Norfolk Tea Party II Rally

Via email, I received the following:

NORFOLK TEA PARTY II
– Rally to Cut the Tax Rate –

Saturday, September 23rd, 2006
9 AM

“The Banque”
1849 E.Little Creek Road

Give the windfall back to the taxpayers!
Together we CAN make a difference.

Norfolk Tea Party II Committee to Cut Tax Rate

Like others in my area, I received a flyer on my door about this event. This new group wants to cut the real estate tax rate from its current $1.27 to $1.08, a drastic 19-cent reduction. I’ve written before about the original Norfolk Tea Party:

The group was formed in an attempt to force council to lower real estate taxes when the state, in 1978, mandated that all real estate be assessed at 100% of fair market value. At the time, the real estate rate was $1.62 per $100 of assessment. The group collected some 20,000 signatures on petitions, but lost their referendum effort in the Virginia Supreme Court. Ultimately, council lowered the rate to $1.30 and the Norfolk Tea Party claimed credit.

I’ve been curious as to who is behind this group, but so far, have been stonewalled. Emails to the person who posted about this event in a couple of comments on this blog as well as the person who sent me the email quoted above have gone unanswered. I have heard from others that the originator of this new group is founding member of the original Norfolk Tea Party Councilman Randy Wright, who, I’m told, aspires to be mayor in 2010.

In any event, I plan to head over tomorrow morning and check it out. Stay tuned.