**My friend's brother is running for the Govenor of FLORIDA**

[MagickMuffin]

How KEWL is that?!?!?!?

My hubby knows him personally, however, I've never had the pleasure of meeting him, but have heard plenty of stories about him. He is an artist and an activist. I would appreciate and hope he could get the support of everyone that would love to help him out.

Read more about him at the link below...

Michael E. Arth, an urban designer and policy analyst, announced that he is running for the Governor of Florida on the Democratic ticket. At his campaign website http://michaelearth.org/index-1.html, Arth laid out a platform that challenges many of the current assumptions about how to handle a broad range of social, economic and environmental issues. His campaign slogan is “Bringing the future to Florida.”

In 2001 Michael and his wife Maya moved to DeLand, Florida from Santa Barbara, California. He bought 32 homes and businesses in a former drug slum, ran out the local gang and various drug dealers, and remade what was called “Cracktown” into Downtown DeLand's Historic Garden District. Their daughter was born at home in a renovated house that – only six months earlier – had been operating as Volusia County's most notorious crack house. For this project, which appears to have lowered DeLand's crime rate by 11%, the City of DeLand and the County of Volusia named November 12, 2002 “Michael Arth Day.” A year later Arth also received a Community Enhancement Award from the City of DeLand, and other honors.

In recent years Arth has lobbied to end the War on Drugs saying, “It is a war on the poor that ultimately harms everyone.” He also launched a major cost–reducing effort to build a prototypical “Village for the Homeless” The full service community, which would consolidate what he calls “the scattered and ineffective homeless and drug rehabilitation services,” would serve as an alternative model for reducing the number of mentally ill, substance abusers, and non–violent offenders who would otherwise end up in jail or cause problems on the streets. He points out that Florida has the fastest growing prison system within a country that has the highest incarceration rate in the world. Florida has an incarceration rate that is 8 times higher than Canada and more than 25 times higher than India. “Deinstitutionalization of the mentally ill began in 1955. The drug war began in 1971. Mandatory sentencing laws were enacted in 1986. As a result, our prisons have turned into asylums and gulags where we try to hide away the victims of failed social policies,” Arth said. “Despite locking up 24% of the world's prisoners in a country that only has 4.5% of the world's people, we still have the highest violent crime rates of any industrialized country.”

[peekaloo]

1. Good luck to him.

I'm really tired of the current crop of ass clowns playing musical chairs, furthering their own careers while we swirl the drain.

[MagickMuffin]

2. You should visit his website and see the before and after pics of his houses

It's amazing how he turned dilapidating houses and turned them into livable homes. They are incredible :wow:

[zipplewrath]

3. Deland?

Wow, talk about a small base of operations. Good luck to him, hope he's got alot of friends with cash. I do wonder when I hear these though if he isn't "over reaching" a bit. Florida politics is somewhat of a good ole boy's club and you kinda need to get in closer to the floor than the ceiling. He might do better trying for state senate or something.

[Dappleganger]

4. We ride through there often...

but yes, FL politics is an entanglement of white southern nepotism. It's a disgusting creature.

[Billy Burnett]

5. Mixed in with rabid exile anti Castro corruption.

I've always noted that the fleeing racist/fascist Batista supporters from Cuba felt right at home in the deep south of S Florida.

[MagickMuffin]

6. Well, he does seem to have established himself by his community activism

How many politicians can make the claim they restored a whole community?!?!?

I think this act alone will have a pretty large impact on the citizens of Florida, and they are the ones who decide (well when their votes are counted) the outcome. If Michael wins the Primary his chances will be better.

I guess we'll have to take the wait and see approach.

[zipplewrath]

10. More than you might imagine

Look, I hold out hope for the guy, we could use some with experience like that. But there are such stories from Orlando and Tampa alone, and I'm sure other cities have similar developers. And to some extent his biggest weakness is that his opponents will give him exactly that label. He'll be another "developer". Like I say, we need new folks like that, especially in the democratic party. I just hate to see good talent over reach, especially in an environment that has the game so stacked against progressives before they ever get started. But hey, Obama carried the state (And so did Gore, so I say) so who knows.

[Freddie Stubbs]

7. He is going to be crushed by Alex Sink in the primary

She is very popular with Democratic voters, and has the solid support of the party from the State Chairman down to local committee people. According to his website, he announced his candidacy two weeks ago, yet he has not gotten one mention in the press.

Unless this guy has several million dollars in the bank that he is willing to spend on this race, he will be crushed like a bug.

[MagickMuffin]

9. Alex WHO, I've NEVER heard of her

How many communities has she rebuilt from "crack houses"?!?!?

What are her credentials?!?!?

I hope she doesn't "crush him like a bug." I hope he "crushes" her instead.

We'll have to wait and see.

[zipplewrath]

11. You haven't heard of Sink?

The top democrat in Tallahasse. A democrat in the cabinet and you haven't heard of her? She was big in Tampa. I think her base out of Tampa might be just a tad bigger than one out of Deland, although I would hope your guy could also consider Daytona and Deltona as part of his "local" area. With a little luck he can develop some support out of the greater Orlando area (I hope he has connections in Lake Mary and Heathrow).

[MagickMuffin]

13. Sorry I'm not really into Florida politics

I realize Arth has a lot of obstacles standing in his way and it is probably a very long shot. But I hope he really takes on Sink and well sinks her :rofl:

At least she'll have someone to make things interesting.

And I really hate it when the "officials" decide for everyone before the contest has even started that there is only one viable candidate.

I'm facing the same thing here in Texas. My Dem. HQ's has already determined who we should support for the Governors race, just because he is from our town. Oh the stupid. I don't vote that way.

[peekaloo]

14. Texas and Florida are similar in that they have been redistricted to hell.

I believe Rat Face Delay had a hand in both (could be mistaken).

Need to break the Republican stranglehold in State house/senate seats to really put their knickers in a twist.

p.s. pass along that there is friendly media along the I-4 corridor in Tampa WMNF 88.5 and maybe Jim Philips in Orlando 104.1

[Freddie Stubbs]

17. Florida is very different than Texas

We currently have two state-wide elected Democrats in FL (Sink and Senator Nelson). TX hasn't elected a Democrat state-wide in 15 years. Obama carried Florida last year, and Clinton did the same in 1996. Texas hasn't voted for a Democrat for President since 1976.

[MagickMuffin]

18. There are plenty of Texans who vote for the Democratic candidates for President

However, we don't vote en mass. And of course we have the RW and Fundies who do get out the vote. It also doesn't help we have faulty voting equipment along with Tom "BugBoy" DeLay's Gerrymandering.

We had an excellent candidate for the Senate Rick Noreiga, but he didn't have the funds to keep up with Cornyns deep pockets. Bill and Hillary tried to get Schumer to send Rick some money, but Schumer refused to help out, instead Schumer gave Millions to the incumbents who already had lobbyist money to help with their reelection bids. Now we're stuck with Cornyn for another six long years.

[Freddie Stubbs]

19. Despite being FL beings a smaller state, Obama recieved more votes from Floridians than Texans

Our state is gerrymandered too, but we had a net gain of one congressional seat last year. Our likely candidate for Governor, Alex Sink, is either neck-and-neck or leading the likely GOP nominee in recent polls. And we have one US Senator.

[Freddie Stubbs]

12. She was elected the Chief Financial Officer of Florida in 2006

She was the first Democrat elected to the State Cabinet since 1998.

[MagickMuffin]

15. I just received an email from Michael, he will be on a radio program today

However, he didn't tell me which one and I'm not from FL so I have no clue about which radio station he'll be on.

[MorningGlow]

8. This is great, MM

Good for him. I wish more people would do the same. :applause:

[ellenfl]

16. kick for later. eom

[LaurenG]

20. This IS really "KEWL" K&R

Thanks for posting. :kick:

[Just-plain-Kathy]

21. K&R

:kick:

[BrklynLiberal]

22. Great news. Lots of luck to him.

[eridani]

23. Not sayin' nuthin' until madfloridian checks in on this thread

I'm sure he's a great guy, but us clueless outlanders need som analysis to go with this.