Any potential new tax is met with some hesitation on the part of citizens. But the potential car-tab tax that the Kirkland City Council has debated as part of a Transport Benefit District (TBD) has gained the ire of one former Kirkland resident, anti-tax initiative guru, Tim Eyman.

Eyman was drawn into the debate by Kirkland Mayor Joan McBride’s comments during a council meeting in June and again in an interview with the Reporter in August. McBride said that when the City of Olympia considered the same type of tax and held public hearings, Eyman voiced his support for the tax. The statement was false.

“I am completely against a tax like this and testified against the Olympia tax,” Eyman told the Reporter in August.

A search of the Olympia City Council meetings revealed Eyman’s testimony, backing his statement.

McBride said that she misinterpreted documents provided to her by city staff. She has since exchanged e-mails with Eyman to explain her statements.

“I definitely misrepresented his opinion and I apologize,” said McBride. “I would never dream of knowingly misrepresenting someone else’s opinion.”

The document provided by city staff was an overview of results from other cities in Washington concerning TBDs. The section in question was found in the City of Olympia’s results. The document stated: “Tim Eyman showed up at Public Hearing. Citizens showed up saying ‘we want this.’ Overall, the community is very supportive.”

McBride misinterpreted the statement to mean that Eyman was in favor of the potential measure.

“I misinterpreted the document the city provided,” said McBride.

Eyman said that he still plans to speak at any Kirkland public hearing on the subject and offered the city a suggestion: “They should do what Monroe recently did – they set up a Transportation Benefit District but promised that any increase in any tax or fee would only be imposed if voters approved it.”

No date for a public hearing specifically concerning the TBD has been set yet, but the issue was discussed during a public comment portion of the last Kirkland City Council meeting relating to the Capital Improvement Program.

“We need to know what the public process will be and we need to do it during the budget process,” said McBride.