Updated: Virgil Lovitt - 2008 Tax Hiker of the Year

** Note to our loyal readers: We have updated our landmark entry where we awarded Virgil Lovitt as our 2008 Tax Hiker of the Year. In that post we only focused on the past year's work by Lovitt, and while that itself is substantial, we feel our readers benefit by adding historical information about Virg's awesome tax-hiking record. All changes to the original post are in color.

We at the Executive Committee of Republicans for Higher Taxes are proud to announce Virgil Lovitt has been named our 2008 Tax Hiker of the Year. It did not take our committee long to arrive at this decision. There is nobody over the past year who has done more to advance the cause of higher taxes than our man Virgil. Consider Virgil's excellent record:

-- Virgil was a vocal supporter of Issue 27, the Simon Leis Sales Tax hike. Even though 56% of Hamilton County and 57% of the 28th House District opposed this tax, Virgil knew they were wrong and stood strong behind our efforts to raise taxes. We hope Virgil will use his campaign to reprimand the 57% of voters in his district for voting against this Sales Tax increase.

-- He has been one of Congresswoman Jean Schmidt's biggest supporters. Schmidt of course has been one of the great Republican tax hikers of our time.

-- Under Virgil's fine leadership, the prostitution industry in Sharonville has been thriving. This has brought good, high-paying jobs to a depressed town and enticed lonely men to spend their money in local Sharonville businesses.

-- Courageous Virgil opposed Pat DeWine's nomination for Judge earlier this year. Virgil openly stated that DeWine's low-tax policies are harmful to Sharonville. See, this is a guy who gets it. Lower taxes are bad for Sharonville and they're bad for everyone else too.

-- Finally, Virgil Lovitt has announced his endorsement of Democrat Todd Portune for County Commissioner. Lovitt is not just content to support every tax increase he encounters, he goes the extra mile by supporting the Democrats who propose these tax increases. Nothing will stand between Mayor Lovitt and higher taxes.

October update - we have decided to update this entry to include more historical information.

-- Virg supported a whopping 50% income tax hike for the taxpayers of Sharonville.

-- Our man Mayor Lovitt also endorsed the latest failed Princeton Schools tax hike. Coincidently, Princeton's then-Superintendent Aaron Mackey endorsed Lovitt's re-election.

-- Lovitt supported the huge hotel tax increase for Hamilton County which more than doubled the old tax rate. Virg loves this tax so much that he opposes ending it early when the convention center bills are paid off. That's our kind of tax hiker. Even after a tax has raised all the money necessary for its stated purpose, Virg wants the tax to continue anyways.

-- A proud Bob Taft Republican, Virgil Lovitt endorsed and campaigned for Bob Taft's 3rd Frontier spending program. Its goal was to rebuild Ohio's economy, and everyone can see how well it has worked.

As you can see, nobody is more deserving of this award than our friend and ally, Sharonville Mayor Virgil Lovitt. When other politicians backed away from tax increases after the 2nd consecutive defeat of a jail tax, Virgil has only stepped forward and continued with his mission to raise our taxes. For this fine record, we have proudly awarded Virgil Lovitt the 2008 Tax Hiker of the Year!