Eymann defends private account against criticism
Anti-tax crusader calls it contingency for future campaigns
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Richard Roesler
Staff writer

OLYMPIA _ It's a war chest, not personal profit.

That's how anti-tax activist Tim Eyman describes $82,602 in campaign contributions sitting in a private corporate bank account belonging to him and his wife.

The money is a contingency fund for current and future campaigns, Eyman said Tuesday. So far, it's paid for about $6,700 in radio ads and accounting work for Eyman's latest endeavor, Initiative 747.

"I continue to feel very comfortable that we've done everything appropriately," the Mukilteo watch seller said.

Eyman's critics, citing such payments, say he has turned his crusade into a personal moneymaker. They acknowledge that it wouldn't be illegal -- Eyman's chief critic on this point is a union-backed political consultant being paid $5,000 a month -- but it probably would diminish some of Eyman's populist shine among his primarily grass-roots donors.

"Here's a guy who's literally made a name for himself denouncing government mismanagement and secrecy, and here he is, squirreling away a slush fund for himself," said political consultant Christian Sinderman, leader of the No On 747 group.

Eyman scoffs, saying such criticisms drip with hypocrisy. "So far, every time they've thrown a punch at us, they've given themselves a black eye," he said of his critics. "If anything, this is just a little mosquito bite along the way."

Still, the for-profit corporation is an unusual development. Here's what happens: Eyman's campaign organization, Permanent Offense, pays thousands of dollars per month to Permanent Offense Inc., a private corporation the couple founded 18 months ago. The payments are for the couple's accounting, fund-raising, advertising and database work for the campaign. But Eyman says the couple will spend the money on campaigns, not on themselves.

"None of the money has gone to us," he said. "We make a lot of money from watches and don't need additional income."

On Tuesday, in response to a fairly routine query from the state agency overseeing campaign finances, Eyman said that Permanent Offense has paid the corporation $90,296 this year. Of that, he said, the corporation paid out about $6,700 for the radio ads and accounting, plus about $1,000 more for various noncampaign expenses such as business licenses and taxes.

The remaining $82,602 sits in the couple's corporate account at US Bank. Eyman said that money is intended entirely for initiative-related costs, either this year or down the road.

Last year, according to campaign finance reports, Permanent Offense paid $37,000 to Permanent Offense Inc. Eyman said Tuesday night that all of that money was spent late in the campaign to pay subcontractors for advertising, database management and accounting work.

Eyman said he formed the corporation as a way of providing organizational continuity from one annual initiative campaign to the next.

"Obviously, if you have money in advance, you're in a stronger position," he said.

It's registered as a for-profit company, he said, because nonprofits face restrictions on political activity.

Eyman's critics point out that everything he can do with the corporation and its savings he could do more simply and openly with the campaign and its account. The campaign already has $539,000 in donations, and spent hundreds of thousands of dollars. Initiative campaigns can even transfer leftover campaign funds to different initiative efforts the following year.

Sinderman said there's nothing to stop Eyman from pocketing money that's already in his private account.

"He can just wait until people aren't looking at him, and then just take it," said Sinderman. "As long as it's sitting in a private account, he can give it to himself whenever he wants."

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