Road Trip: Leading Referenda

Chris Finney presented with Carla Howell of the Center for Smaller Government in Taxachusetts and Robin Ficker, author and backer of some 20 Charter Amendments in Montgomery County Maryland on a panel discussing Initiatives and Referenda. Very successful presentation. Discussed the Jail Tax, the WeDemand Coailtion, Red Light Camera ban, and legal actions to counter government use of resources to campaign for higher taxes.

On to more sessions, and then lunch presentation by Ken Blackwell and Steve Moore from the Wall Street Journal. COASTer and Mason School Board Member Jennifer Miller and her husband are coming in from Cincinnati mid-day today.

Then, the Chairman and CEO of Overstock.Com is presenting this PM.

Fun stuff!

Road Trip: Ticket Toppers

Hmmm. Tonight’s cocktail Party had Congressman Tom Price (good) and Senator John McCain (OK). McCain actually made a compelling case about the out-of-control spending and impending government take-over of the healthcare industry. Indeed, COAST would be interested in some of his statistics and positioning of the issue as it hit the nail on the head as to what is going on today. Then, he got questions about his vote for TARP I and Ron Paul’s Audit the Fed bill. He not only fumbled both, but was downright confrontational in his defense of TARP I (although he admitted he wished it had more regulatory controls on the money) and took completely unnecessary potshots at Ron Paul, who is a good friend of COAST, and clearly a hero of many others in the room. Glad McCain's not our president. Really glad. Would have been like Bob Taft in the White House (eeek!).

COAST also talked at length with Ken Blackwell. Cincinnati has no one better connected to the conservative movement in Washington – and well-respected in D.C. He was gracious and had loads of guidance for how we can build a state-wide organization in Ohio. Very compelling. Oh, and we met with lots of conservative activists throughout the nation. Not only powerhouses, but just average citizens who want to change the debate from big-spending democrats and big-spending republicans in their communities. The story repeats itself in community after community.

Then, we dined with old friends from Cincinnati at a crab shack. Stayed up late…Chris Finney needs to prepare for his speech in the AM. And the meat of the conference is Friday.

Road Trip!

COASTers departed today in a car pool for D.C. to attend the National Taxpayers Conference in Washington D.C. this Thursday, Friday and Saturday. We left a little early to make some additional connections in our nation’s capital for COAST and maybe to have some fun. (Turns out the Reds are playing the Nationals while we are there, so we might catch a game or two.)

On the agenda are:

• COAST General Counsel Chris Finney is speaking before the National Taxpayers Union conference on Friday as part of a panel discussion on Initiatives and Referenda. Following the COAST success (and the success of COAST’s WeDemand partners) in defeating the 2007 SuperSized Jail Tax, and against Red Light Cameras in 2008, COAST has been sought out by national groups fighting against oppressive government.
• COASTers will present on Wednesday AM before the Americans for Tax Reform regular weekly Wednesday session attended by more than 100 leaders on Capitol Hill.
• On Thursday AM, COASTers are having a personal breakfast with Grover Norquist and Sandra Fabry of ATR to discuss closer cooperation between the two groups.
• COASTers have a variety of other meetings with national leaders in the movement towards more limited government.

We will report on our progress and experiences from the road. We will try to stay out of trouble in the City that specializes in making trouble for the rest of America.

COAST General Counsel Appears at NTU Conference June 12

Christopher P. Finney heads panel on
"Using Issues & Referenda to Advance the Taxpayers' Cause"

COAST General Counsel Christopher P. Finney appears at this year's Bi-Annual Conference of the National Taxpayer's Union in Arlington, Virginia on June 12, 2009.

The National Taxpayers Conference, which is held from June 11 through the 13th, will also feature the following speakers: U.S. Senator Jim DeMint, U.S. Congressman Tom Price, Governor of Missouri Matt Blunt, former Ohio Secretary of State Ken Blackwell, and Steve Moore renowned Wall Street Journal columnist.

Finney will moderate a panel discussion the first full day of the Conference, entitled "Using Issues & Referenda to Advance the Taxpayers Cause."

Finney is the author of several Amendments to the Cincinnati City Charter, including Council term limits, a limitation on the City's ticket tax, Cincinnati's ban on Red Light Cameras, a ban on using tax resources for political purposes, and this year's proposed Charter Amendment stopping the proposed $185 million Trolley.

In addition to his work for COAST, Finney recently was appointed to the Executive Committee of the Cincinnati Chapter of the NAACP and serves as the Chair of its Legal Redress Committee. Finney was a key organizer of the WeDemandAVote.Com coalition that toppled the Super-Sized Jail Tax in 2007 and won the prestigious national "Modern Day Sam Adams Award" from the Sam Adams Alliance in Chicago. Finney was named one of eight Ohio Lawyers of the Year in 1998.

Finney is a shareholder of Finney, Stagnaro, Saba & Patterson Co., L.P.A., with 18 attorneys in two offices in the Cincinnati area. He concentrates in real estate law, general litigation and constitutional law.

In addition to working on limited government initiatives in the Cincinnati area, the WeDemandAVote.Com coalition has continued to promote the Red Light Camera ban throughout Ohio and the nation.

This is Finney's second appearance before NTU conferences. He spoke at its national conference in 2007 just after the start of the petition drive to repeal the Super-Sized Jail Tax. COASTer Dan Regenold has spoken about same campaign before both the Sam Adams Alliance and at the national CPAC Conference in February 2008,where he discussed "The Power of Principle: Conservative Victories Across the Nation in 2007."

Since it was founded 40 years ago, the National Taxpayers Union has been the Nation's leading organization advocating for limited government and lower taxes at the federal, state and local levels. The National Taxpayers Conference assembles activists from throughout the nation and world every two years to fight against the otherwise unchecked growth of government.