Citizens for Lower Taxes and a Stronger Economy, Inc.

Dear FSG Supporter:

It's just halftime for Hometown Democracy, and Floridians are only up by three. But the anti-growth amendment will not be on the 2008 ballot, due in no small part to your support, time and effort. As executive director of Floridians for Smarter Growth, I'm writing to thank you for backing our battle to defeat the paid signature drive for the "Vote on Everything" amendment.

Raising the funds necessary to fight this phase was especially difficult during a downturn in Florida's economy. But we assembled a unique coalition of Floridians ready to fight for our unique quality-of-life - people like you, who have faith in our representative democracy and know a bad idea when they see one.

But the real credit for this victory belongs to the people of Florida, who for three consecutive election cycles have resisted the Siren's song of Hometown Democracy. And the real blame for Hometown's failure goes to the authors of the amendment, who over-reached badly with a truly radical proposal mainstream Floridians cannot possibly support.

Based in Orlando, Floridians for Smarter Growth is now an alliance of 101 Florida organizations, 27 county committees, 250 executive committee members and hundreds of grassroots volunteers. As the 5Feb08 Orlando Sentinel article below proves, Hometown Democracy bankrollers are bound to be on the ballot in 2010. So we must remain vigilant, build an even more effective campaign organization, drill our troops, and reach even deeper into the heart of Florida.

All of our supporters have worked hard and given generously; now is not a time to let down our guard or turn off the lights. Rather, we must seize this opportunity to assure every Floridian knows the truth about this bad idea. If that happens, we can't lose.

Thank you again for your support. You'll be hearing from us again soon.

Sincerely,
Michael R. Caputo
Executive Director
Floridians for Smarter Growth
www.FLSmarterGrowth.org