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"You did
it!" Eyman declares Olympia, WA - 7/6/01 - Carrying a huge yellow sign proclaiming "You did it!", Tim Eyman along with his 3 year-old-son Jackson and co-sponsors Monte Benham of Kennewick, and Jack & Mike Fagan of Spokane, and numerous I-747 supporters waltzed into the Secretary of State's office with boxes of petitions at 10:00 am this morning. Flanked by supporters sporting black I-747 t-shirts (with a very cool neon green design), the sponsors of I-747 submitted 275,000+ signatures to qualify Initiative 747, the Right to Vote on Property Taxes Initiative, for the November ballot. I-747 co-author Rob McKenna (King County Councilman and King County Budget Chairman) was the featured speaker (prestigious Olympia attorney Jim Johnson is the other co-author of I-747). "I-747 is legal, constitutional and desperately needed in Washington state," said Rob McKenna, co-author of I-747. "Many jurisdictions have managed to keep property tax increases in check over the years, but unfortunately, they are the exception and not the rule. Numerous efforts have been made, both through the legislative process and the initiative process, to limit property tax increases. "Unfortunately, the language of these measures have included numerous loopholes that have been overused and abused by many taxing authorities. Washington's citizens need I-747 to ensure property tax increases are reasonable, predictable, and affordable, especially for our working class families and senior citizens living on fixed incomes," McKenna said. Tim Eyman declared, "You did it!" and spent his time thanking supporters. "275,000 citizens voluntarily signed our petitions and got I-747 on the ballot. Congratulations to all of you for making I-747 a reality." "I am truly humbled by the tremendous outpouring of support for I-747. Once our supporters learned last week that we were within striking distance of qualifying for the ballot, an avalanche of mail bombarded Mukilteo. Interestingly, we shut down the paid signature drive 3 weeks ago if the July 6th deadline was extended 5 days, the paid drive wouldn't have been necessary. With I-747, the average taxpayer will have an equal voice in the process." "There's no doubt we've faced incredible obstacles in our efforts to limit taxes. Our opponents were counting on our supporters losing faith the reverse was true: our supporters' determination only got stronger. You are all truly amazing people. See you in November." I-747 is an Initiative to the People and was required to submit 197,734 valid signatures by July 6th. In 1999, we managed to get 514,000 signatures for I-695 (2nd highest number in state history) and gathered over 270,000 signatures for I-722 last year. I-695 received 992,715 votes and I-722 received 1,295,391 votes (both passed 56%-44%). Over the past 4 years, we have sponsored 6 initiatives. Of those 6, we've managed to get enough signatures to qualify 5 for the ballot. Of the 4 that have been voted on, 3 have been approved by the voters. I-747 PO Box 1641 Mukilteo WA 98275 Ph: 425-493-8707 FAX: 425-493-1027 www.i-747.com email: info@I-747.com In accordance with Title 17 U.S.C. Section 107, any
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