They are rare when they are effective and this is one of the best in Sacramento, a city blessed with its share of folks who are willing to put in the hours, bring the passion and the knowledge, to really do some good for all of us.
Personality in the news: Gadfly has a genial side
When he's not fighting proposed taxes, Joe Sullivan might surprise you.
By Blair Anthony Robertson - Bee Staff Writer
Published 12:00 am PST Sunday, December 24, 2006
Will Rogers never met a man he didn't like.
Joe Sullivan? He almost never met a new tax he didn't want to place under the heel of his shoe and squash like a cockroach.
Surely, he hates everything. He has to. He's the point man for the Sacramento County Taxpayers League.
He's the guy who helped shoot down the recent drive for a taxpayer-funded arena, the one several years back who pummeled the proposed tax increase to put more sheriff's deputies on the streets. He doesn't even have much sympathy for Mother Earth -- he thinks the planet can fend for itself without new taxes to combat global warming.
This guy probably would be against a new tax devoted to giving balloons to children.
So much for preconceived notions. The real Joe Sullivan who answers the door at his modest home in the suburbs is a different story.
At 81, he's upbeat and energetic. With a head of thick white hair and neatly trimmed mustache, he looks like a matinee idol of a certain vintage. And that's not a scowl on his face but a smile. His bright blue eyes appear to twinkle.
