The Greenlight Pinellas campaign is ramping up efforts to earn support for a referendum on the November ballot this year.
Playing on familiar stereotypes, the 30-second spot shows three retirement-aged men sitting down for breakfast in a diner. One man, Leroy, angrily proclaims, “I’m not voting for a tax increase!”
Another man then chimes in telling them to calm down and explains the one-penny sales tax increase will lower their property taxes.
That’s because if voters approve the referendum, it would replace the portion of sales tax currently funding transit in the county.
The pro-Greenlight character also points out that Leroy can hit up a Rays game on a train and the other guy, Jerry, can catch more buses to the pharmacy to pick up his prescriptions.
And just in case poking fun at elderly men wasn’t amusing enough, the ad ends with Leroy and Jerry asking how their friend knows all of this. The answer of course, “I’m following them on the Twitter.”
Not Twitter. The Twitter.
Leroy and Jerry then share exasperated eye rolls.
Watch the ad: