Granby Tea Party Places Emphasis On Local Government

A small group of Granby residents inspired by the growing Tea Party movement in the United States have laid the foundation for their own local group, the Granby Tea Party.

"We've got to change, we've got to cut spending," said Granby Tea Party co-founder Tom Kaiser. Kaiser teamed up with fellow Granby resident Michael Mercier to form the local group and start working towards changing how their local government operates.

Monday night the Granby Board of Finance and town officials held a town meeting to vote on the fiscal year 2011-2012 town budget, and Kaiser was there to represent the newly formed group.  He carried a bright yellow flag with the words 'Don't Tread on Me,' known as a Gadsden flag, and a poster that listed the salaries of Granby Public School administrators.

"My goal is to show the public how we spend the money," Kaiser said.  "If we spent a little less on the administration I think we could spend a little more on our teachers."

"The teachers haven't gotten a raise in three years but the administrators got a three percent raise the past two years," Kaiser said.

Granby Board of Education Chairman Cal Heminway did make note Monday evening that the administrative staff has already agreed to take a salary freeze in 2012-2013.

Kaiser, 43, has lived in Granby since 2000 when he immigrated to the United States from Germany and has been interested in conservative politics ever since.

Mercier and Kaiser formed the Granby Tea Party in September 2009 and recently they have begun promoting their group to reach a wider audience.  The group aims to address increasing taxes, government spending, and government intervention according to the Granby Tea Party website established several months ago by Mercier.

"I think the movement needs to focus, right now, on our local governments where we can see our money spent more directly," Kaiser said.

The group is now planning to hold monthly meetings at the Cambridge House Brew Pub beginning on May 7 at 6:00 p.m.