Chuck McCullough's Site plays Tom Petty

Well I won't back down
No I won't back down
You can stand me up at the gates of hell
But I won't back down ... ElectChuckMcCullough.com

We were just thinking to ourselves, "I've got to think of a real funny, preposterous protest vote for this Allegheny County Executive race," and the answer's been staring us in the face all along!

WHEREAS:

"Rich [Fitzgerald] opposes any effort to implement the court ordered tax reassessments that targets only Allegheny County because it would result higher property taxes for residents which will make Allegheny County less competitive with our surrounding counties."

"[Mark Patrick Flaherty] oppose[s] reassessing property values in Allegheny County and agree with proposals calling for a moratorium on court-ordered reassessments until the Legislature acts to reform the property tax system on a statewide basis."

"[Raja is] the leader we need to stop the tax-raising reassessment..."

"[Chuck] is opposed to the forthcoming countywide re-assessment and will put a stop to it."

AND WHEREAS:

"In analyzing the base year assessment system, Judge Wettick determined that the system is in violation of the uniformity clause since it results in underassessments for properties located in appreciating areas and overassessments for properties located in depreciating areas. In coming to this conclusion, Judge Wettick analyzed the range between the market values and assessments through the Commonwealth and found them to be unacceptable, resulting in significant inequality and an unconstitutional lack of uniformity. Judge Wettick held that assessment laws that allow the use of a base year assessment, without requiring reassessment, violates the uniformity clause because '(1) base year assessments are not intended to assess all properties at the same percentage of assessed value to actual value, (2) base year assessments inherently cause significant disparities in the ratio of assessed value to market value, and (3) base year assessments inevitably discriminate against owners of properties in lower value neighborhoods.'" (MB&M Newsletter; emphasis mine)

AND WHEREAS:

The City of Pittsburgh and the Pittsburgh School District are both constituted of a disproportionate great lot of those overassessed depreciating neighborhoods -- as well as enough underassesed high-value homes that a neutral and overdue assessment of property would help both governments stem the rate of comprehensive service failure and collapse.

AND WHEREAS:

"Chuck believes strongly in term limits and will set an example by serving one term only as County Executive."

NOW, THEREFORE, BE IT RESOLVED that as all four candidates have demonstrated the same eagerness to swagger down an overly-traveled path of anti-intellectual regressive pandering, counterproductive executive mismanagement and obtuse can-kicking, we may as well go with the one that will allow us the mercy of a clean slate in four years, possesses decent taste in music and is allegedly at least the most transparent crook.

Done and done. What's next?