The Adobe Flash Player is required to view this multimedia interactive. Get it here.

Tea Party to host event here

Medical helicopter called after two-car accident
2/6/12
County issues fewer new vendor licenses
2/6/12
Boehner says regulations stopping growth in the economy
2/6/12
County candidates to speak at Tea Party forum
2/6/12
Obama for America opening office in county
2/6/12
> More headlines

By Dave Greber, Staff Writer Updated 8:43 AM Wednesday, May 13, 2009

West Chester Twp. resident Chris Littleton has high expectations for a politically-charged gathering slated to take place in his hometown later this month.

But the impetus won’t be about numbers. It’s about substance.

Littleton, 30, is spearheading the local effort to become the first of what’s expected to be many off-shoots of the non-partisan Cincinnati Tea Party in communities throughout southwest Ohio.

The event, which will feature Cincinnati Tea Party founder Mike Wilson, is set for 7:30 p.m., May 29, at the Miami University satellite campus at Voice of America Park.  It will be the first time the organization will host an event in a community like West Chester Twp., Littleton said.

Unlike the Cincinnati Tea Party, where organizers and media entities sparred over attendance numbers, Littleton said the community event will be smaller — the room at the satellite campus only holds 150 people — but he hopes to accomplish more.

“We don’t need a million people to change the world,” he said. “It just takes a hand full of people who really care.

“I don’t know how big this is going to get,” he added about the local gathering. “But I just hope we don’t lose our core values.”

Littleton said West Chester was chosen as one of the first community groups because some of the work had already been done.

A few years ago, Littleton and a group of friends formed American Junto, a political discussion group that rarely went beyond thought sharing. Then things changed.

According to his Web site: “I guess we all come together now because the travesties of the last few years (and few months, more specifically) have been more than we can bear. We have officially moved out of our comfort zone. We knew we should seek out like-minded people.”

He said this week the Tea Party concept “just made sense” because of shared beliefs regarding responsible government spending, and the importance the organization that formed in February places on grassroots efforts.

“To have that lasting impact, you have to have an impact on individuals at the local level,” he said.

For more information, and to RSVP visit http://americanjunto.org.

Contact this reporter at (513) 820-2112 or dgreber@coxohio.com.

Share this article