Who says we don't have local gods any more?

Back in the time of the Old Testament, this group of people would have one god, while another group of people would have another god. Some people believe that the true revolution (or revelation) in Hebrew theology was the concept of a God who was God everywhere, even if you were in Egypt or Babylon.

Well, we have a god in California that many people worship. And it's not Ronald Reagan. It's Howard Jarvis.

Franklin Avenue takes us back to those thrilling days of yesteryear, when the prophet Jarvis walked among us.



The funniest part? The phrase "owner of a $60,000 home in Los Angeles."

But Jarvis worship continues via his church, the Howard Jarvis Taxpayers Association.

However, there are other gods. There is a sect of people who worship Paul Gann called the People's Advocate. The Gannites explain why the churches are separate:

Q. Why don't People's Advocate and the Howard Jarvis Taxpayers Association (HJTA) join forces and merge together?

A. Each organization has different issues which it addresses as well as some common ones.

The Howard Jarvis organization was founded by Howard Jarvis in Los Angeles and People's Advocate was founded by Paul Gann in Sacramento. When Jarvis and Gann decided to take on Prop 13, the property tax initiative, they formed a coalition but retained their own autonomy. Although they worked very closely together to push Prop 13 into law, they were nevertheless separate organizations working toward one goal: to reduce the property taxes of property owners. Prior to the joint venture, such a enormous undertaking by just one organization would not have been possible. After that historic effort, they never saw any reason to amalgamate the two organizations. In fact, they both believed they could better serve the taxpayers as separate entities. Since that time both Howard Jarvis and Paul Gann have died but their organizations live on as extremely effective keepers of the beleaguered tax payer.

HJTA continues to focus primarily on Prop 13. People's Advocate -- while continuing to protect Prop 13 anytime a threat is made-- works to educate our members on public policy, and also has worked on other issues as well. See Our History page.

Although People's Advocate and the Howard Jarvis Taxpayers Association have similar aims, we believe, as did Mr. Jarvis and Mr. Gann, the two organizations can better serve the taxpayer by remaining separate so as to allow for more varied policy options. It is more important to have as many groups as possible fighting taxes and government waste so the movement will retain widespread notoriety and strike fear into the minds of public officials everywhere. With several groups studying the problems we face, more diversity and ingenuity will inevitably surface.

Rest assured, those of us with common goals unite when the cause requires it.

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