Democrat Bob Drake hopes to twist the tongues of enough Hamilton County voters that their fingers do the walking Nov. 7 to his name instead of incumbent Republican county Treasurer Robert Goering.

The tricky phrase is "Bob Drake Tax Break," and radio commercials that started running Thursday challenge people to repeat it three times quickly.

Drake proposes letting people pay their property taxes monthly, instead of every half year. Goering already has implemented that program, as a way to ease the twice-per-year drain on people's budgets.

But the county currently keeps the interest on those payments. Drake's plan would credit the interest to those who paid early. He estimates that could effectively cut their tax payments by up to 7 percent.

"Most of us pay property taxes twice a year and don't get anything back," the commercial announcer says. "With the Bob Drake tax break, you can make smaller monthly payments. The county will earn interest, and give it back to you."

The commercial also promises Drake will "work full-time, to protect your money," while noting that Goering works part-time for the $53,000-per-year post. Drake is a University of Cincinnati mathematics education professor.

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