Flood of last-minute cash against I-1033

National labor unions and Microsoft co-founder Bill Gates are among the donors who have poured nearly $1.5 million of last-minute cash into the campaign against Initiative 1033, a ballot measure that would slow the growth of state and local governments.

The donations were collected the past two weeks but not disclosed publicly until Saturday, when the No on I-1033 campaign reported its recent fundraising efforts to state campaign regulators.

The infusion of cash brought the "no" campaign's reported balance to about $2.5 million, with less than a month until the Nov. 3 general election.

Under state law, Monday was the deadline for total contributions of more than $5,000 from any single source. Ballots in Washington's mostly vote-by-mail election should be on the way to voters Friday.

If approved, Tim Eyman's I-1033 would cap the annual growth of state, county and city general funds at the rate of inflation plus population growth. Revenue above the cap would be used to reduce property taxes. Voters could separately approve additional revenue sources that top the growth cap.

The governor's budget office projects the measure would divert more than $8 billion from state, city and county general funds into property-tax relief from 2011 to 2015. That's roughly equivalent to state spending on public schools and higher education combined in the current fiscal year.

With governments still struggling from the recession, opponents say the initiative couldn't come at a worse time. They say it would cap government spending at artificially low levels, cripple attempts to restore recent budget cuts and ultimately force even more cuts in areas such as health care, education and law enforcement.

Major last-minute donations to the opposition campaign included $200,000 each from the Washington, D.C., headquarters of two public-employee unions: The American Federation of State, County and Municipal Employees and the National Education Association, which represents teachers.

That brought the total donations against I-1033 from each of those unions to more than $300,000, according to campaign-finance reports.

Those reports also show big donations from sources closer to home. The state council of the Service Employees International Union wrote two checks for a total $150,000 last week, bringing its total donation to $290,000.

SEIU's response when asked why the union put in more money:

"Our members are committed to stopping this initiative from harming the state," said spokesman Adam Glickman.

"We think that Tim Eyman has had a lot of bad ideas. This is by far his worst idea," Glickman said. "We've seen that when people understand the impact, and what this initiative does, they vote against it."

Gates, whose charitable foundation is headquartered in Seattle, gave $100,000 on Oct. 1. That was his only reported donation to the No on I-1033 campaign.

The money should help expand its TV advertising blitz, which began last week. Television ads were scheduled to begin airing today in new markets in Central Washington, No on I-1033 spokesman Scott Whiteaker said.

"From the very beginning, we've talked about running a very aggressive campaign and raising the resources to do so. And we're right on track," Whiteaker said.

I-1033 sponsor Tim Eyman accused the big-money donors of trying to "buy this year's election."

"I-1033 provides an automatic increase each year, and if government thinks it's not a big enough increase, they can go to the voters and ask for more," Eyman said in a statement. "Opponents know that it's easier to buy a politician than it is to persuade a taxpayer."

Whiteaker, however, said the gusher of financial opposition — including some smaller checks from businesses — shows how many people believe I-1033 will seriously damage government services the public will need as the nation climbs out of recession.

"I really think it's instructive and an example of how broad and far-reaching the impacts of 1033 would be that so many people have come together to oppose this," Whiteaker said.

True to its usual strategy, Eyman's direct-democracy factory isn't purchasing political advertisements, relying instead on news coverage and word-of-mouth to spread its message.

State records show the I-1033 campaign has raised about $670,000 and spent about $625,000. Eyman's group typically spends most of its campaign cash qualifying its measures for the ballot, including paying for signature-gathering staff.

Then, donors are asked to bankroll a "compensation fund" for Eyman and Spokane-based partners Jack and Mike Fagan.

The biggest single contributor to I-1033 is Woodinville retired businessman Mike Dunmire, a frequent Eyman financier.

Eyman also loaned the campaign $250,000 from a second mortgage on his Mukilteo home.

Seattle Times Olympia bureau reporter Andrew Garber contributed to this report.