Who's Behind These Measures
Bill Sizemore: His Scheme Remains the Same

Five of the measures that will be on the November ballot were sponsored and written by Bill Sizemore. Sizemore has a long and troubling history of abusing the initiative system for his own personal financial gain, and using fraud, forgery, and racketeering to attack working Oregonians, like teachers, firefighters, and nurses.

Up to Old Tricks? Sizemore’s Initiatives Under Investigation for Fraud

Bill Sizemore’s initiative operation is currently under investigation by the Oregon Secretary of State’s office for signature fraud on the petitions for several 2008 ballot measures. Numerous Oregonians have come forward to say that they did not sign the petitions their names appeared on and that their signatures looks traced or forged. (Salem Statesman Journal, July 19, 2008)

Sizemore: Initiative Profiteer

According to a former associate of Sizemore, he “exploits the process” of ballot initiatives for personal gain “by filing dozens of initiatives, most of which he never intends to actually pursue, just hoping one or two will receive a magic ballot title that will enable him to convince some wealthy Republican to give him more money… He then takes their check, subcontracts the actual work out to some poor petitioner, keeping a nice profit for himself, of course, and lets the ballot title do the rest.” (preemptivekarma.com) 

Sizemore: Racketeer and Fraud

In 2002, a Multnomah County jury found that Sizemore had engaged in racketeering, fraud and forgery during the 2000 signature gathering process. A final judgment of approximately $2.5 million was entered against Sizemore’s organizations. In 2006, the Court of Appeals denied Sizemore’s attempt to overturn the jury ruling and affirmed that his organization engaged in a “calculated course of criminal conduct” and “cynical, criminal manipulation of the democratic process.”

In 2008, the Oregon Supreme Court upheld the rulings that Sizemore’s organizations had engaged in racketeering, fraud, and forgery. (Oregonian, September 28, 2002; Oregonian, August 20, 2004;
ktvz.com, July 3, 2008)

Sizemore: Tax Evader

During the 2002 racketeering trial, a former employee of Sizemore’s testified that Sizemore laundered money through sham charities to disguise the source of funds to his organizations— and to himself. During the same trial, Sizemore testified that his petition service company had never filed tax returns, and that the company had paid almost $200,000 over two years for his personal expenses. (Oregonian, September 13, 2002; Oregonian, September 14, 2002)

Sizemore: Repeat Offender

Bill Sizemore appears to still be engaging the same pattern of fraud and deceit. In May 2008, Multnomah County Judge Janice Wilson found him in contempt of court for playing shell games with political money in violation of a court order. Sizemore transferred money out of his latest political organizations to pay for initiative campaigns despite a 2003 court injunction ordering him to pay off the jury award first. (Associated Press, May 28, 2008; The Oregonian, March 4, 2008)

Once again, it appears that Sizemore is using a sham charity to get around the law and a court order against him. The Nevada-based “Americans for Tax Research Foundation” paid Sizemore’s $2,500 a month rent, as well as for a car, office space, and equipment, while paying Sizemore’s wife $7,500 a month for consulting on the design of their website. The Foundation is her only client. A lawsuit is pending. (Business Journal of Portland, November 29, 2007)