Auburn’s Steve Cavolt remembers the rush of excitement he felt when he and 10,000 others gathered last April 15 for what organizers billed as a Tax Day Tea Party on the West Steps of the Capitol in Sacramento.

“I felt exuberated,” Cavolt said. “I felt ‘wow,’ that there’s people like me out there.”

Cavolt had become a part of a movement that’s praised in some circles, derided in others, but one that he and many like him are hoping to show even greater strength Friday when Tea Party demonstrators return to the state Capitol to make their voices heard again.

Cavolt recently became Auburn organizer for the event and will serve as an observer at the demonstration, scheduled from noon to 5 p.m.

“We’re just normal, productive people sick and tired of fiscal irresponsibility and burdensome regulations and taxes,” he said.

While Cavolt, a glass and window business owner who took on the volunteer Auburn post last week, is registered as a Republican, he says that the Tea Party welcomes people from all parties concerned with the direction the nation is turning financially.

“I voted for Bush but was very disappointed,” Cavolt said. “He spent way too much but the bottom line is do we continue on a spiraling spending program? We’ve given away trillions but I can’t see where it’s helped.”

The movement has its share of doubters.

Larry DuBois, Placer County Democratic Party chairman, said the question he asks as another Tea Party demonstration is slated to be held revolves around its timing.

“I think things are getting way too crazy,” DuBois said. “Between the boisterous health-care rallies and Tea Parties, they certainly have the right to protest, but you have to wonder where were the tea parties when the last administration was spending billions on the war and kids were coming home in coffins, and while George Bush was getting us into a deficit of trillions.”

DuBois said Tea Party demonstrators are getting their information from the wrong sources, not doing their research “or simply not that smart.”

“”I think these people should volunteer to help the community rather than protest,” he said. “That would help America.”

Cavolt said organizers are hoping for a crowd of 50,000. Buses are coming from Southern California as well as valley areas hard-hit by the housing downturn. Transportation includes three buses out of Nevada County. No bus transportation is being scheduled from Auburn.

“I’ve just been telling people to get there very early and think about taking light rail,” Cavolt said.

Mona Cook, an Auburn resident since 1997 who is registered as an independent voter, said she’s hoping to attend the protest if she can find transportation.

“I just really feel for the people of California and what’s been going with government and health care,” Cook said. “It’s alarming and people are shaken up by it.”

Cook said she’d like to see Democrats and Republicans work out their differences.

“We’re not getting a sense of who’s in charge and there’s a real concern that they need to take things more seriously,” she said.

Cavolt said he’s hoping the grassroots movement promoting fiscal conservatism will take root.

“What politicians need to understand is the Constitution is ‘We the people,’” he said. “That is something that is completely forgotten. A lot of them say they know better than we do but we want them to vote the way we ask them to vote.”

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August 28 tea party

Where: State Capitol west steps, Sacramento

When: Noon to 5 p.m. Friday, Aug. 28

Key themes for organizers: Fight federal water diversions in the San Joaquin Valley that take water away from agriculture, oppose state environmental controls in Assembly Bill 32 related to global warming, bring down high taxes

Speakers include: Radio talk show host Tom Sullivan; U.S. Rep. Tom McClintock, R-Granite Bay; Placer County’s Lew Uhler, president of National Tax Limitation Committee; Sacramento radio hosts Armstrong & Getty

For more information: E-mail scavolt@cavoltand

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