Doug Guetzloe obit

Douglas Michael Guetzloe
June 15,1954- February 6, 2018

 

He was not on the list.

Douglas "Doug" Guetzloe was best known in central Florida as the founder of Ax the Tax. For nearly four decades, he worked tirelessly to hold government accountable to the citizens and elect community leaders who wanted to strengthen our state and nation.

All the while, Doug remained a deeply committed husband to his wife Stacey, raising three children whom he loved dearly. Aside from his passion for politics, he was an avid collector of political memorabilia, student of history and strived to preserve our Southern Heritage for future generations.

Born in Tampa June 15, 1954, Doug was proud to be a fifth generation Floridian, Past president of Sons of the American Revolution, President of the Florida State University Student Government, President of St. Pete Junior College Student Government and member of First Presbyterian Church of Orlando.

He is survived by his wife Stacey, sons, Alexander and Jefferson and daughter, Madison, as well as his sister Laura Guetzloe and brother Peter Guetzloe, both of Clearwater.

In lieu of flowers please consider making a donation in Doug’s honor to either the Orange County Regional History Center or the American Heart Association.

He was the founder and chairman of Ax the Tax; a radio talk show host and founder of an internet broadcasting network.

Guetzloe was a community activist who headed Ax the Tax, an anti-tax group in Florida, and a radio talk show host heard exclusively on the Phoenix Network, an internet radio station which he owned. His activities involve political and civic affairs in Central Florida as well as state and national issues. A graduate of Florida State University, Guetzloe served as the university's student body president (his student body vice president was former Florida Gov. Charlie Crist). Following graduation Guetzloe moved to Orlando, Florida to accept a position as public relations director for the Florida Fruit and Vegetable Association. Two years later, he was appointed the regional director for the Florida Medical Association where he handled public relations, lobbying and political matters in a 17-county area of Florida.

Guetzloe founded Ax the Tax in 1982 and shortly thereafter established a public relations and marketing company called Advantage Consultants. He contended his leadership as chair of Ax the Tax has led to 17 successful anti-tax battles. His successes have ranged from defeating the 2003 Mobility 20/20 sales tax increase for transportation to being described as "a knight in shining armor charging in on his white horse"  by a city commissioner for successfully saving a historic trailer park in Winter Garden, Florida.

In 2006, Guetzloe was charged with 14 misdemeanors for distributing a political campaign mailer that did not identify who paid for the flyer. Although 13 counts were dismissed in 2008 by Florida's 5th District Court of Appeal and Florida First District Federal Judge Stephen Mickle threw out the state's electioneering communications law in 2009  (the law which Guetzloe was charged under), Guetzloe was sentenced to a 60-day jail term by Orange County Circuit Judge C. Jeffery Arnold in May 2011. Guetzloe claimed he was the only person in America put in jail for not putting a seven-word disclaimer on a political campaign flyer. He also cited the 1995 U.S. Supreme Court ruling (McIntyre vs. Ohio Elections Commission), which stated that prohibition of the distribution of anonymous campaign literature abridges free speech in violation of the First Amendment.

In 2009, Guetzloe helped his longtime attorney Fred O’Neal found the Florida TEA Party, a registered political party in Florida, and created a firestorm of controversy resulting in lawsuits against O’Neal, Guetzloe and the Florida TEA Party. All lawsuits were settled in favor of O’Neal, Guetzloe and the fledgling Florida TEA Party. O'Neal said the Florida TEA Party may have helped Florida Governor Rick Scott win a close race with Florida Attorney General Bill McCollum in the 2010 Republican Primary for Governor, citing e-mails sent to 100,000 Floridians in the final hours of the primary.

In 2010, Guetzloe formed The Phoenix Network and placed his long-running radio show on the network. The Guetzloe Report, which began broadcasting daily in January 1997, receives an average of 12,000 listeners a day with some shows reaching more than 50,000 listeners. In February 2011, Guetzloe and the Phoenix Network were invited to broadcast live from the Ronald Reagan Library and Museum at the Centennial Celebration of Ronald Reagan’s birthday. In 2011, Guetzloe was designated Republican presidential campaign commentator on The Voice of Russia, the Russian government's international radio service. Guetzloe’s work as a radio commentator, political consultant and anti-tax activist “makes him unique among political figures in Florida,” according to the Orlando Sentinel. “Regular targets range from the mayors of Orlando and Orange County to the Orlando Sentinel to other lobbyists he considers enemies.”