I-747 not on ballot, but foes airing ads

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Before all the signatures have even been gathered, opponents of Tim Eyman's latest initiative are taking to the airwaves, making a case against Initiative 747 that is as much about Eyman himself as it is about the measure's content.

Radio advertisements discouraging support for I-747, which would limit property-tax increases to 1 percent a year, began running Monday in a handful of Washington cities. The choice, they claim, is stark:

• Sign when "paid signature gatherers" thrust the proposed November ballot measure in your face, and you are supporting "another Tim Eyman initiative threatening our communities."

• Refuse, and you are supporting "your neighbors" - firefighters, librarians and community hospitals.

The No on I-747 campaign is challenging the central idea in Eyman's proposal, saying that putting a cap on property-tax increases would hurt local governments that rely on those taxes to pay for essential services.

The end result, they say, would be to hurt voters who want good libraries and strong fire departments.

But the campaign also senses that voters are disenchanted with Eyman, and it wants to exploit that sentiment.

"I think there's a lot of public fatigue regarding Tim Eyman," said Christian Sinderman, a political consultant who is working for the No on I-747 campaign.

"He has lost a lot of his luster since the last time out. He's batting zero for three."

Eyman said the ads show that his opponents believe his latest initiative is constitutional, unlike two of his measures that voters approved and state courts tossed out.

Eyman's I-695, substituting a flat $30 fee for the state motor-vehicle excise tax and requiring public votes on tax and fee increases, was approved by voters in 1999 but last year was declared unconstitutional. The Legislature later voted to retain the flat $30 car-tab fee. I-722, the anti-tax initiative known as "Son of 695," was also ruled unconstitutional this year.

Eyman's third initiative, I-745, would have required 90 percent of all transportation money to go to roads, but voters rejected it.

This time around, Eyman said, "they're making me the issue and not addressing the policy implications.

"This indicates they don't think they can make it on the merits..

The measure would limit property-tax-rate increases to 1 percent a year unless voters approved a higher increase. The current limit is 6 percent.

The advertisements are running in Seattle, Spokane, Yakima, the Tri-Cities, Olympia, Bellingham, Aberdeen and Wenatchee.

In Seattle, they will be aired 18 to 30 times a week, Sinderman said, particularly during the morning commute. They will play on news station KIRO-AM, country station KMPS-FM and rock station KMTT-FM.

Through April 30, the No on I-747 campaign had raised about $80,000, with the largest contributors being public-employee unions and firefighters organizations. Eyman had raised $413,000 in the same period.

Taking on an initiative before it has even made it onto the ballot is an unusual step, and Sinderman conceded that the odds of squelching I-747 before a vote are long. But early efforts are still worthwhile, he said.

"We're not going to give him a free ride over the summer, where he can basically lie about the impacts of this initiative," Sinderman said.

"We're planting the seed in people's head that this would have severe consequences on essential services, and this isn't good for our communities."

Eyman would not say how many signatures he has gathered. He has until July 6 to get 200,000 valid signatures and said he is using paid gatherers and volunteers.

Seattle Times staff reporter Susan Gilmore contributed to this report.