POLITICO's Morning Score: Train to Nowhere - Great spot out of Wisconsin...

By: by: Charles Mahtesian (@charliepolitico, cmahtesian@politico.com)

Great spot from Scott Walker - Republican nominee for Governor in Wisconsin - he gets it!

POLITICO’s Morning Score:

POLITICO SNEAK PEEK – TRAIN TO NOWHERE: Wisconsin GOP gubernatorial candidate Scott Walker runs over his Democratic foe, Milwaukee Mayor Tom Barrett, and President Obama in a new statewide television ad today. Featuring familiar lines from the president’s speeches, the 60-second spot slams the pair over the $810 million in stimulus money designated for a high speed rail line between Milwaukee and Madison.

“Let me be clear,” says Obama in one snippet. “No, let me be clear,” replies Walker, the Millwaukee County executive. “I'd rather take that money and fix Wisconsin's crumbling roads and bridges."

Later, when the president is pictured saying, "Change isn't easy," Walker follows up with, “but stopping runaway government spending is. I'm Scott Walker, and if I'm elected your next governor, we'll stop this train!" Watch it here. http://bit.ly/c64CU7

Ax the Tax Hillsborough to Hold News Conference with US Senate Candidate

US Senate Candidate Alex Snitker (Libertarian-Florida) will join Ax the Tax Hillsborough at a news conference on Thursday at 10:00 a.m.

Ax the Tax, the oldest and most successful grassroots anti-tax group in Florida will hold a news conference and media availability featuring United States Senate candidate Alex Snitker on Thursday at 10:00 a.m. at the Hillsborough County Commission Building (601 E Kennedy Blvd., Tampa, FL 33602) to announce Snitker's opposition to the proposed light rail sales tax increase on the November general election ballot. Snitker is also expected to endorse Republican County Commission candidate Josh Burgin. Burgin is in an extremely close race against rail boondoggle leader County Commissioner Mark Sharpe.

Ax the Tax, founded in 1982, has helped Florida taxpayers defeat over $47.5 billion in proposed tax increases in fourteen (14) successful anti-tax battles in six Florida counties. Ax the Tax has opposed light rail and commuter rail votes in four (4) Florida counties; San Antonio, Texas and Virginia Beach, VA and has never lost a rail referendum.

Snitker, a veteran of eight years with the United States Marine Corps is the first Libertarian nominee for the United States Senate from Florida.

Snitker will be joined by Ax the Tax Founder and Chairman Doug Guetzloe; Florida Taxpayers Union President John Hallman; Ax the Tax Hillsborough Chairman Kevin Wright, as well as local Ax the Tax Hillsborough and tea party activists from the Tampa Bay area.

Grass-roots group fights tax hikes

I take vigorous exception to the inclusion of Ax the Tax in this editorial.

Ax the Tax is a statewide political committee that has a long history of providing taxpayers with information concerning proposed tax increases and the elected officials who support tax increases.

We have begun our campaign against the proposed Hillsborough County sales tax increase, and included in that education effort is information concerning County Commissioner Mark Sharpe and his reversal on this issue. When Sharpe was elected the first time, he was very much opposed to the rail boondoggle. He is now the leading proponent of the rail disaster.

Ax the Tax has complied with all Florida election laws with very prominent disclaimers indicating that our organization has paid for these messages. We are registered with the state of Florida's Division of Elections and we have total transparency with our campaign reports of who gave it and who got it online 24/7.

Ax the Tax is not a shadowy group set up to distribute nasty mailers. We are a grass-roots organization with a record of helping taxpayers defeat more than $47.5 billion in tax increases in 14 successful battles. Ax the Tax has been engaged in six antirail battles and we have helped taxpayers win every one of those.

Mark Sharpe is a nice guy and a very pleasant man. I supported him when he ran for Congress two decades ago, but he has become an entrenched politician who supports an unnecessary and unwanted tax increase. Taxpayer-enforced term limits are the solution in Sharpe's case.

Additionally, I am a fourth-generation born in Tampa with three Tampa streets named after various members my family. I am no stranger to Tampa as suggested by your editorial. Both I and my family care about Tampa very deeply.

We look forward to a vigorous debate on the issues involved, both in the primary and in the general election.

Doug Guetzloe, Orlando

Sierra Club Opposes Osceola Road Tax Referendum

By: by: John Puhek (407) 766-8988

Orlando, FL: The Central Florida Group of the Sierra Club opposes the referendum for a one cent sales tax, for the next 10 years, in Osceola County to fund new roads. The county already has the highest foreclosure rate in the state, along with the highest unemployment in the region, This tax would have residents paying the highest sales tax in the state. The 1-cent tax would take the county's total sales tax from 7 percent to 8 percent, the same as the nation's larger cities such as New York and Philadelphia. Kissimmee and St. Cloud are not quiet the same in terms of New York and Philadelphia population size! This is because the County Commissioners have refused for years to make growth pay for itself and the county now faces a glut of homes without the infrastructure to carry the growth. Sierra Club says “Sprawl Cost Us All” and Osceola County is the poster child for urban sprawl--and sprawl costs us all!

Other transportation elements, such as buses, would not benefit from the increased tax revenue. Instead, Osceola County should provide a dedicated funding for mass transit to enable residents to get to work and reduce air pollution. LYNX desperately needs to be expanded in Osceola County and run route more frequently. The current once an hour schedule is not enough. In addition, Osceola County needs to figure out how it will pay $23 million to the State of Florida for its share of SunRail. The 17-mile southern portion of rail corridor will run from Sand Lake Road to Poinciana Blvd in Osceola County.

Sierra Club challenges Osceola County to look at what caused their urban sprawl. We do not want to see more poorly planned runaway developments in Osceola County, like the proposed NE Corridor. Instead, we think Osceola County needs to promote smart growth communities that increase transportation choices, reduce air and water pollution, and protect our natural places.

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"Ax the Tax welcomes the Sierra Club's opposition to the Osceola Road Tax Referendum and recognizes that voters from many different political persuasions is a positive step toward defeating this reckless move by the Osceola County Commission," stated Doug Guetzloe, Ax the Tax Chairman and Founder.

AX THE TAX LAUNCHES FIRST TV SPOT IN OPPOSITION TO THE SALES TAX AND THE RE-ELECTION OF PRIMARY RAIL PROPONENT MARK SHARPE

AX THE TAX LAUNCHES FIRST TV SPOT IN OPPOSITION TO THE SALES TAX AND THE RE-ELECTION OF PRIMARY RAIL PROPONENT MARK SHARPE

Ax the Tax began it's media campaign today (Saturday) against the upcoming rail referendum with this ad that is now appearing on Tampa TV stations:

Ax the Tax is holding a news conference on Monday at 11:00 at the Hillsborough County Commission Building to announce it's formal opposition with other taxpayer groups to the tax proposal.

Sierra Club Opposes Osceola Road Tax Referendum

By: by: John Puhek (407) 766-8988

Orlando, FL: The Central Florida Group of the Sierra Club opposes the referendum for a one cent sales tax, for the next 10 years, in Osceola County to fund new roads. The county already has the highest foreclosure rate in the state, along with the highest unemployment in the region, This tax would have residents paying the highest sales tax in the state. The 1-cent tax would take the county's total sales tax from 7 percent to 8 percent, the same as the nation's larger cities such as New York and Philadelphia. Kissimmee and St. Cloud are not quiet the same in terms of New York and Philadelphia population size! This is because the County Commissioners have refused for years to make growth pay for itself and the county now faces a glut of homes without the infrastructure to carry the growth. Sierra Club says “Sprawl Cost Us All” and Osceola County is the poster child for urban sprawl--and sprawl costs us all!

Other transportation elements, such as buses, would not benefit from the increased tax revenue. Instead, Osceola County should provide a dedicated funding for mass transit to enable residents to get to work and reduce air pollution. LYNX desperately needs to be expanded in Osceola County and run route more frequently. The current once an hour schedule is not enough. In addition, Osceola County needs to figure out how it will pay $23 million to the State of Florida for its share of SunRail. The 17-mile southern portion of rail corridor will run from Sand Lake Road to Poinciana Blvd in Osceola County.

Sierra Club challenges Osceola County to look at what caused their urban sprawl. We do not want to see more poorly planned runaway developments in Osceola County, like the proposed NE Corridor. Instead, we think Osceola County needs to promote smart growth communities that increase transportation choices, reduce air and water pollution, and protect our natural places.

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"Ax the Tax welcomes the Sierra Club's opposition to the Osceola Road Tax Referendum and recognizes that voters from many different political persuasions is a positive step toward defeating this reckless move by the Osceola County Commission," stated Doug Guetzloe, Ax the Tax Chairman and Founder.

Hillsborough transit tax campaigns likely to gear up soon

By: TED JACKOVICS, The Tampa Tribune

Lobbying taxpayers to approve a 1-cent sales tax for a new metro transit authority 40 years ago, then-Atlanta Mayor Sam Massell flew over a clogged expressway in a helicopter and shouted through a bullhorn: "You want to get out of this mess? Vote yes."

"And this being the Bible Belt, they thought God was telling them what to do," Massell said in a Georgia Public Broadcasting interview in 2007 about his successful efforts to transform a bus system into the Metropolitan Atlanta Rapid Transit Authority.

It's still too early to know whether anyone will be as creative as Massell in campaigning for or against a 1-cent sales tax surcharge to help fund light rail in Hillsborough County's Nov. 2 referendum.

Campaign efforts by advocacy and anti-tax groups, public officials and the business community, however, are expected to surge this summer, shaped by plenty of money and well-worn talking points honed in dozens of similar tax referendums nationwide.

Nationwide since 2000, slightly more than 70 percent of tax measures to fund transportation have passed, according to a survey by the private Center for Transportation Excellence, a Washington-based transit advocate. Despite the recession and the onset of a high profile tax resistance movement, eight transit referendums passed and three failed in 2009.

This year, voters in 30 areas from Walla Walla to Wimauma will choose whether to raise their taxes to fund transportation measures.

So far, the outcomes nationwide are three measures passed and three failed to increase taxes for public transit.

St. Louis drew attention in April, when voters by 63 percent to 37 percent approved a half-cent sales tax increase to restore lost bus service and avoid trimming light rail schedules. A similar measure failed in 1997 and 2008.

Hillsborough County, however, likely will provide the nation's biggest transportation story of the year.

In January, the Obama Administration selected the Tampa-Orlando route for the nation's first high speed rail line.

In November, Hillsborough County residents will decide on the sales tax surcharge that would help fund the area's first light rail system, along with bus and road improvements added to the referendum to broaden its appeal.

If voters approve the sales tax increase to 8 cents on the dollar 6 cents of which by law goes to the state and that decision could lay the groundwork for a half-dozen nearby counties to pursue similar plans to support an integrated regional transit plan.

"Two things make Tampa different from anywhere else," said Alan Wulkan, managing partner of InfraConsult LLC of Scottsdale, Az., who was hired nine months ago by the Hillsborough Area Regional Transit Authority for $99,800.

"First, a huge public education effort is needed in Hillsborough County with the high speed rail, TBARTA, HART and county transportation task force initiative. The public is rightfully confused and all of what is happening piecemeal must be clarified.

"Also, Hillsborough's vote will count very heavily on how surrounding counties like Pasco and Pinellas proceed with transportation tax referendums. Frankly, the success of high speed rail is at stake. It's not only the Tampa region, but transportation for the entire Central Florida corridor is at stake."

Public confusion generally begins with people who indicate they do not understand the differences between the Tampa-Orlando high speed rail line and the proposed light rail system whose first phases could link North Tampa, downtown and West Shore.

Complicating matters are myriad transportation planning groups, economic development agencies and advocacy groups, all with their own acronyms.

Among them: HART, which runs the county bus system and would control light rail; TBARTA, the Tampa Bay Area Regional Transportation Authority whose representatives from seven counties are trying to ensure coordinated regional transportation plans; several MPOs, county-based Metropolitan Planning Organizations that set funding priorities, and FDOT, the state's transportation department with a handful of Tallahassee officials spearheading Florida's high-speed rail initiative.

In addition, two advocacy groups are already weighing in: "Ax the Tax," an Orlando-based group (www.axthetax.org) that opposes rail initiatives nationwide, and "Moving Hillsborough Forward," a Tampa coalition backed by the majority of the area's business and economic development groups, are honing referendum strategies that have begun to surface.

"We have successfully led six anti-rail battles in Florida since 1997," said Doug Guetzloe, Ax the Tax chairman and a native of Tampa. "They use the same playbook each time. It's basically an attempt to fund a mandate of which there is no known end price."

Guetzloe's strategy will be to discuss rail costs while rallying support from local and state tea party groups.

"We support buses and most people do," Guetzloe said. "Fixed rail is a 190-year-old technology with a new millennium pricing."

What about light rail investments and ridership and economic development success that Charlotte, Salt Lake City and Portland have reported, along with other cities even more traditionally tied to the auto including Phoenix, Dallas and Houston?

"P.T. Barnum said a fool is born every minute," Guetzloe responded.

Guetzloe expects to raise between $50,000 and $75,000 for the Ax The Rail Tax initiative and expects pro-rail groups to spend between $750,000 and $1 million. Moving Hillsborough Forward will release a financial report at the end of June.

That group is backed by the Tampa Bay Partnership regional economic development group, the Tampa Bay Builders Association, the Greater Tampa Association of Realtors, the Greater Tampa Chamber of Commerce, The Westshore Alliance and the Tampa Downtown Partnership, among others.

Business leaders worry that urban rail transit systems in Charlotte, Denver and elsewhere provide a competitive edge in corporate expansion, relocation and ultimately have an impact on the local area's average wage, which, at $36,094, was about $10,500 behind Dallas and $9,500 behind Atlanta, a Partnership report indicated last year.

"Corporate relocation specialists need to be confidant their employees will have options of how to get to work and to recreation," said David Singer, a Holland & Knight attorney in Tampa who heads Moving Hillsborough Forward.

"Looking at what will happen to this region if the tax doesn't pass is somewhat alarming. We will have no choice if we don't have mobility options but to build more roads."

The campaign in the next few months will reach out across the county to community groups, neighborhood groups and other grassroots contacts to educate individuals and discuss specifics, Singer said. A television campaign won't be launched until later in the summer.

HART commissioned a telephone survey of 600 county residents in July and August 2009 by Ilium Associates Inc. of Bellevue, Wash., which found 33 percent would "definitely" vote for a 1-cent tax increase, and 34 percent would "probably" vote for it. Fifteen percent "definitely" opposed such a measure, and 10 percent would "probably" vote against the measure.

Even advocates like HART consultant Wulkan concede it's going to be a tough vote.

Joe Chillura, a prominent Tampa architect who served on the city council and various county planning organizations, has spoken to many people who say they will not support the transportation tax surcharge.

Chillura proposed the half-cent Community Investment Tax that county voters supported by 53 percent to 47 percent in 1996 to pay for building Raymond James Stadium along with funds for schools, fire and police departments, sidewalks and other infrastructure.

"The question I have is whether the public is ready to embrace any kind of tax in an economic depression," Chillura said. "I've always supported mass transit, but the climate now is one of skepticism.

"But if people know how the money will be spent, it could provide a psychological boost to the light rail issue."

Antitax group starts campaign against Mark Sharpe

By: Janet Zink, Times staff writer
Published: August 9, 2010

With Hillsborough voters set to consider a 1 cent sales tax increase in November, Orlando-based Ax the Tax, launched an antitax ad campaign on cable networks over the weekend. The group has fought tax increases and rail proposals throughout the state since its creation in 1986. The tax proposed for Hillsborough would pay for road improvements, expanded bus service and rail.

But Ax the Tax's ad never mentions the referendum. Instead, it's an attack on Republican County Commissioner Mark Sharpe, a vocal proponent of the tax. "We're hopeful that Hillsborough County taxpayers will remove him from office based on his support of rail," said Doug Guetzloe, chairman of Ax the Tax, at a news conference at County Center on Monday.

Sharpe is facing Josh Burgin in the Republican primary. Burgin, who has built his whole campaign around Sharpe's support of the tax, is receiving backing from entrepreneur Sam Rashid, who also made a $500 contribution to Ax the Tax. "We hope Sam Rashid will send us more," Guetzloe said.

The group has budgeted $75,000 for its campaign and spent $10,000 on the anti-Sharpe ads.

At the news conference, Guetzloe did talk about taxes and rail in addition to Sharpe.

"Government revenue is not the problem. Government spending is the problem," he said. "If they want to build rail, which we think is not a transportation alternative, they certainly have plenty of mechanisms to do that without asking hard-pressed taxpayers for additional money."

As a case in point, Guetzloe pointed to 2007 state transportation legislation that budgeted $48 million to an opulent courthouse in Tallahassee. "Marble bathrooms? You can't tell taxpayers that there isn't money available," he said.

Hillsborough's planned rail line, he said, will be a "complete disaster" with few riders, congestion caused by tracks that cross major intersections, and increased noise and air pollution.

Guetzloe said the group will produce materials specifically opposing the referendum, but right now, the focus is on Sharpe and the Aug. 24 primary.

“Mr. Sharpe’s election provides a barometer for the November election," Guetzloe said. “If he is defeated in the primary, we think that will give us continued impetus to win in November.”

Tea Parties, Sierra Club Come Together to Fight Tax Hike

By: Kenric Ward
Published: August 9, 2010

Here's something you don't see every day: the Sierra Club agreeing with Tea Party folks.

Their respective reasons may vary, but the two groups are urging voters to reject the upcoming "Road Tax Referendum" in Central Florida.

The Central Florida Group of the Sierra Club noted that the proposed 1-cent, 10-year sales tax hike in Osceola County would raise rates there to 8 percent -- on a par with the nation's biggest cities.

The group blasted County Commissioners for refusing "for years to make growth pay for itself and the county now faces a glut of homes without the infrastructure to carry the growth."

Not surprisingly, Tea Partiers don't like the tax, either. Just on general principle.

In a semi-related development, a group called "Ax the Tax" announced today that it will oppose a sales tax referendum in Hillsborough County. The tax hike would help to pay for a rail project there.

A news conference will be held at 11 a.m. at the Hillsborough County Commission Building, 601 E. Kennedy Blvd., Tampa. Florida Taxpayers Union President John Hallman and Tom Gaitens of FreedomWorks will be among the speakers.

New ad takes on Mark Sharpe and the transit tax (video)

By: Mitch Perry
Published: August 9, 2010

Over the weekend, a new television ad that targets Hillsborough County Commissioner Mark Sharpe for his support of the penny sales tax referendum for transportation hit local television stations. Watch below:

The ad is produced by the Orlando-based anti-tax group Ax The Tax, led by its chairman, Doug Guetzloe.

Guetzloe will be holding a news conference Monday morning to talk more about the campaign.

Previously, the only official group organized against the transit referendum that Hillsborough voters will decide on November 2 was a small grass-roots Tea Party-based group called NoTaxforTracks.com.

The St. Petersburg Times reported last week that the pro-transit referendum group, Moving Hillsborough Forward, has raised $1 million.

Sharpe is being challenged for re-election for his District 7 countywide seat by fellow Republican Josh Burgin. Burgin has said the main reason he got into the race was to challenge Sharpe for his support of the transit referendum, which would if approved allow for construction of a light rail transit system in the county, as well as pay for improved bus service and road improvements.

Antitax group targets Mark Sharpe over rail support

By: Janet Zink, Times Staff Writer
Published: Aug 09, 2010

TAMPA — An Orlando-based group launched an antitax ad campaign over the weekend, hoping to turn Hillsborough voters against a 1 cent sales tax increase for transportation in November.

Ax the Tax has fought tax increases and rail plans throughout the state since its creation in 1986. The tax proposed for Hillsborough would pay for road improvements, expanded bus service and rail.

But Ax the Tax's ad, aired on cable stations, never mentions the referendum.

Instead, it's an attack on Republican County Commissioner Mark Sharpe, a vocal proponent of the tax who is seeking re-election.

"We're hopeful that Hillsborough County taxpayers will remove him from office based on his support of rail," Doug Guetzloe, chairman of Ax the Tax, said at a news conference Monday at County Center.

Sharpe is facing Josh Burgin in the Republican primary. Burgin, who has built his whole campaign around Sharpe's support of the tax, is receiving backing from entrepreneur Sam Rashid, who also made a $500 contribution to Ax the Tax.

"We hope Sam Rashid will send us more," Guetzloe said.

The group has budgeted $75,000 for its campaign and spent $10,000 on the anti-Sharpe ads.

Guetzloe said the group will produce materials specifically opposing the referendum, but right now, the focus is on Sharpe and the Aug. 24 primary.

"Mr. Sharpe's election provides a barometer for the November election," Guetzloe said. "If he is defeated in the primary, we think that will give us continued impetus to win in November."

At the news conference, Guetzloe did talk about taxes and rail in addition to Sharpe.

"Government revenue is not the problem. Government spending is the problem," he said. "If they want to build rail, which we think is not a transportation alternative, they certainly have plenty of mechanisms to do that without asking hard-pressed taxpayers for additional money."

As a case in point, Guetzloe pointed to 2007 state transportation legislation that budgeted $48 million for an opulent courthouse in Tallahassee. "Marble bathrooms? You can't tell taxpayers that there isn't money available," he said.

Hillsborough's planned rail line, he said, will be a "complete disaster" with few riders, congestion caused by tracks that cross major intersections, and increased noise and air pollution.

Supporters of the tax say it will create jobs and spur economic development. They also note that Tampa lags behind other major metropolitan areas that already have rail systems.

Sharpe said he's not worried about the Ax the Tax campaign.

"The voters will have an opportunity to weigh in on this and many other issues in November," Sharpe said. "I've got supporters who support the referendum and those who are opposed to it, and they support me because I respect their right to make that decision in November."

Janet Zink can be reached at jzink@sptimes.com or (813) 226-3401

Anti-rail group: "Ax the tax"

By: Laura Kadechka, 10 News

Tampa, Florida -- A small group of people gathered in front of County Center in downtown Tampa to protest a one penny sales tax referendum for transportation.

Hillsborough County voters will have their say during the November General election on whether they want to pay the highest sales tax in the state, 8 percent, to help pay for transportation.

Read: Hillsborough County Transportation Referendum

Seventy-five percent of the tax would go towards transportation in Hillsborough County, including light rail and an expanded bus system. The remaining 25 percent would go toward non-transit projects, which includes road projects.

The Orlando based group, "Ax the Tax" is part of a political action committee which rallies against tax increases in Florida.

Ax the Tax Chairman Doug Guetzleo calls the proposed tax "a disaster."

"The pro-tax people have already raised nearly one million dollars and they're probably going to raise another million and we wanted to make sure people were aware there is formal opposition," said Guetzleo, referring to the group Moving Hillsborough Forward.

Guetzleo says his group has fought 14 successful anti-tax battles in the state, saving tax payers $47.5 billion. He also claims they've never lost a transportation or rail tax battle.

While the sales tax referendum is on their radar, Gueztleo says they're focusing their battle on Hillsborough County Commissioner Mark Sharpe, who is a strong proponent of the tax.

The group started running television ads over the weekend, taking aim at Sharpe who is up for re-election for his District 7, Countywide seat.

Sharpe's republican opponent, Josh Burgin says he is opposed to raising taxes.

Gueztleo says they are also beginning a direct mail campaign to sway voters away from the referendum.