Lining up to be next governor of Florida

Who the heck is Ed Heeney? He’s a candidate for governor, that’s who. While Democrat Alex Sink and Republican Bill McCollum capture most of the headlines, other lesser-known candidates also grace the 2010 ballot.

Here’s a list of the not so well known, and well-heeled, candidates vying to become Florida’s next governor:

-Michael Arth: Arth, 56, is an author, architect, urban designer from Deland. His biography includes the restoration of 32 homes in a once-blighted Deland neighborhood known as “Cracktown.” The Democratic candidate supports issues including universal health care, equal rights for gays, gun control and doing away with the death penalty.

-Joe “Trinidad Joe” Allen: Key West author and retired teacher, Allen has run for public office three times, once for the Key West City Commission and twice for the Monroe County School Board. He will campaign as a Democrat. He is the author of “Santa’s Key West Vacation.”

-Peter Allen: The Riverview resident, 60, founded the Independence Party of Florida in 2001. The electrical contractor wants third parties to demand an open primary. He says he espouses a conservative fiscal approach. “We can no longer spend what we do not have and expect our children to pay for it,” Allen said in announcing his candidacy earlier this month.

-Ed Heeney, a Republican from Fort Lauderdale has run in previous elections on an anti-gay platform. In 2008, Heeney dropped out of the race for the Republican nomination to take on Sen. Dave Aronberg, D-Greenacres.

-Tim Devine, a Kissimmee Republican, previously ran twice to become Osceola County Sheriff. He first ran in 2006 then as a write-in candidate two years later. In both races, he was defeated by Democratic incumbent Bob Hansell.

-Phillip Kennedy, Democrat, Panama City. No information available.

-Farid Khavari- An economist and author of several books including “Environomics: The Economics of Environmentally Safe Prosperity” Born in Iran, Khavari, now 66, emigrated to the United States in 1977. He runs the Institute for a Zero-Cost Economy in Miami.

-Josue Larose, 28, is a Deerfield Beach resident who is running as a Republican. Larose has also thrown his hat in the ring for a U.S. Senate seat in 2012 and the 2016 U.S. Presidential race.

-Calvin Clarence “C.C.” Reed: A perennial write-in candidate, Reed of Miami has run unsuccessfully for governor in 1990, 1994, 1998 and 2002. In 1996, he was defeated in his quest to become Mayor of Miami. He has no party affiliation and has run in favor of government accountability and against litter.

-Marc Shepard, a former aide to Rep. Barry Silver, D-Boca Raton. A Democrat, Shepard ran for the House District 89 seat and was defeated in the first primary.

-John Wayne Smith: A Libertarian candidate from Clermont, Smith ran unsuccessfully against Charlie Crist in 2006 and was the vice presidential candidate for the Boston Tea Party in 2008. (Not to be confused with the Florida Association of Counties lobbyist who bears the same name.)

By MICHAEL PELTIER
THE NEWS SERVICE OF FLORIDA