COAST Our Mission is to limit increases in taxes and spending to within the rate of inflation
and to stop the abuse of power by government officials throughout Ohio. 		  Search
  ABOUT COAST

COAST was founded in 1999 by Thomas E. Brinkman, Jr. and Christopher P. Finney to fight battles against higher taxes and spending in the city of Cincinnati and Hamilton County. It had a string of early successes, including defeating the police communications levy and the zoo tax levy that year.Tom Brinkman, former State Representative

We have helped save taxpayers in southwest Ohio literally billions of tax dollars. Two notable accomplishments came from coalitions with other groups. In 2003, it joined Alternatives to Light Rail Transit ("ALRT") to defeat a 1¢ sales tax increase to fund a multi-billion dollar light rail system.  In 2007, David Pepper and Todd Portune imposed a 1/2 ¢ sales tax increase without a public vote. COAST joined with the NAACP, the Green Party, the Libertarian Party, Cincinnati Progressive Action and others to collect 56,000 signatures in 42 days to place the issue on the ballot, and ended up defeating the tax by 56% of the vote.

COAST achieves its objectives through a variety of techniques, including traditional political organizing, earned and paid media, court challenges to illegal government actions, and direct electronic communications through its blog, web site, and e-mail newsletter.

Some of COAST's most lasting victories have been legal ones. In 2002, through the settlement of a federal suit against the Cincinnati Public Schools (caught red-handed using school resources to run a levy campaign), the school entered into an agreement whereby school resources would never again be used to aid political campaigns. In conjunction with the 2007 sales tax campaign, COAST successfully sued Sheriff Leis to stop him from mis-using tax dollars on the pro-tax campaign.

2004 saw the expansion of COAST with its North COAST chapter serving Warren and Butler Counties.

The future is bright for COAST as local and state government officials consistently reach for more money and more power to abuse and enslave the citizenry. Get involved now to stop the forward encroachment of socialism into our lives. 

Join COAST to:
      • Forcefully battle excessive taxation;
      • Expose wasteful government spending;
      • Confront abuse of government power;
      • Reduce the intrusion of government into our daily lives;
      • Build innovative and winning coalitions; and
      • Elect officials who consistently will exercise fiscal restraint.
We can't do it without you.  Please sign up today to support COAST >
Want to know more about how COAST has made an impact? Read about our War Stories...		  
     
COAST milestones:

2008 -- COAST sues to stop use of City Hall facilities for pro-tax purposes
2008 -- COAST passes a ban in Cincinnati on the use of red light and speeding cameras
2007 -- Commissioners impose 1/2 ¢ sales tax increase without a vote. COAST joined WeDemandAVote.Com Coalition to collect 56,000 signatures and to defeat the hated tax
2007 -- COAST successfully sued to stop taxpayer funding of Commissioner David Pepper's girlfriend's Greater Cincinnati Film Commission
2007 -- COAST launches efforts to stop taxpayer funding of the National Underground Railroad Freedom Center
2005 -- COAST arranged for legal representation for woman in Loveland criminally charged with owing $1.16 in income tax, resulting in a dismissal of the charges.
2004 -- North COAST formed to aid in the fight against excessive taxes and spending in Butler and Warren Counties
2003 -- passed a Charter Amendment in Cincinnati preventing the use of tax dollars to campaign for tax increases
2003 -- joined a coalition called ALRT to defeat a 1 ¢ sales tax increase for a light rail transit system
2002 -- a COAST lawsuit prevents Cincinnati Public Schools from abusing tax dollars to advocate for political causes such as tax increases
2001 -- defeated an effort to fund the "Regional Coltural Alliance" with $500,000 in tax dollars
2001 -- brought the property tax rollback to Cincinnati that continues to this day
2000 -- defeated funding by the City of Cincinnati for an effort to bring the Olympics to Cincinnati
1999 -- defeated the zoo tax levy.
1999 -- defeated the police communications levy
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Paid for by COAST Candidates PAC, Mark Miller Treasurer, 3630 Zumstein Avenue, Cincinnati, Ohio 45208. Login