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Friday, November 06, 2009

Washington’s Tim Eyman and his initiative future

The Oregonian: Conservative initiative activist Tim Eyman - Washington state's answer to Oregon's Bill Sizemore - lost his second major initiative in a row Tuesday when voters rejected his proposal to strictly limit the growth of state and local spending.

That leads Joel Connelly at Seattlepi.com to ask whether it is the "end of Eymanism," particularly since his Initiative 1033 was losing in many counties that have been his stronghold. I suspect, however, that Associated Press writer Curt Woodward has it right in an analysis that Eyman has now become an established part of the state's political routine.

"While Washington voters have increasingly handed the controls of state government to Democrats in recent years, they've also kept Eyman hanging around as a counterweight, granting him periodic victories that frustrate the establishment's agenda..." "He'll inevitably chalk up some losses, sometimes failing to qualify for the ballot at all. But eventually, Eyman and Co. hit upon an idea that resonates with independent voters and gives government fits."

Sizemore seems to be getting marginalized in Oregon, but other conservative activists are becoming a more prominent part of the initiative landscape.  In both states, I find, conservatives in recent years have seen the initiative and referendum system as their best chance to influence the direction of the state.

To read more, click here.

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