PERRYSBURG — As tax documents were submitted to the Internal Revenue Service, the Northwest Ohio
Conservative Coalition celebrated the 10th anniversary Tax Day Tea Party Rally on Monday, the federal
due date for personal income tax returns.
To the sound of patriotic music, supporters waved American flags and Tea Party “Don’t Tread on Me” flags
with the divided snake image. They wore Trump hats and carried Trump Make America Great Again stuffed
bears.
“Tax day happens every year and it’s very, very, very important that we make sure the government is
careful with our resources and that’s why we’re here,” said Perrysburg Municipal Court Judge Aram
Ohanian.
In his address to the 40 onlookers, he talked about ways to make the government more efficient, pointing
to the $44,000 he saved by eliminating one position as the first thing he did after being appointed
judge.
The City of Perrysburg is putting a fresh face on Hood Park, the location for the first rally, so the
anniversary event was held one block west at recently finished Riverside Park overlook.
“The people who originally did this, we had it down at Hood Park, but Hood Park’s undergoing renovations,
” said Linda Bowyer, a conservative coalition member and also a speaker at that first rally. “We just
wanted to reminisce with everybody and talk about what we’ve accomplished in the last 10 years and where
the movements at right now. ”
Bill Zouhary and Joni King, who were the original organizers of the 2009 rally, were also on hand to talk
to supporters.
Bowyer listed off some of the group’s activities, including sending postcards, putting up billboards,
holding dinners and conferences. She also lamented not being able to unseat Rep. Marcy Kaptur, D-Toledo.
Counted among the groups accomplishments was the election of State Rep. Derek Merrin, R-Monclova
Township. He talked about some of the many taxes Americans pay. In addition to local, state and federal
income tax, he reminded the audience of the taxes on guns, property, fuel and airplane travel, and the
commercial activity tax.
“There are so many different taxes we can’t calculate our own tax burden,” said Merrin. “We have to
control the taxes to control the growth of government.”
Other officials on hand were Perrysburg school board member Sue Larimer, Rossford Councilman Bob Densic,
Rossford school board member Tiffany Densic, and conservative coalition board members Bowyer, John
McAvoy and Jeff Lydy.
Since that initial rally in 2009, the Northwest Ohio branch, which is a coalition of Tea Party affiliated
groups, has become a political action committee. PACs are defined by OpenSecrets.org as “A popular term
for a political committee organized for the purpose of raising and spending money to elect and defeat
candidates.”
The Federal Election Commission tracks the financial activities of several different types of PACs.
