June 2011
1 post
How to Solve Chronic Adult Homelessness and Save...
The proposal to build Tiger Bay Village on 80 acres in Volusia County is going before the Volusia County Council for a workshop and a vote in August. This project would address the problems that have kept the 476 social service agencies in our county from solving chronic adult homelessness. Please read the proposal and, if you agree, please send the council a letter letting them know they should...
December 2010
1 post
6 tags
How to Solve Homelessness and Save Money
Today on BBC World Update, which will also be aired on NPR, Dan Damon presents a program on homelessness, which includes a segment on my proposed Tiger Bay Village, a pedestrian village for the homeless that would consolidate most of the two dozen homeless agencies in Volusia and Flagler counties and provide a permanent solution to adult homelessness. The county-owned land, already zoned...
November 2010
1 post
7 tags
I Concede that the System Stinks
First, I want to thank the more than 18,400 voters who voted their first choice instead of the “lesser of two evils.” Thanks to my wife, Maya, and our daughter Sophie for persevering through the last eighteen months. Thanks to Al Krulick for being my running mate. Thanks to campaign volunteers John Dunn, Rob Field, Greg Gimbert, Yury Konnikov, Moe Alkire & family, Kenneth Storey,...
October 2010
4 posts
4 tags
The Orlando Weekly endorses Michael E. Arth for...
The Orlando Weekly endorses independent Michael E. Arth for Governor of Florida Yes, we know: Arth has neither money nor experience, and the book How to Build a Robot Army is on his coffee table. But keep this in mind: The guy pretty much single-handedly converted a DeLand drug slum into a legitimate neighborhood within the span of a year. His ideas are actually his own, and not only that,...
11 tags
Robin Hood Crashes the Sink-Scott Debate
The three rounds of televised bickering between Alex Sink and Rick Scott, punctuated by their blizzard of attack ads, are a travesty of a mockery of a sham. Last night, my running mate, Al Krulick, and I crashed the final Sink-Scott debate at the University of South Florida in Tampa. I dressed up as Robin Hood to represent the demand of the people for return of the common wealth that was taken...
11 tags
Reality Check
Today’s cover story in The Orlando Weekly
Last night, my running mate, Al Krulick, and I watched the debate between Alex Sink and Rick Scott. Both during and after the debate we conducted our own “alternative debate.” The first part of the debate, between the two millionaire, corporatist candidates, could not be heard because of technical difficulties. We could see the...
6 tags
New TV Ad and the "Alternative Debates"
Dear supporters, I would like you to know about my new campaign ad, which you can watch at TBO.com. I also want you know about upcoming events during the 24 days we have until the November 2nd general election. 1. Tomorrow, I will be speaking at the Electoral Forum on how we can fix our electoral system. Where: Unitarian Universalist Society, 11648 McCulloch Rd. Orlando, FL 32817 MAP ...
September 2010
7 posts
11 tags
MICHAEL'S E.ARTH: This is how things would be on...
E.arth is the honesty planet. Government is open and honest so it creates a more perfect union, and builds trust among people and nations.
On E.arth, the Earth is sacred. This is true for me even I though I follow no religion, and I take all dogmas metaphorically. We protect the land, the forests and the sea for current and future generations.
On E.arth, principles are above party and that...
9 tags
Mason-Dixon Poll - Urgent Action Required
“Michael E. Arth is one of our generation’s Thomas Jeffersons in many ways. In addition to his work as a policy analyst, he went into a crack-infested community that was scheduled for demolition and not only saved it, but turned it into a prosperous, happy, healthy place to raise children. If he can do that on a small scale, what can he do in the whole state of Florida? This is ...
12 tags
Some Videos
1. Here is a short video about how we hire our leaders to do some of the most important jobs in the country on the basis of how many yard signs they buy. Campaign Signs 2010
2. This is a video done with me by the Hometown Democracy supporters in support of Amendment 4:
3. Chris Ramsey edited this campaign video captured from New Urban Cowboy:
Michael E. Arth for Florida Governor.
4. Chris...
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Michael E. Arth's Economic Plan for Florida to...
I have had careers in fine art, building and urban design, construction and currently work as an urban designer, community activist and policy analyst. My latest book is Democracy and Common Wealth: Breaking the Stranglehold of the Special Interests. An award-winning documentary, New Urban Cowboy: Toward a New Pedestrianism, tells the story of how I rebuilt DeLand’s “Cracktown” into The Historic...
30 tags
Democracy and the Republic
There is a misunderstanding, promulgated by Glenn Beck, 9/12ers and others seeking to restrict the interests of the majority to favor the few, that the terms “republic” and “democracy” are mutually exclusive. In fact, the terms were often used interchangeably by our Founding Fathers. Almost no one, including our distinguished forefathers, has advocated for pure democracy; it is simply not...
10 tags
Scott and Sink are frightened bullies not just...
Rick Scott and Alex Sink are frightened bullies who are running from a fair fight. Unfortunately in our corrupt system, that’s how politics is played, and as a result, we are all the losers. Alex Sink, in collusion with the Florida Democratic Party, blatantly rigged the primary to prevent all but the barest hint of an election. Almost a quarter of the registered Democrats who did not sit out the...
9 tags
Me vs. the Two-Party Duopoly
In June 2009, I threw my bicycle helmet into the ring and registered as a gubernatorial candidate. I spent a year being abused and frozen out by the leaders of the Florida Democratic Party before I realized that the corruption, inefficiency and anti-democratic forces within our electoral system make it nearly impossible to work for reform within the parties. For the first six months, I...
August 2010
6 posts
Alex Sink refuses to debate Michael E. Arth
Alex Sink, or any other major gubernatorial candidate refusing to debate me, is only the tip of the iceberg of this story. In Florida, as elsewhere in our nation, the veil is being pulled back to reveal the rotten underpinnings of our electoral system. Our representative democracy has been severely compromised.
Me, asking Alex Sink if she’ll debate me
My running mate, Al Krulick, and I...
Introduction to my running mate Al Krulick, a...
I am honored to present to you my running mate for lieutenant governor, Al Krulick. Krulick, 58, has been a teacher, theater artist, art administrator, and is currently an award-winning columnist and political activist. He and his wife Cindy, an elementary school teacher, are the parents of two teenage girls, and they live in the Orlando area. Krulick previously ran against Bill McCollum in two...
Why Alex Sink Wants Bill McCollum to Win Primary
While Alex Sink is enjoying the boost in the polls she is getting from Rick Scott and Bill McCollum going at each other, she is also undoubtedly fretting over the probability of Rick Scott winning the Republican primary on August 24th. If Bill McCollum wins, she’ll be going up against a known opponent who has blown his war chest fighting Scott. If Scott wins, she’s going up against an...
Michael E. Arth ahead of Rick Scott in Latest Poll
It’s being done for entertainment purposes by a private business in Vernon, Florida, but in some ways it’s comparable to the Potemkin polls done on behalf of the cardboard candidates who were manufactured to create the illusion of choice. Out of 14 gubernatorial candidates, Arth now leads the pack with 20%, followed by Rick Scott with 18%, Bill McCollum with 10%, and Alex Sink with 6%....
EXCLUSIVE! Michael E. Arth Interviews Rick Scott....
Me, asking the slippery Rick Scott an important question
Okay, I admit that the term “interview” is an exaggeration, and that the “shocking new revelations” consist of information that is hidden in plain sight, yet ignored at everyone’s peril. Rather than focusing on past sins or scandals, which you will also read about here, the most outrageous facts concern our political system, and how...
Biking Mike Odyssey Completed
At the end of the day near the end of the road, in Navarre Beach, near Pensacola.
I was so busy cycling, I didn’t have time to post. During the last 10 days of the Biking Mike tour of Florida, I cycled up to 60 miles a day, and finally coasted off the Gulf Breeze bridge into Pensacola on July 28th, just in time to attend a public meeting on the oil spill at City Hall. Here is a partial...
July 2010
5 posts
Trying to Lasso a Tornado
As I was riding into Jacksonville on my bicycle, mid-afternoon yesterday, there was a huge storm in my path. I could see lightning, so I began thinking about seeking shelter, but not before stopping my support van so we could get some pictures.
Heading into the storm before I realized it was dropping a twister
Tangling with our corrupt system is like trying to lasso a tornado
I thought I...
An iPhone Photoblog
Head of the table at the Alkire residence, in Port St. Lucie, where we were hosted for a weekend.
Staffers Ken, David, Moe, Samantha and Dan, working hard on the campaign.
Moe, conspiring to steal Samantha’s freckles.
Beauty and the Beach, a shop in Flagler Beach
Under the boardwalk, down by the sea.
“Bikin’ Mike” (not “Bikini...
The Length and the Breadth
I’ve nearly finished cycling the length of Florida, and am now preparing to cycle the breadth of Florida. The goal of the ride is meeting the people, and letting them know about important issues that politicians avoid talking about. I’m in a political race, not a bike race—no skinny tires, low handlebars or skin-tight cycling gear for me. The serious cyclists zip past me like a...
The Real Moochers
The July 4th weekend was a time to reflect on the founding values of our nation, and participate in a good, old-fashioned Fourth of July parade (even though it was held on the third of July). I’ve now been campaigning for over 13 months, and this is the second Fourth of July that I’ve celebrated as a gubernatorial candidate.
July 4, 2009: My wife Maya, our daughter Sophie, me, and volunteers...
Of Fire and Rain
This weekend, we are engaging in Fourth of July celebrations, which will be the subject of the next blog. Last weekend, we stayed with a wonderful couple, Kim and Richard Alkire, who live in Port St. Lucie. They very graciously allowed a film crew to shoot in their home for the upcoming documentary about the gubernatorial race. Their daughter Moe, visiting from college, also joined us for the...
June 2010
7 posts
Hands Across the Sand and A Slap in the Face of...
Today we went to a beach in Fort Pierce, south of the inlet, and held hands with a long line of people standing up against our dysfunctional, self-destructive energy policy. Above us shone the hot Florida sun, underutilized in a state that should lead the nation in solar energy. Behind us, just offshore, flowed the Gulf Stream. Only .08% of its power, captured by safe, pollution-free...
"Politicians Can Go To Hell!"
A few days ago, along U.S. 1 south of Stuart, I rode my bicycle up to a VFW center to speak to some veterans. The first person I encountered was a tough old biker, baked dark from the sun, wearing a bandana on his balding head. I barely had the chance to introduce myself before he revved up his motorcycle, and yelled some expletives about what he thought about politicians and the hot place...
How Two-Party Corruption is Preserved
The two parties use these techniques to preserve their undemocratic stranglehold on power: 1. Party leaders choose the statewide candidates—and we get to choose the lesser of two evils. 2. The arcane winner-take-all system makes “spoilers” out of third party or independent challengers, and minority winners that almost always come from the two parties. 3. Private...
The campaign crew and I at the starting point in Key West.
Today I rode thirty-six miles on my bicycle, to the northern end of Palm Beach. I haven’t ridden my bike more than a few miles in 45 years, so I didn’t know what to expect when I first started out several days ago. As it turns out, the endorphins are pumping and, despite the blazing sun and terrible humidity, I feel...
“If the election were held Monday afternoon, the...
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Daytona Beach News-Journal Online
The BP Gulf Oil Spill and Energy Policy
10 June 2010: On April 20, 2010, an explosion rocked BP’s “Deepwater Horizon” offshore oil drilling platform, 48 miles from Louisiana’s coast. Eleven people were killed. It was on Earth Day, ironically enough, that the rig toppled over and the oil pipe ruptured on the bottom of the Gulf of Mexico, nearly a mile below the surface. Along with the rest of the country, I watched with great...
Principles Above Party!
Me and my daughter Sophie, preparing for the bike ride.
9 June 2010: This is the inaugural blog as I prepare for my two-month long cycling tour of Florida, which will kick off in Key West on Saturday, June 12th. My gubernatorial campaign began nearly a year ago, but it included a six-month hiatus taken out to write a book that addresses the issues in Florida and the rest of the country. The...