Shawn Flaherty's mission admittedly doesn't have the same panache as "Whiskey Rebellion II."

But Mr. Flaherty's group, Citizens Against Raising Taxes on Property, is nonetheless a challenge to Friends Against Counterproductive Taxation and its catchy slogan. CARTOP is intent on keeping the 10 percent drink tax in order to prevent a possible hike in property taxes.

"We will probably be engaging in advocacy fund-raising to some extent," Mr. Flaherty said of the newly formed group.

"But it's not a sexy issue, like 'Let's have a drink and go fight the drink tax.'"

Mr. Flaherty, a business attorney and managing partner of Flaherty Fardo LLC, said the group has about 20 members at the moment -- mostly lawyers, developers and Realtors.

The group has taken the side of county Chief Executive Dan Onorato and the majority of the County Council, which this week submitted a referendum for the November ballot that will ask voters, "Shall the county enact an ordinance to increase real estate taxes in order to repeal the alcoholic drink tax?"

FACT, a group of bar owners and restaurateurs, submitted its own referendum, backed by more than 46,000 signatures, that will ask if voters want to reduce the drink tax from 10 percent to 0.5 percent.

Mr. Flaherty said yesterday that he plans to challenge that referendum in court -- and an intern in his law firm is researching how to do so. People will always vote for lower taxes with no consequences, he said, so the question is unfair.

"It's a no-brainer," Mr. Flaherty said of the FACT referendum. "I would vote for it. But if you take a look behind the curtain, you have to do something else."

CARTOP, as Mr. Onorato has done throughout the drink tax controversy, will encourage voters to associate a reduced drink tax with higher property taxes. Despite their shared motives, Mr. Flaherty said he has not spoken to Mr. Onorato or asked for his approval of the group -- though he expects the chief executive's support.

Mr. Flaherty said CARTOP had followed the issue closely -- though he admitted not having read the council's proposed referendum -- and decided to speak out officially after the dueling referenda were submitted Tuesday.

Mr. Flaherty is no stranger to politics. His father, Pete Flaherty, was mayor of Pittsburgh and later an Allegheny County commissioner.

Shawn Flaherty also served in the state Legislature briefly in 2006. The Democrat won former Rep. Jeff Habay's seat in a special election -- after Mr. Habay resigned because of criminal charges of misusing his office -- but Mr. Flaherty lost an election seven months later.

Mr. Flaherty said he wasn't getting involved for politics' sake -- pointing out that supporting the drink tax is a loser politically these days -- but rather in the interests of his clients, businesses that stand to lose considerable money if property taxes rise.

"I can't imagine a property attorney who's not going to take this side," he said.