Voice of the Mid-Columbia | Kennewick, Pasco and Richland, Wash. |
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Chris Mulick has worked for the Herald since 1998 and has served as the statehouse correspondent covering state government and politics since 2000. He works year-round out of the Herald's Olympia bureau on the state Capitol campus. Have a question? Send Chris an e-mail and he'll answer the best questions regularly. |
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closeInitiative promoter Tim Eyman just sent out a note to supporters telling them that he’s taking out a $250,000 loan to help pay signature gatherers for Initiative 985.
That’s because Woodenville investor Mike Dunmire, who has plowed hundreds of thousands into Eyman initiative campaigns won’t be contributing more for the time being.
Eyman said he “has been contributing a lot but he recently e-mailed me — because of charitable donations and other business obligations, we can't count on anything more from him in the foreseeable future.”
The multi-faceted measure aims to reduce traffic congestion by, among other things, opening up carpool lanes during non-peak hours and dedicating money to clear accidents more quickly.
Now Eyman is asking donors to retire the loan.
“I'm jumping off a big cliff — please help catch me,” Eyman writes.
UPDATE: A quick check of the Public Disclosure Commission database shows Dunmire has contributed $210,000 to the I-985 campaign so far and $100,000 this year to the compensation fund Eyman and his cohorts draw from. It further shows that Dunmire, since 2004, has contributed more than $1.8 million to Eyman initiatives and another $320,000 to his compensation fund.
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