Bill Sizemore (born June 2, 1951) is an American political activist and writer in

Redmond, Oregon Redmond is a city in Deschutes County, Oregon, United States. Incorporated on July 6, 1910, the city is on the eastern side of Oregon's Cascade Range, in the High Desert in Central Oregon. From Redmond there is access to recreational opportunit ...

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. Sizemore has never held elected office, but has nonetheless been a major political figure in

Oregon Oregon () is a U.S. state, state in the Pacific Northwest region of the Western United States. The Columbia River delineates much of Oregon's northern boundary with Washington (state), Washington, while the Snake River delineates much of it ...

since the 1990s. He is considered one of the main proponents of the

Oregon tax revolt The Oregon tax revolt is a political movement in Oregon which advocates for lower taxes. This movement is part of a larger anti-tax movement in the western United States which began with the enactment of Proposition 13 in California. The tax revo ...

, a movement that seeks to reduce taxes in the state. Oregon Taxpayers United, a political action committee he founded in 1993, has advanced numerous

ballot initiatives In political science, an initiative (also known as a popular initiative or citizens' initiative) is a means by which a petition signed by a certain number of registered voters can force a government to choose either to enact a law or hold a pu ...

limiting taxation, and has opposed spending initiatives. Sizemore made an unsuccessful run for

Governor of Oregon The governor of Oregon is the head of government of Oregon and serves as the commander-in-chief of the state's military forces. The title of governor was also applied to the office of Oregon's chief executive during the provisional and U.S. ter ...

in 1998. He also announced his intention to run for governor in 2010, but was indicted by the state on charges of

tax evasion Tax evasion is an illegal attempt to defeat the imposition of taxes by individuals, corporations, trusts, and others. Tax evasion often entails the deliberate misrepresentation of the taxpayer's affairs to the tax authorities to reduce the taxp ...

. The charges were later amended to failure to file tax returns.

Early life

Sizemore was born in

Aberdeen, Washington Aberdeen () is a city in Grays Harbor County, Washington, United States. The population was 17,013 at the 2020 census. The city is the economic center of Grays Harbor County, bordering the cities of Hoquiam and Cosmopolis. Aberdeen is occasi ...

on June 2, 1951. He graduated from Montesano High School in

Montesano, Washington Montesano is a city in Grays Harbor County, Washington, Grays Harbor County, Washington (state), Washington, United States. The population was 4,138 at the 2020 United States census, 2020 census. It is the county seat of Grays Harbor County. Hi ...

where he played varsity basketball and was voted by his teammates as the best defensive player and most inspirational player. He earned a

degree Degree may refer to: As a unit of measurement * Degree (angle), a unit of angle measurement ** Degree of geographical latitude ** Degree of geographical longitude * Degree symbol (°), a notation used in science, engineering, and mathematics ...

theology Theology is the systematic study of the nature of the divine and, more broadly, of religious belief. It is taught as an academic discipline, typically in universities and seminaries. It occupies itself with the unique content of analyzing the ...

from

Portland Bible College Portland Bible College (PBC) is a four-year Bible college in Portland, Oregon, United States that offers theological and church ministry degrees. It was founded in 1967 and is associated with Mannahouse Church, which is associated with Ministe ...

in 1976. After graduating, Sizemore taught Old Testament History and Systematic Christian Theology at Portland Bible College and ran a series of businesses, including a retail carpet business, a toy manufacturing company, and two Portland radio stations. For four years he hosted the Bill Sizemore Show, a two-hour daily news/talk program on Great Talk 1150 AM.

Ballot initiatives

In 1993, Sizemore founded Oregon Taxpayers United and became its executive director. He is noted as the author and driving force behind a number of

ballot initiative In political science, an initiative (also known as a popular initiative or citizens' initiative) is a means by which a petition signed by a certain number of registered voters can force a government to choose either to enact a law or hold a pu ...

s in Oregon. One of the first measures Sizemore was involved in was a referendum which stopped

Portland Portland most commonly refers to: * Portland, Oregon, the largest city in the state of Oregon, in the Pacific Northwest region of the United States * Portland, Maine, the largest city in the state of Maine, in the New England region of the northeas ...

's $3.4 billion light rail expansion. Sizemore added several initiatives in 2008. Sizemore's most notable success was passing Measure 47 in 1996. The measure rolled back property taxes to 1995 levels. Measure 47 also mandated a

double majority A double majority is a voting system which requires a majority of votes according to two separate criteria. The mechanism is usually used to require strong support for any measure considered to be of great importance. Typically in legislative b ...

for ballot measures increasing taxes. With Sizemore's assistance, the

Oregon Legislative Assembly The Oregon Legislative Assembly is the state legislature for the U.S. state of Oregon. The Legislative Assembly is bicameral, consisting of an upper and lower house: the Senate, whose 30 members are elected to serve four-year terms; and the Ho ...

amended some of the provisions of Measure 47 in 1997, and referred the amendments back to the voters as Measure 50, which also passed. In 2000, Sizemore drafted and placed on the ballot Measure 7, which required governments to pay just compensation to property owners when a government-imposed regulation reduced the fair market value of their property. Oregon voters approved Measure 7, but the

Oregon Supreme Court The Oregon Supreme Court (OSC) is the highest state court in the U.S. state of Oregon. The only court that may reverse or modify a decision of the Oregon Supreme Court is the Supreme Court of the United States.2004's Measure 37, subsequently passed, and was amended by 2007's Measure 49.

1998 gubernatorial election

Sizemore ran for

as a

Republican Republican can refer to: Political ideology * An advocate of a republic, a type of government that is not a monarchy or dictatorship, and is usually associated with the rule of law. ** Republicanism, the ideology in support of republics or agains ...

1998 1998 was designated as the ''International Year of the Ocean''. Events January * January 6 – The '' Lunar Prospector'' spacecraft is launched into orbit around the Moon, and later finds evidence for frozen water, in soil in permanently ...

. He won his party's primary, defeating the Republican Party Chairman and three other candidates who had little or no name recognition. During the general election, ''

The Oregonian ''The Oregonian'' is a daily newspaper based in Portland, Oregon, United States, owned by Advance Publications. It is the oldest continuously published newspaper on the U.S. west coast, founded as a weekly by Thomas J. Dryer on December 4, 185 ...

'' ran three major articles detailing Sizemore's alleged shady business practices, both in private business and in the operation of his political action committee and non-profit educational foundation. These included one about a "Trail of Debt" he had allegedly left behind, one of which involved an outstanding loan from a fellow church member, which Sizemore says was eventually repaid; one about a fishing club on a private lake, to which he tried to sell memberships before obtaining state permission; and one about an apparently falsified loan application on which he claimed not to have declared bankruptcy when, in fact, he had done so. Sizemore said he did not check the boxes on the loan application relating to bankruptcy and that the loan officer who submitted the application did that on his own. Sizemore lost the November general election to

incumbent The incumbent is the current holder of an official, office or position, usually in relation to an election. In an election for president, the incumbent is the person holding or acting in the office of president before the election, whether seek ...

Governor

John Kitzhaber John Albert Kitzhaber (born March 5, 1947) is an American former politician who served as the 35th governor of Oregon from 1995 to 2003, and as the 37th governor of Oregon from 2011 until his resignation in 2015. A member of the Democratic Party ...

, a

Democrat Democrat, Democrats, or Democratic may refer to: Politics *A proponent of democracy, or democratic government; a form of government involving rule by the people. *A member of a Democratic Party: **Democratic Party (United States) (D) **Democratic ...

. Sizemore won 30% of the vote, to Kitzhaber's 64%.

Racketeering case

In July 2000, the

Oregon Education Association The Oregon Education Association (OEA) is the largest public education employees' union in the U.S. state of Oregon, representing 44,000 teachers and classified personnel. It has local affiliates in each of the state's 199 public school districts, ...

and the

American Federation of Teachers The American Federation of Teachers (AFT) is the second largest teacher's labor union in America (the largest being the National Education Association). The union was founded in Chicago. John Dewey and Margaret Haley were founders. About 60 perc ...

filed a civil

racketeering Racketeering is a type of organized crime in which the perpetrators set up a coercive, fraudulent, extortionary, or otherwise illegal coordinated scheme or operation (a "racket") to repeatedly or consistently collect a profit. Originally and of ...

lawsuit against two of Sizemore's organizations: Oregon Taxpayers United and the OTU Education Foundation. Sizemore was not named personally as a defendant or party to the case. During the trial Becky Miller, Sizemore's top aide, under protection of state and federal immunity deals, testified in detail about allegedly unethical and

illegal Illegal, or unlawful, typically describes something that is explicitly prohibited by law, or is otherwise forbidden by a state or other governing body. Illegal may also refer to: Law * Violation of law * Crime, the practice of breaking the ...

practices of Oregon Taxpayers United. These included alleged money laundering involving both Sizemore and

Americans for Tax Reform Americans for Tax Reform (ATR) is a politically conservative U.S. advocacy group whose stated goal is "a system in which taxes are simpler, flatter, more visible, and lower than they are today." According to ATR, "The government's power to control ...

founder

Grover Norquist Grover Glenn Norquist (born October 19, 1956) is an American political activist and tax reduction advocate who is founder and president of Americans for Tax Reform, an organization that opposes all tax increases. A Republican, he is the primary ...

, as well as falsification of federal tax returns and state campaign finance reports. Additional testimony reported financial deals allegedly designed to disguise or hide the sources of funding for campaigns, as well as to allow Sizemore to personally profit from the campaigns. After three weeks of testimony and a million dollars in union legal fees, the jury found Sizemore's organizations guilty of racketeering, and the organizations were fined approximately $2.5 million. Sizemore refused to pay the fines and attempted to continue doing business by changing the name of his organizations to Oregon Taxpayers Association and carrying on with business as usual. After a post-trial hearing in which no evidence was submitted Sizemore was found personally liable for his organization's civil racketeering liability, and the judge shut down his

501(c)(3) A 501(c)(3) organization is a United States corporation, trust, unincorporated association or other type of organization exempt from federal income tax under section 501(c)(3) of Title 26 of the United States Code. It is one of the 29 types of 50 ...

education foundation. On appeal both sides claimed victory, as the Oregon Taxpayers United organizations were found liable for the judgments but the personal judgment against Sizemore was nullified by the Oregon Supreme Court. The judge handling the case, Judge Jerome LaBarre, recused himself three years later, informing attorneys that his son was a teachers union member and had been recently elected union president of the Woodburn local.

Measure 42 in 2006

In 2006, Sizemore broke with his pattern of anti-tax measures by filing Measure 42, a consumer-oriented bill that would have denied insurance companies the ability to take

credit score A credit score is a numerical expression based on a level analysis of a person's credit files, to represent the creditworthiness of an individual. A credit score is primarily based on a credit report, information typically sourced from credit bu ...

s into account when setting insurance premiums. In the most expensive Oregon ballot measure campaign of 2006, the insurance industry spent $4 million to defeat the measure. The campaign to defeat the measure, which focused heavily on Sizemore's credibility, was successful.

Arrest in 2008

On December 1, 2008, Sizemore was sent to jail after a

Multnomah County Multnomah County is one of the 36 counties in the U.S. state of Oregon. As of the 2020 census, the county's population was 815,428. Multnomah County is part of the Portland–Vancouver– Hillsboro, OR–WA Metropolitan Statistical Area. Thou ...

judge found him in

contempt of court Contempt of court, often referred to simply as "contempt", is the crime of being disobedient to or disrespectful toward a court of law and its officers in the form of behavior that opposes or defies the authority, justice, and dignity of the cour ...

for the fourth time in his long-running legal battle with two Oregon teachers unions. Multnomah County Circuit Judge Janice R. Wilson ordered Sizemore, who was not an officer of the corporation, jailed until he signed and filed federal and state tax forms that charitable organizations are required to complete to maintain their tax-exempt status. He was released the next day on December 2, 2008.

2010 gubernatorial election

On November 23, Sizemore announced his candidacy for the Republican nomination for

in 2010. On November 30, Sizemore and his wife were indicted by the State of Oregon on charges of tax evasion for failing to file state income tax returns for the years 2006–2008. He had previously acknowledged failing to file in sworn testimony and was indicted after he failed to file during Oregon's

tax amnesty Tax amnesty allows taxpayers to voluntarily disclose and pay tax owing in exchange for avoiding tax evasion penalties. It is a limited-time opportunity for a specified group of taxpayers to pay a defined amount, in exchange for forgiveness of a t ...

ended on November 19. Sizemore called the charges politically inspired and said he had paid $51,000 in estimated taxes for 2006 and 2007, but could not file actual returns until an ongoing civil case resolved the amount of his income for the years in question. Teachers union and Department of Justice lawyers had claimed in court that Sizemore had personally taken $850,000 from a nonprofit he had been running, but a later audit by the Oregon Department of Revenue determined that Sizemore's income for the three years in question was $392,000, $500,000 less than the teachers unions and Oregon DOJ lawyers had claimed. In 2011, after the judge in the case ruled that Sizemore would not be allowed to put on any defense, he pleaded guilty to three counts of felony failure to file state income-tax returns, with a plea agreement to serve 30 days jail and 3 years probation. Three years later Marion County Judge Claudia Burton retroactively converted the felonies to misdemeanors and all of Sizemore's rights were restored.

References

External links

Oregon Taxpayers United websitePolitics shaped by man of many measures
Oregonian, July 9, 2000
Sizemore's measure machine, July 9, 2000Official Election Results 1998 Governor's Race
* - Sizemore does damage by diverting campaign funds from other progressive priorities Sizemore has written three books, Escape from Jonestown, which was written under the pen name Billy Rivers, The Fractured Church, and Hell on Church Street, both of which were written under his own name. He continues to be a featured writer on a number of Web sites, such as
www.americandaily.com
and
newswithviews.com
{{DEFAULTSORT:Sizemore, Bill 1951 births American activists Direct democracy activists Living people Oregon politicians convicted of crimes Oregon Republicans People convicted of racketeering People from Happy Valley, Oregon People from Aberdeen, Washington