Tim Eyman wants $2.2 million for statewide initiative to repeal $15/hour minimum wage

[eridani]

http://www.nwprogressive.org/weblog/2014/08/tim-eyman-wants-2-2-million-for-statewide-initiative-to-repeal-15hour-minimum-wage.html

Remember back in June when Tim Eyman filed a statewide initiative to prevent cities like Seattle from raising the minimum wage above the level set by state law?

Several media outlets, including the Puget Sound Business Journal, erroneously assumed – and then wrongfully reported – that Eyman was already collecting signatures for the measure, when in fact all he had done was attach his name to somebody else’s bad idea as a publicity stunt.

(As we subsequently pointed out, it’s actually not possible to begin collecting signatures for any initiative until it has been assigned a number, ballot title and ballot summary. That hadn’t happened at the time those reports were published).

The following day (June 5th), after reporters had noticed the initiative, Eyman sent out an email explaining that he was “doing research and development”.

Said Eyman:

As for [sic] our Fair and Uniform Minimum Wage Initiative is concerned, our goal is to illustrate to the small business owners and other concerned citizens a smart, effective initiative proposal that gives everyone in Washington a voice in the economic future of our state. For those interested, we have attached the final text for it.

Later in June, as it became apparent that Eyman’s I-1325 was headed for the dustbin and would not qualify for the November 2014 ballot, we began hearing that Eyman was approaching people opposed to the minimum wage increase approved in Seattle and SeaTac, and trying to involve himself in their efforts to seek its repeal. More recently, however, we received concrete evidence – in the form of a memo – that Eyman wants to spearhead a combined effort himself.

[Aristus]

1. Goddamn this worthless bastard...

[MFM008]

2. moron

I have never voted for anything this asshole has put out there and am not going to start now.

[Salviati]

3. Fuck Tim Eyman

That is all.

[SeattleVet]

4. Just look at the name he chose for this one:

The 'Fair and Uniform Minimum Wage Initiative', but I'll probably be be calling it 'Eyman's F-U Minimum Wage Initiative'.

Slick marketing, there, Timmy.

$2.2 million would pay a lot of people $15/hour for a while.

[eridani]

6. Excellent!

I suggest that everyone start calling it Eymans F-U Minimum Wage Initiative.

[Wounded Bear]

5. Almost everything Eyman has put out there has already been tried...

In California. All you have to do is look there and see how these crazy RW proposals will work out.

[eridani]

7. sigh of relief--looks like it's dead for the time being

Well, we won't have to call it anything if it's dead...

At NPI, we are working every week to put Tim Eyman out of business and deny him funding. We're the only ones working to dismantle his initiative factory on a year-round basis. We've always done what we could with what we had.

But I've often wished that we had more help.

When it comes to time, talent, and treasure, the earlier you can put it to work, the bigger return you get. That's why, instead of waiting to see what happens with this, we are actively trying to disrupt Eyman's plans before he can get this off the ground. It's why we published the post that Martha excerpted from below. What a concept, huh?

I'm not sure how many of you have heard the name Bill Sizemore, but Bill Sizemore used to be doing in Oregon what Tim Eyman is doing in Washington. He was their Grover Norquist clone. He's not a factor anymore, because the Oregon AFL-CIO and the Oregon Education Association put him out of business. They made the most of opportunities to capitalize on Sizemore's stumbles. They made sure his lawbreaking cost him. They went after him in court, and they prevailed.

Aside from NPI, there really isn't another progressive organization in this state that's watchdogging and opposing Eyman at every turn. I will say the Washington State Democratic Party and Fuse have been reliable, willing, helpful partners, particularly at election time, and that is deeply, deeply appreciated.

But other organizations just don't seem interested in fighting Eyman, and it's mystifying. His initiative factory has been such a major threat for years. It's a menace. But on our side, there's been this attitude that, if we just ignore Eyman, he'll go away eventually... maybe move to another state.

To anyone who thinks this, I've said, sorry, the only way to make Eyman go away is to give him the vigorous, unrelenting opposition that he deserves. That's what we're committed to doing. Of course, even if we succeed, it doesn't eliminate the possibility of having to face right wing initiatives from some other entity in any given year. There will always be a need for permanent infrastructure and proactive ballot activism. Which is why I don't envision our Permanent Defense project ever shutting down.

Andrew Villeneuve
State Committeeman
45th District Democrats
Executive Director
Northwest Progressive Institute