begins accruing 12% interest annually. Ferguson’s office reported that September and October payments were missed, so he’s calling in a court trustee to sell the Mukilteo house Eyman’s soon-to-be ex-wife and children live in, to pay the state’s bill.

As Eyman sees it, the choice was to pay his attorney, Richard Sanders, while fighting on appeals – or pay the government. Eyman told Dori he prefers to pay his attorney, to whom he says he still owes more than $300,000.

The government can’t take anything more from him, Eyman says.

“In construction, they call it stripped it down the studs,” he said. “There’s nothing else they can do to me. Now they’re going after a house I don’t even live in anymore. … Now it’s all vindictive.”

The house he refers to is a home where his ex-wife and children live, but where he claims he does not.

Meanwhile, Eyman is working with others on promoting Washington state Initiative 1408 – an effort to combat a proposed state income tax. If the state Legislature doesn’t address the matter in early 2022, his team hopes it will go before voters on a ballot.

So how does he get through this latest personal financial challenge?

“I have to step back and realize my family, my friends, my faith, my health — these are the most important things you have in your life,” Eyman said. “There are a whole lot of people who have it tougher than me. I’ve been financially destroyed but this thing hasn’t broken me.”

Why not? Dori asks.

“Pure masochism. Maybe a certain amount of white trash Irish stubbornness,” Eyman replied. “I’m not going to let Bob Ferguson get away with this with me because I just know if he gets away with me then he will target somebody else – simply because they choose to put forth a different point of view. … It only lights my fire to go even harder at them.”

You can contribute to Eyman’s defense fund here.

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