Costello's “Circle of Payolla” Freeway Toll Video Wins National Award!

The Sam Adams Alliance & Foundation announced the six winners of the "Sammie Awards" today.

The awards are designed to recognize outstanding citizen leadership and creativity nationwide, and are being given this year to individuals and groups from Texas, Indiana, Michigan, Ohio, Tennessee, and Washington.

"We are proud to see so many citizens participating in the effort for greater government accountability and transparency," said Bob Costello, Sam Adams Foundation president. "We hope the Sammies can highlight their efforts and encourage them-and others-to continue working to advance the ideals of liberty."

"Winning one of these important national citizens awards is a fantastic honor for myself and the citizens of Texas," said Sal Costello, founder of TexasTollParty.com and AustinTollParty.com (no relation to Bob Costello).

* Sal Costello of Austin, Texas won the $5,000 Best Short Satire Film award for his “Circle of Payolla” Toll Road video highlighting the "double taxation" of shifting Austin's freeways to toll ways. The video, that can be seen on YouTube, stars Sen. Kirk Watson, Commissioner Gerald Daugherty, Rep. Dawnna Dukes, Rep. Mark Strama and others.

* Stefan Sharkansky of Seattle, Washington won the $5,000 Sunshine award for his work investigating the government with Washington's Public Records Act and exposing cases of government waste, incompetence, and malfeasance on his blog, Sound Politics.

* Leon Drolet of Macomb, Mich. won the $5,000 Best Short Documentary award for his video footage of the Michigan Taxpayers Alliance spreading the word about State Representative Marc Couriveau's 3,000 percent tax increase on local garbage disposal.

* Melyssa Donaghy of Indianapolis, Indiana won the $5,000 "Tea Party" award for staging numerous creative protests around the state in response to Indiana's increasing property tax burden.

* Ben Cunningham of Nashville won the $5,000 Local Blogger award for his blog, Taxing Tennessee, which gets on average over 2 million views weekly and covers topics on taxes, freedom, and individual rights.

* Finally, the "We Demand A Vote Coalition" from Hamilton County, Ohio won the $10,000 "Modern-Day Sam Adams" award for its work to defeat an $800 million sales tax increase through grassroots mobilization.

The winners will be honored at an awards ceremony in Chicago on December 20, and details for next year's Sammie Awards will be posted on the Sam Adams Alliance & Foundation website-www.samadamsalliance.org-in the coming months.

The Sam Adams Alliance aims to revive the principles of our namesake by connecting and supporting citizen leaders who are working to defend liberty, hold the government accountable, and protect the rights of taxpayers starting at the state and local level.

The Sam Adams Foundation strives to educate and inform citizens about the important political issues necessary to maintaining a free society, including government accountability, government transparency, property rights protection, fiscal responsibility, free speech, and citizen initiative and referendum rights.