Howard Jarvis

Founded by the late California Republican Howard Jarvis, The Howard Jarvis Taxpayers Association (HJTA) was instrumental in sponsoring Proposition 13, the infamous 1978 California initiative that slashed property taxes by 57 percent. Jarvis founded the “California Tax Reduction Movement” (later renamed HJTA) as a political organization to ensure continued “Prop 13’ reforms. With the support of more than 200,000 taxpayers, today HJTA honors Jarvis’ legacy by opposing unfair tax state legislation and saving the state’s residents an estimated $528 billion in tax revenue over the past 30 years.

Objective

In conjunction with long-time collaborative team DirectPartners, OpenCircle developed the new flagship site, which was followed by the creation an online petition and robust media library to supplement its growing online Drupal platform content.

Collaboration

The construction of a successful online platform including a petition format required intricate web-form data capture and export (XLS or tab-delimited formats) functionality via a smooth, simple admin interface. OpenCircle created an “Email-a-Friend” referral feature and added Google Analytics for new the “Entry Form” and “Thank You” pages. All petition entries are now time-stamped. A unique privacy checkbox allows users to choose whether they want to publicly display their signature. HJTA’s media library required the creation of a primary aggregate page, distinct video/photo landing pages and video/photo gallery detail pages. Videos are hosted on YouTube with embedded code for display on HJTA.org.

Success

In combination with the new online petition process, the addition of a back-linked media library with full exposure via YouTube further evolves HJTA.org from a one-way online communication tool into a community of thriving dialogue where Californians can make their voices heard and take immediate action to protect their property taxation rights and interests.