LovelandPolitics.com
McWhinney Mega Yacht In The News
While Loveland's Council Wrestles With Employee Lay-Offs
Loveland - August 12, 2009

While Loveland's City Council wrestled last week with budget cuts that have precipitated the lay-offs of emergency personnel
in Loveland's Police and Fire Departments, Chad McWhinney's mega yacht named the Chiron was quietly heading North
along the Pacific Coast of California.

Now docked in Newport Harbor the 92.5 ft. mega yacht hosted former Congressman and
SEC (Securities and Exchange
Commission) Chairman Christopher Cox along with other prominent Republicans for a fund raiser for the National
Conservative Campaign Fund.  Just two weeks before the party Chad McWhinney asked Loveland's City Council for a 61%
reduction in certain development fees intended to support the necessary costs of expanding emergency services in town.
None of the laid-off Loveland city workers were invited to the party.  
see story on McWhinney mega-yacht party in California

Details On Chad McWhinney's Mega Yacht
Chad McWhinney's mega yacht is named Chiron and was custom built in Tacoma Washington in 2001 by the Nordlund Boat
Company.  The ship is registered to the innocuous sounding "Chiron Leasing LLC" but the registration goes to McWhinney's
headquarters in Loveland  
2725 ROCKY MOUNTAIN AVENUE STE 200  Loveland, CO 80538  UNITED STATES.   

Loveland, Colorado is listed as the "hailing port" but LovelandPolitics could find no evidence that sales or personal property
taxes were ever paid in Loveland or Larimer County for the mega yacht.  Most owners of smaller boats and recreational
vehicles (whether stored in Larimer County or not) pay a personal property tax to Larimer County and sales tax in Loveland.

Sporting the hull number NDL10574E101 the boat has been seen in famous ports throughout the world.  Chad McWhinney
seldom travels on the Yacht but instead travels by air to wherever the boat is docked.  A full time crew and staff operate the
yacht for McWhinney both in and out of port.  The massive yacht has a capacity of 190 gross tons.  
Click to see the
registration details.

The Irony

The National Conservative Campaign Fund is a Political Action Committee (PAC) dedicated to helping conservative
candidates running for congress.  These candidates espouse limited government, less taxes and more private competition.   

The McWhinney empire is built on contrary principles.  McWhinney's empire is largely financed through creative public
financing schemes that shift the cost of development from the private sector and onto the public sector (taxpayers) through
metro districts, urban renewal TIF (tax increment financing) property taxes and other models.  Unlike conservative
congressional candidates who look to reduce the power, influence and control of government, Chad McWhinney refers to
being a "partner" with government and instead increases the number of legal government entities with every new urban
renewal authority or metro district he creates for new developments.

Especially ironic is that McWhinney has funded various efforts in Northern Colorado to repeal tax limits and impose new
regressive taxes upon hard working residents to cover transportation projects his company committed to complete.  The 1%
sales tax called the RTA, Ref. C to limit the Colorado Taxpayer's Bill of Rights (TABOR) and other pro-tax initiatives were
publicly backed by McWhinney.

Taxpayer rights advocates in Florida have recently found themselves fighting McWhinney in a battle to impose a TABOR like
Florida taxpayer's bill of rights to limit the ability of local governments to raise taxes without a vote of the people.  
See a letter
written on McWhinney letterhead telling Floridians not to support their TABOR like initiative and denouncing generally efforts
to impose tax limits  
BLOG - Post your comments here
Fundraiser Details

WHEN:          August 6, 2009

WHERE:        Chad McWhinney's      
                       92.5 ft. Mega Yacht
                 In Newport Harbor,          
                  California

GUESTS:        Former SEC                 
                       Chairman Chris Cox

COST:

Yachtsmen                    $1,000 per person
Captain                         $2,500 per person
Admiral                         $5,000 per person
Admiral of the Fleet     $10,000 per couple
link to an invitation
for the cruise

link to registration form
for the cruise