If you follow Orlando politics/issues/news then you know what's been going on recently with Doug Guetzloe. If you don't, you can check out the recent Orlando Sentinel articles:

- Gaylord Palms paid Guetzloe during fight over center
- Guetzloe got toll-agency money
- Top law firm paid Guetzloe $470,000

Update: The Orlando Magic now admit they paid Guetzloe $200,000 for 'consulting'.

Doug heads up the Ax the Tax group that fights for taxpayer rights by rooting out overspending by local governments and in his view unnecessary taxes. It's ironic then that the type of contract he received ($107,500) from the Orlando-Orange County Expressway Authority is exactly the thing that he fights against. (Let me get this straight, you're paying a person $107,500 to study whether people will object to increased tolls?)

The rabbit hole just keeps going and going on this one. Each day a new story comes out that another group paid Guetzloe for 'consulting' (some call it hush money). The most recent revelation in today's paper was the recent battle over the Osceola County Convention center. From the article:

Doug Guetzloe's anti-tax crusaders mobilized last year to convince Osceola County taxpayers that a county convention center was a bad deal while his consulting firm was being paid more than $87,000 by the Gaylord Palms Resort, which was pushing its own plan for a competing facility.

So where does Polk County fit in to this equation? Ax the Tax was involved in the fight against the MSTU tax in Polk County and led a recall drive against the commissioners that voted for it. A 2005 Ax the Tax newsletter mentions this recall effort along with previously mentioned Osceola Convention Center issue.

Does/did Doug have any contracts with any Polk interests? I don't have the reporting/research capabilities to find out, but perhaps The Ledger can check things out.