SPLOST Campaign Update
Last night the first public debate on the 2016 SPLOST took place in Mableton, and all in all I think our side did well. The coverage in the Marietta Daily Journal was balanced, which is a win for us. Please see their coverage in the link below. We encourage you to make comments on-line, which you can do at the end of the article.
The next, and far more important televised debate at the BOC meeting room at 100 Cherokee Street right off the Square in Marietta on 10/29. It will start at 7 pm and is being sponsored by the League of Women Voters. To that end, we can’t emphasize enough how important it is that our side be there in force, wearing t-shirts, waving signs, and making noise. If we can deliver a knock out punch (or two, or three) at that event, it will be a huge shot in the arm to our campaign, especially as we head into the final stretch. It will give us, what they say in political parlance, the “Big Mo”. So please clear your calendars and plan to attend, and show up early. Our opponents may, out of desperation, use the tactic they used during the Braves Stadium fight, and stack the room with paid Chamber staffers long before the start of the debate. Don’t let them get away with it! Two can play that game. Another tactic we used to good affect last night is that our side was armed with great questions, which kept our opponent on the defensive and allowed us to play more offense. As in football, the more time you have on the clock with the ball in your possession, you are going to win. It’s that simple.
However, the biggest challenge we face right now, as we have faced from the outset, is having enough money to deliver our message of strong fiscal conservatism and less waste of our hard earned dollars by the greedy special interests who want to feed from the public trough at your expense. In the past, we have relied heavily on the generous support of the Georgia Tea Party, (GTP) but this time they have decided to sit this one out, just like they did during the Braves Stadium fiasco.
This is curious and inexplicable in that this SPLOST is more wasteful and egregious than any we have faced in the past. In fact, last Thursday, when they hosted pro-SPLOST advocate Ron Sifen to make his case FOR the SPLOST, an audience member asked for a show of hands of those who planned to vote against the SPLOST. Every hand went up except Mr. Sifen’s, including three GTP Board members. So why they continue to sit on the sidelines this time is anyone’s guess, but it has clearly put us in a bind.
We have hundreds of lawn signs in our possession, but can’t put them out until we pay the vendor. To do otherwise would be fiscally irresponsible. So we need you to buy some signs at $5 a piece. If you don’t feel comfortable putting them out yourself, just send CTA a check for whatever you can spare, or make a contribution and our hardy band of volunteers will put them out for you.
You can also take advantage of the Frank Molesky challenge. Frank will purchase and put out 50 signs at $250 if you can match that contribution with another $250, so we can then pay for and put out 100 signs. Frank has stipulated, however, that his offer is only good up to COB, Friday, 10/17, and he can only afford to match this offer one time.
Flyer Distribution
With the beautiful fall weather we enjoy in this part of the country between now and election day, now is a perfect time to go door-to-door distributing our flyers in your sub-division or neighborhood, while getting that much recommended exercise. If 100 volunteers distribute just 100 flyers, we will be reaching out to between 15 and 20,000 voters. This activity alone can make the difference between victory or defeat. Click here to print the Flyer. There are four flyers per page, so you only need to print out 25 to get 100 flyers.
In addition, there are a number of festivals and fairs in Cobb County in October, which represents an ideal opportunity to pass out our flyers. If you would like to join with others in this activity, just let us know by return e-mail, and we will be in touch. We are also planning some sign waving events at busy intersections for the next three weekends leading up to election day. If you’d take part in that activity, let us know that as well.
BTW — You’ll be encouraged to know that the overwhelming majority of citizens who have received flyers when we’ve done this, have indicated support for our position, and appreciation for us reaching out to them. We’ve also gotten some new volunteers!
Take the Pledge
With the Pro-SPLOST camp garnering $150,000 in taxpayer dollars from the Cumberland Community Improvement District to “educate” voters on why they should vote for the SPLOST, we need to avail ourselves of as much free publicity as possible for our side. To that end, we are soliciting your name, and the names of friends and family members to “take the pledge” which we will put in a press release. The press release would read:
The Cobb Taxpayers Association today released the names of ___ Cobb County taxpayers who oppose the SPLOST that the Cobb County Commissioners voted to put on the ballot for November 4, 2014. They are:
(We would then insert your name here). If you would like to have your name on the list, just send us an email.
T-Shirts are On Order!
T-shirts are now on order. Pictures of the signs and t-shirts can be seen on our website and you can order them on-line. Please indicate sizes. They are $15 each, and $25 for two.
Also new on our website are Frequently Asked Questions (FAQs) which pertain directly to this SPLOST, and gives you all the intellectual ammunition you’ll need to convince your fellow taxpayers that this SPLOST has got to go.
We cannot emphasize enough the importance of receiving campaign contributions to pay for the essential elements of this campaign, such as the above-mentioned lawn signs, and t-shirts. You can make contributions by clicking on the link at the bottom of this e-mail, or by sending a check to:
Cobb Taxpayers Association3704 Tate Place
Austell, GA 30106
P.S. We can now handle online donations at this time, please click here to donate. If you haven’t told your friends about the campaign, now is a great time to get them involved. Please use the forwarding options below to send this to ALL of your friends who want lower taxes and an end to wasteful government spending in Cobb County.