Ax the Tax
750 S. Orlando Avenue, Suite 202
Winter Park, FL 32789
(407) 388-1776
Dear
taxpayer:
This year has seen incredible successes on so many public policy and
political fronts, none of which would have been possible without your active
encouragement and continued support of Ax the Tax, our issues and our
causes. As the year nears to a
close, I wanted to share with you the many successes that we have had and
encourage you to respond immediately to the “Alerts” that I’ve
enclosed.
Winter
Garden Victories. The victories in Winter Garden were
truly stunning. We assisted the
citizens of Trailer City in the first successful recall in Florida of an
unresponsive elected official since we helped re-write the recall statute in
2000. Commissioner Bill Thompson
was recalled with an overwhelming 68% of the vote in a record turnout in Winter
Garden’s District one. That in and
of itself was a huge victory, but our success didn’t stop there! We assisted in Carol Nichol’s upset
victory over an entrenched incumbent in District 4 and supported the landslide
re-election of Commissioner Theo Graham.
The “takeover” of Winter Garden by the taxpayers was complete when
Governor Bush appointed Rod Reynolds to the seat of recalled commissioner
Thompson over the strong objections of Mel Martinez, Kevin Beary and Winter
Garden Mayor Jack Quisenberry. The
resulting shakeup sent the city manager packing and the city attorney
fired! Great things are happening
in Winter Garden and Ax the Tax helped to make the difference and has set the
example for good government and accountability and responsibility in public
spending!
Commuter
Rail. The battle against the commuter rail
boondoggle is picking up steam!
Just a week ago, the City of Edgewood voted unanimously to reject
commuter rail and passed a resolution requesting Orange County Commissioners to
do the same. Mayor Mike
Teague joined the Edgewood City Commission in condemning the commuter rail
boondoggle. According to
Commissioner Judy Beardslee, the sentiment in Edgewood was running 78% AGAINST
commuter rail. The battle now goes
to other communities and to the Orange County Commission! Taxpayers have rejected rail in every
vote taken – what part of NO don’t they get at Orange County! Ax the Tax is leading the opposition and
we will be victorious with your help!
Polk
County. In Polk County our local affiliate is
leading an effort to recall four county commissioners who approved a 24% tax
increase. This outrageous increase
is being openly opposed by over two thousand Ax the Tax volunteers. Again, Ax the Tax is leading the way for
accountability and responsibility in public spending.
Maitland. In Maitland, Ax the Tax lawsuits on
behalf of the taxpayers of Maitland led to the withdrawal of a huge development
plan that would have changed the character of their city. Ax the Tax involvement has led to
several other organizations suing the unresponsive Maitland Mayor and City
Commissioners. In March, the only
commissioner seat on the ballot went to an Ax the Tax backed candidate… one that
was openly criticized in the Orlando Sentinel for contributing to Ax the Tax….
Bob Miller won with 58% of the voter AFTER his opponent tagged him
with being an AxTaxer and a Guetzloe “clone” since Miller had contributed $200
to Ax the Tax last year!
Osceola
County. Huge victory in Osceola County when Ax
the Tax and our Osceola affiliate led the fight against the plan by the
Texas-based Faulkner Company to build a taxpayer funded convention center. The Faulkner plan was voted down by the
Osceola County Commission after a vigorous direct mail and phone campaign to the
Osceola County Commission. Another
victory for the taxpayers and for our Ax the Tax Osceola Chairman Steve
Burke!
Jan
Hall. Ax the Tax is helping Orange County
School Teacher Jan Hall fight the Orange County Public School System. The First Amendment must be
preserved! Visit our new website
for Jan at www.janhall.org!
Battles
yet to win.
We
have several important battles that need your immediate
attention.
1) The
out-of-state casino folks want us to allow Vegas style casino slot machines in
every area of Florida! We must stop
this attempt by the “new mob” to bring their crime-ridden machines to our
neighborhoods! Please see the AX
THE TAX ALERT and make your contacts today!
2) Commuter
Rail MUST BE DEFEATED! We need your
immediate contribution AND you must contact the Orange County Commission and
County Mayor TODAY and tell them NO TO THE COMMUTER RAIL BOONDOGGLE! Please see the AX THE TAX ALERT and make
those contacts today! We need your
contribution to take our anti-rail message directly to the voters. IT IS CRITICAL THAT YOU DONATE WHAT YOU
CAN TODAY to stop this devastating commuter rail disaster from coming to your
neighborhood!
Thanks again for your support in the past and PLEASE help us continue to win the battle for accountability and responsibility in public spending with your donation TODAY!
Sincerely,
Doug
Doug
Guetzloe
Chairman
Ax
the Tax
Ax the Tax Needs
YOUR HELP TODAY!
“YES DOUG, I’LL HELP AX THE TAX CONTINUE TO FIGHT FOR THE
TAXPAYERS!”
Name___________________________________________________________________
Address__________________________________________________________________
City______________________________________________State____Zip_____________
I
can help in the following ways:
____Enclosed
is my contribution made payable to AX THE TAX in the following amount: _____$1,000 _____$750 _____$500
_____$250 _____$150
_____$100
_____$75 _____$50 _____$35 _____$25 _____$15 _____other
Please
send me the following bumper stickers:
_____Mail
me _____ AX THE TAX
_____Mail
me _____ KEEP JAN HALL – FIRE BLOCKER
_____Mail
me _____DON’T BELIEVE THE ORLANDO SENTINEL
Please
mail your check and this request form to:
Ax
the Tax
750
S. Orlando Avenue
Suite
202
Contribute ON LINE at www.axthetax.org
Click on DONATE NOW
icon!
All
contributions will be spent on printing, postage and advertising.
Ax
the Tax is a volunteer based organization political action committee with no
salaried positions.
Since
Ax the Tax is an issues-only political committee, there are no limits to the
amount that you may contribute – no contribution is too
large or too small!
Visit
our website at:
Ax the Tax
Taxpayer Alert #1
Action Needed TODAY
Video
Lottery Machines (Class II) vs.
Las
Vegas-style Slot Machines (Class III) “One-Armed
Bandits”
n The Native American Casinos in
Tampa, Immokalee and Okeechobee currently offer Class
II
Video Lottery
Machines. However, if the Legislature allows Class III Las Vegas-style slot
machines in Broward, those Native American facilities will be automatically
awarded them as well.
n Class III Las Vegas-style
slots games (one-armed bandits) are more frequent, allowing for more opportunity
for Floridians to lose money.
n According to a January 2005
FDLE report, video poker and Class III Las Vegas-style
slots
have been named
as the most addictive of all gaming
activities.
n Unlike Las Vegas or Atlantic
City where casino patrons are primarily tourists, Florida
residents
will likely be
the primary source for revenue for these pari-mutuals.
CONTACT THESE ELECTED OFFICIALS
TODAY
TELL THEM...
NO to CLASS 3 “one-armed bandits” in Florida... NO to out-of-state criminal elements in Florida...NO to new gambling
in
Florida!
Representative Allan Bense
Speaker, Florida House of Representatives
The Capitol
402 South Monroe Street
Tallahassee, FL 32399
Phone: 850-488-1450
Representative Andy
Gardiner
Republican Leader – Florida
House
1013 East Michigan
Street
Orlando, FL
32806
Phone: 407-428-5800
Senator Tom Lee
President, Florida Senate
The Capitol
Suite 409 Tallahassee, FL 32399-1100
Phone: 850-487-5229
Representative Frank Atkisson
323 Pleasant Street
Kissimmee, FL
34741
Phone:
407-943-3077
attkisson.frank@leg.state.fl.us
Governor Jeb Bush
Executive Office of the Governor
The Capitol
404 South Monroe Street
Tallahassee, Fl. 32399-0001
Phone: 850-488-4441
Ax the Tax
Taxpayer Alert #2
DERAIL
THE BILLION DOLLAR COMMUTER RAIL BOONDOOGLE.
Contact
the Orange County Commission TODAY!
Tell the commission to vote NO on the
commuter
rail disaster!
Check the record on the commuter
rail
boondoggle:
-
Billion-dollar taxpayer funded price tag is low. Average cost overrun of
rail projects is 40% OVER original price tag.
-
Operating
deficit is estimated at $5 million taxpayer dollars per
year!
-
This
project is CONSULTANT driven - not CONSUMER driven.
-
Route
is from DeBary to Kissimmee and all you get is the bill! You and your
neighbors will NOT use the commuter train. No station within miles of your
home.
-
INCREASES
congestion on local roads. Blocks all east-west traffic along
route.
-
INCREASES
AIR & NOISE pollution and decreases air-quality. Uses heavy diesel oil
engines.
-
INCREASES
fatalities at rail crossings.
-
You
and your neighbors pay millions in our tax dollars for Volusia County rail
users.
-
Rail
projections are that MAYBE 3,500 "trips" per day... that's 1,750 people MIGHT
use the train daily within 10 years....Over $1 billion in tax dollars for
what? A train to nowhere.
-
No
agreement with CSX to decrease rail traffic...
Only you can De-rail Commuter
Rail
1) Send
your letter opposing commuter rail boondoggle to:
Orange
County Commission
201
S. Rosalind Ave., 5th Floor
Orlando,
FL 32801
2) Telephone the commission at: (407) 836-7350
3) Fax your letter
to (407)
836-5879
4) Email your letter opposing commuter rail to all seven
commissioners:
Rich Crotty mayor@ocfl.net
Teresa Jacobs district1@ocfl.net
Bob Sindler bob.sindler@ocfl.net
Mildred Fernandez district3@ocfl.net
Linda Stewart district4@ocfl.net
Bill Segal district5@ocfl.net
Homer Hartage district6@ocfl.net
Visit www.axthetax.org click on COMMUTER RAIL for more information on the failures of Commuter Rail throughout the
United States!