Initiative promoter Tim Eyman, right, and his partner, Jack Fagan, arrive at the state Elections Division office to turn in more than 318,000 signatures for an initiative to reinforce a rule that makes it more difficult for lawmakers to raise taxes, on Friday, July 6, 2012, in Olympia.
TACOMA, Wash. (AP) — The Washington Public Disclosure Commission on Thursday sent its campaign finance investigation of anti-tax initiative promoter Tim Eyman to the attorney general's office.
The Public Disclosure Commission voted unanimously to refer the three-year-old inquiry to the attorney general for possible criminal charges or civil penalties, The News Tribune reported (http://is.gd/xgtfAX ).
The motion called for Bob Ferguson's office to expand the investigation beyond the 2012 transactions that PDC investigators examined closely. The board referred the case at the request of its staff and after hearing from Sherry Bockwinkel, whose complaint started the investigation.
"It didn't stop in 2012 and it certainly didn't begin there," Bockwinkel told the board, noting that this year's Eyman-backed campaign for Initiative 1366 contracted with the same company to manage signature gathering, Citizen Solutions, as 2012's Initiative 1185. "It's happening all over again," she said.
Eyman's attorney, Mark Lamb, says he believes his client will prevail once he can fully defend himself.
Lamb called Bockwinkel "a disgruntled former vendor personally attacking my client and a business rival that displaced her in the signature gathering industry," referring to Eyman and Citizen Solutions.
Lamb said Eyman has not had an opportunity to present his side of the story.
PDC investigator Tony Perkins said Eyman and his allies have refused to comply with most of the subpoenas the agency issued to uncover evidence.
Investigators allege that Eyman appears to have authorized payments to Citizen Solutions knowing the firm would send part of the money back to him for his personal use.
