Some wore T-shirts declaring "No Taxation Without Representation," while others yelled until their allotted time ran out.

Nearly everyone, however, was angry.

More than 100 commuters, lawmakers and local leaders packed an auditorium at Lynn City Hall last night to rail against the Massachusetts Turnpike Authority's proposed doubling of tolls for the Sumner and Ted Williams tunnels from $3.50 to $7 — or as a Revere resident pointed out, more than the cost of a sandwich at Kelly's.

Of the approximately 60 speakers who took the microphone for 21âÑ2 hours last night, not one supported the hike.

"I cannot even possibly call what you've put forward a plan," state Rep. John Keenan told the Turnpike Authority. "... To suggest you can just hammer away at the North Shore and my constituents in the city of Salem is simply not fair. If you can look yourself in the mirror or one person in this auditorium in the eye and tell them that $7 is fair, go ahead."

Outrage seemed to be the overwhelming emotion of the evening.

One man sitting directly in front of the Turnpike Authority kept holding a sign over his head reading: "Who Do You Think You Are?"

Michael Kelleher, founder of a toll opposition group called StopthePikeHike.org, called on commuters to pay their tolls in change to protest the hike, then dropped $7 in nickels, dimes and quarters onto the podium.

"We're going to win this war," he said.

In keeping with the theme of taxation without representation, a Lynn man suggested returning to the days of "plucking feathers and boiling tar."

Marblehead Selectman William Woodfin, who said the North Shore was receiving the equivalent of "a Russian roulette bullet to the head," received a standing ovation after his comments.

"You were called upon to represent us, to represent what's fair and reasonable," Woodfin said. "This, ladies and gentlemen, is ... politically expedient, and I think it's an absolute disgrace to the commonwealth of Massachusetts that you don't have the guts to do what's right."

Speakers, including state lawmakers, called for the Turnpike Authority to freeze the hike and let the Legislature address the issue. Some proposed increasing the gas tax as a more geographically equitable way to distribute the burden.

They also wondered why drivers can travel into Boston from Rhode Island and New Hampshire for free, while residents just a few miles outside the city are greeted by toll booths.

Others worried how the increase would affect those already facing the harsh realities of a global economic crisis.

"This toll hike would cripple me," said Katie Connolly, who uses the Ted Williams Tunnel to commute from her day job in Boston to her night job in Peabody. "... We obviously are not sheep, and I won't sit idly by as you gouge me completely."

A toll hike would also plant financial hurdles for those heading into Boston for world-class medical care or a college education, some said.

Others were simply fed up with what they saw as another case of the state government's mismanagement.

"I can honestly say I don't think I've ever seen an area with worse management," said Salem resident William Cornwell, a Salem State College professor. "Sometimes I think I have to move to Illinois to see better management."

The Turnpike Authority will hold two more public hearings before again voting on the hike.

Before the meeting, about two dozen opponents of the plan held signs of protest on the steps of City Hall.

State Rep. Lori Ehrlich of Marblehead tried to rally the protesters, saying a $7 toll amounted to $1,800 a year for the average commuter.

"That's an annual food budget, not an annual toll budget," said Ehrlich, shouting into a megaphone.

Salem resident Doug Frye held a sign that read "$3 Is Already a Rip-Off."

The tolls will hit low-income workers the hardest, Frye said. "And they're going to pay a quarter of their money just to get there? It doesn't make sense."