October 09, 2008 04:01 PM UTC

At Least He's Not Your Anti-Tax Crusader

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• by: Canines

Although Colorado’s aren’t necessarily anything to be proud of, as well.

From the Oregonian newspaper:

http://www.oregonlive.com/news…

Bill Sizemore acknowledged in court Wednesday that he tapped hundreds of thousands of dollars from a tax-exempt Nevada foundation in recent years and used most of it for personal spending that included a car for his wife, braces for his daughter, part of a time-share apartment in Mexico and 15 1-ounce gold pieces.

Sizemore, Oregon’s most prolific initiative activist with five measures on the Nov. 4 ballot, did not dispute a series of personal transactions from the foundation account that were obtained by two Oregon teachers unions.

The unions are asking a Multnomah County judge to cite Sizemore with contempt of court for violating a 2003 order that is part of a long-running battle between him and the Oregon Education Association and American Federal of Teachers-Oregon.

The 2003 injunction prohibited Sizemore from using a tax-exempt charitable organization for political purposes. It also required him to file accurate campaign finance reports about his political activity.

Gregory A. Hartman, the unions’ lawyer, said that between 2006 and 2008, Sizemore wrote checks from the foundation account for $660,326, almost all of it for his own benefit. Sizemore also charged another $88,176 to a foundation debit card at Wells Fargo, Hartman said.