Countywide : Gadflys Join Forces to Fight City Halls

Local watchdogs who spend years berating city councils about “misuse” of taxpayer money or “unwarranted” increases in taxes no longer work in isolation, according to the credo of a new countywide group.

The multicounty Committees of Correspondence now meets monthly in Orange to offer aid, strategizing and networking to lonely anti-government activists. Watchdogs from 31 cities have joined the Committees of Correspondence, along with such groups as United We Stand.

The stated goal of members is to “achieve unity in the battle against oppressive taxes and acts of tyranny by government,” according to a mission statement drafted by Bill Mello of Huntington Beach.

Fullerton’s W. Snow Hume, for example, gave about 80 participants some tongue-in-cheek and legitimate background on the workings of municipal redevelopment agencies at the group’s third meeting last Wednesday.

“Blindness, madness and death,” he began. “Is it tertiary-stage syphilis or just redevelopment agencies?”

According to Hume, the invisible hand of socialism can be found behind every city’s redevelopment agency. He noted that the agencies--which technically are charged with redeveloping blighted areas--are funded by property taxes and require that 20% of all redevelopment create affordable housing.

Jim Schlahta of San Bernardino offered some quick advice on how best to approach residents when gathering signatures for referendums and recall petitions. “We don’t educate them, we don’t argue with them, we don’t do anything but get them to sign the petition,” he said.

The group will meet on the first Wednesday of every month at Orange City Hall, 300 E. Chapman Ave. Because so many members are involved in election campaigns, no meeting is scheduled for November.