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Tax fighter signs up thousands of allies

Activist Linda Hayward's effort to reduce county property taxes draws nearly 4,000 signatures so far and the attention of commissioners.

By ASJYLYN LODER
Published November 27, 2005

Linda Hayward grew up in Chittenango, N.Y., a small town outside of Syracuse that owes its limited fame to the birth there, in 1856, of L. Frank Baum, author of The Wizard of Oz .

Hayward, 47, lived in Chittenango from the age of 5 into her early 20s, growing up "pretty poor" with five siblings born to a house painter and his wife. As homage to its famous son, Chittenango (pop. 4,885) built a yellow brick road down the middle of its 2.4 square miles, Hayward recalled. On second thought, she amended, perhaps it was only some yellow brick sidewalks.

Her early exposure to that peculiar blend of whimsy and civic pragmatism might account for her own off-color foray into Hernando County politics, an adventure marked by both earnest enthusiasm and canny self-interest.

Two months ago, Hayward, who made her way to Hernando County by way of Washington, D.C., Boston and divorce, began collecting signatures on a petition that reads, in part: "We believe that the Hernando County property taxes have become a hardship to many of its residents. We also believe that Hernando County Government has received more than it needs to operate due to the increases in property values because of the booming housing and land markets."

Hayward's success - nearly 4,000 signatures so far - has earned her a few spots on the radio and some newspaper articles. With newfound celebrity in pocket, the computer programmer turned horse farmer has set out to recruit County Commission candidates for next year's election.

Hayward's previous political activities include voting, "generally the conservative line," and paying property taxes. She's not a Republican of the current strain, disliking as she does the government poking around her private business. A vegetarian who can't abide killing animals for food, her political philosophy strikes somewhere near libertarianism.

As a political platform, Hayward's has hard-to-beat simplicity: lower taxes. It worked for President Bush (both, actually) and remains a popular red state rallying cry.

In Florida parlance, candidates decrying taxes are just called Republicans. But Hayward thinks she has tapped into a constituency that is, if possible, more antitax than Florida Republicans. And her swift progress toward her goal of 10,000 signatures has begun to make it hot for commissioners on both sides of the aisle.

It's symptomatic of Hayward's political naivete that she reached out for support from state Rep. Dave Russell, R-Brooksville. Russell must leave the state House after next year because of term limits and has already declared his bid for County Commission. Responding in a letter, Russell wished her luck, and wrote, according to Hayward: "I regret that as a state representative I am unable to help you in this particular instance."

Hayward admitted that it might be a touch optimistic to ask for help from what amounts to the competition, but cynical political calculations matter little to her.

"I don't consider myself the opposition. I consider myself a person that is informing him of what his constituents want. There's a lot of people like me out there, and the uprising is countrywide, not just countywide," Hayward said.

A local blog titled Hernando County Concerned Citizens has urged visitors to support Hayward's petition. The Web site carries the motto "Love My Country. Fear Local Government," precisely the sentiment that has made Hayward's campaign so popular.

Alan Setelius, the blog's author and a member of the county's Republican Executive Committee, could not claim authorship of the motto, but gladly explained it.

"I don't fear my local government. I fear what they do with taxes and things like that," Setelius said, adding, "If I help her get even two more citizens signed, then I'd like to do that."

Hayward heartily welcomes support from any quarter.

"I don't care who they are. If they want to support this platform, I don't care if they're green outer-space men," she said.

Commissioners have quietly kept their eyes on Hayward. On mention of her name, they immediately point out that Hayward's own taxes dropped this year by more than $500 to less than $4,000 as a result of a greenbelt exemption she won on the $310,000 horse farm she paid cash for three years back.

Their rather sharp intimation is that Hayward, who sold 100 acres on Culbreath Road for $650,000 in 2002, has very little to complain about. But their criticism misses one point: At least 4,000 other people agree with her.

And that makes her a danger to both sides: for Democrats, if she throws her lot behind the GOP, and for Republicans, who could get cornered into promising tax cuts the county cannot afford or, worse, having to defend taxes in an election year.

Commissioner Nancy Robinson said perhaps the board should have responded to Hayward sooner. As it is, the board finds itself on the defensive.

"There's no willy-nilly spending," said Robinson, a former Democrat now allied with the county's Republicans.

"Since 1997, the millage has gone down not quite a full mill," Robinson added. "If nothing else happens in the budget this year, and we can reduce it by a little, people will be paying the millage of 1996."

Political sleight of hand, scoffed Hayward, pointing out that skyrocketing property values more than overtook any savings gained by paring the millage rate.

She wearily acknowledged that even if the County Commission shaved off 2 full mills - equal to $2 for every $1,000 in assessed value - home values, and thus taxes, would continue to rise.

So despite her political prospects, Hayward is thinking of uprooting yet again and leaving Hernando, perhaps before the election, sometime after her two pregnant mares foal. She has already put her rental property up for sale.

"I am thinking about selling, once this petition is done and settled," Hayward said.

--Asjylyn Loder can be reached at aloder@sptimes.com or 352 754-6127.

[Last modified November 27, 2005, 01:18:21]