Anti-Tax Ballot Initiative Sponsor Tim Eyman Says He Is Running For Governor Of Washington

Professional initiative sponsor Tim Eyman, right, holds a photo from his first successful $30 car tabs initiative in 1999. Eyman says he has collected almost enough signatures to qualify a 2019 car tabs rollback initiative to the 2019 Legislature. CREDIT: AUSTIN JENKINS/N3
File photo. Professional initiative sponsor Tim Eyman, right, holds a photo from his first successful $30 car tabs initiative in 1999 earlier this year. At left, Spokane city councilman Mike Fagan. CREDIT: Austin Jenkins/N3

Read On

Longtime anti-tax activist Tim Eyman says he’s running for governor of Washington. Eyman announced his candidacy Thursday at a Sound Transit board meeting.

He says his decision to run is motivated in part by legal efforts to overturn Initiative 976, his car tabs measure that voters just approved.

“I think for 21 years I’ve worked as a political activist to put ideas on the ballot that voters have had a chance to vote on and voters keep voting for a lot of our initiatives, yet we’ve got elected officials that aren’t listening to voters,” Eyman told public radio. “Instead they’re suing voters because they didn’t like the outcome of the vote.”

Eyman says he doesn’t know yet if he’ll run as a Republican or an independent.

He’s also currently embroiled in a campaign finance lawsuit brought by the Washington Attorney General’s office.

Earlier this year Eyman was charged with stealing a chair from Office Depot. He later settled the case without admitting guilt.

Incumbent Democratic Gov. Jay Inslee is seeking a third term after ending his presidential bid earlier this fall.

Related Stories:

Initiative sponsor Tim Eyman spoke outside the Washington State Supreme Court on Tuesday, Dec. 3, 2019. CREDIT: Tom Banse/N3

Washington Initiative Promoter Tim Eyman Fined $2.6M, Barred From Political Committees In Lawsuit

Tim Eyman, the watch salesman-turned-antitax folk hero whose initiative campaigns have bedeviled state and local governments across Washington for decades, will no longer be allowed to have any financial control over political committees, under a judge’s ruling Wednesday that blasted him for using donor’s contributions to line his own pocket. Continue Reading Washington Initiative Promoter Tim Eyman Fined $2.6M, Barred From Political Committees In Lawsuit

Professional initiative sponsor Tim Eyman, right, holds a photo from his first successful $30 car tabs initiative in 1999. Eyman says he has collected almost enough signatures to qualify a 2019 car tabs rollback initiative to the 2019 Legislature. CREDIT: AUSTIN JENKINS/N3

Washington Supreme Court Unanimously Strikes Down I-976, Tim Eyman’s $30 Car Tab Initiative

On Thursday, the state Supreme Court struck down Initiative 976, a measure Washington voters approved last November to reduce the cost of annual vehicle licensing fees. The measure has been on hold for nearly a year as legal challenges worked their way through the court system. Continue Reading Washington Supreme Court Unanimously Strikes Down I-976, Tim Eyman’s $30 Car Tab Initiative