Is it gratifying having Ron Sims endorse the performance-audit initiative, I-900? Of course. The more the merrier.

But Sims' endorsement of I-900 is also the height of hypocrisy.

For months, Sims has been attacking David Irons, his Republican challenger in the King County executive's race, for supporting some of "Eyman's initiatives." And it is certainly true that Irons supports I-900, which requires performance audits of state and local governments.

And Irons supported last year's initiative to shrink the size of the King County Council from 13 positions to nine — but so did an overwhelming majority of King County voters. It's not surprising that Irons liked that initiative — it was his idea. He'd sponsored and pushed that common-sense reform for years. But with visceral opposition by Sims and the Democrat-controlled King County Council, the reform was repeatedly blocked.

But now that Sims is in a tight race for re-election and in a desperate attempt to not be on the wrong side of the overwhelmingly popular I-900, he has hypocritically endorsed an "Eyman initiative" during an editorial board meeting at The Stranger.

I-900 has earned the endorsements of many longtime opponents of our previous initiatives, including newspapers like The Seattle Times. And when they've come out in favor of I-900, I haven't attacked them for hypocrisy. The difference is none of them are cynically attacking others for supporting "Eyman initiatives," as Sims is doing with Irons.

Hypocrisy is not unusual for Democratic politicians in Washington. Before becoming Queen Christine, candidate Gregoire repeatedly said, "Now is not the time to raise taxes." Despite this and other unequivocal statements by her, she pushed through some of the largest tax increases in state history.

But she went further. She attacked Dino Rossi, the guy who balanced the budget without raising taxes, as a tax raiser. As a May 1 Times story reported:

"During the campaign, Gregoire also said she wouldn't push for a gas-tax increase until taxpayers are convinced they are getting their money's worth for the nickel-per-gallon increase lawmakers approved in 2003. She even criticized Rossi for having voted for the 2003 increase."

Then she became governor and jammed through the largest gas-tax increase in state history.

But she went further. Again, from the same Times story:

"Throughout the campaign, for instance, Gregoire — like Rossi — repeatedly said she would not raise taxes for the state operating budget. 'To go out and tax people at a time when we're just trying to get ourselves out of a recession, to me, is the wrong direction for the state,' she said during the state Democratic Party convention in June."

Despite this unambiguous promise, she became governor and jammed through hundreds of millions of dollars in higher taxes.

What's all this got to do with Initiative 900? The "Performance Audits of Government Initiative" provides the voters with the opportunity to send politicians like Sims and Gregoire a message: We want accountability, not hypocrisy.

Initiative 900 gives the state auditor the authority to examine any state or local government, agency, program or account. There are more than 2000 governmental entities in Washington — I-900 puts them all on notice. Savings will not only be realized from agencies audited, but from all state and local governments that realize that under I-900, they could be next. It's called accountability.

Olympia's last-minute alternative to I-900 isn't even close — I-900 is the "900-Pound Gorilla." Olympia prohibited independent audits for over 40 years, but when they saw the popularity and support for I-900, they frantically passed a weak alternative. Olympia's version lets a "citizen" commission, all handpicked by Olympia's politicians, decide who does and who doesn't get audited — I-900 gives the state auditor that authority. Olympia's version lets local governments off the hook — I-900 holds all levels of government accountable. I-900 provides stable funding — Olympia's version doesn't.

I-900 doesn't have any formal opposition. Opponents from the past have learned that the voters support common-sense reforms like I-900 and so they've thrown up their hands and accepted its likely approval by voters in November. But a hodgepodge group of local-government officials and a public-employee union president put together the voters pamphlet argument against I-900.

Their only objection is that I-900 is "unnecessary" because Olympia passed its own audit bill. But the lead sponsor of that legislation, Democrat Mark Miloscia, admits that he's voting for I-900. He thinks I-900 is dramatically better than Olympia's watered-down bill. So do we.

Anything but an overwhelming approval for I-900 by voters will be seen by politicians as support for business as usual. We've had 40 years of the fox guarding the hen house — it is way past time for ongoing, independent investigations of state and local governments' spending of our tax dollars.

Taxpayers demand accountability. Please vote "yes."