Orange County Commission candidate Austin Arthur has a giant war chest and a troubled past

Austin Arthur pictured with his family. (Contributed)

Austin Arthur, the newcomer who has raised nearly a quarter of million dollars to try to unseat an Orange County incumbent Commissioner, has been sued over unpaid bills, had three federal tax liens filed against him and has been arrested twice, though never charged with a crime, in his early 20s.

Arthur, now 39, isn’t hiding away from his past as he says he believes he will defeat Commissioner Nicole Wilson for Orange County Commission’s District 1.

“Every politician doesn’t need to be a lawyer. Every politician doesn’t need to have a squeaky clean, perfect life,” Arthur said in an interview. “I’m a regular guy. … I’ve made so many mistakes. … Just because you trip once, twice, three times, the question is: Are you going to learn from those mistakes?”

His opponent says his background raises serious concerns.

“Is this a person you would hire for the job?” Wilson said.

On his website, Arthur acknowledges his past.

“I lived hard and fast, and I’ve been arrested, things that were thrown out,” said Arthur on a video on his website where he admits he used to be “a hothead … and I was pretty certain that I ruled the world.”

But in the past five years, Arthur, who is married with three kids in Winter Garden, said he has thrown himself into community service and getting involved, including serving with the West Orange County Habitat for Humanity and podcasting for the community news outlet West Orange Times and Observer.

“Not a single person, not one person, has spoken ill of my character or who I am that knows me,” he said.

Arthur said he decided to run for office over his frustrations with Wilson, whom he called an absentee Commissioner.

“I think that’s bizarre,” Wilson said about being accused of a no-show on the job. She argued she has closed 4,000 constituent cases through May and held 400 community meetings even during the pandemic. “I’m proud of my track record. That’s not absentee.”

The biggest issues facing West Orange County are managing the growth and keeping up with infrastructure, Arthur said. He is against Disney World’s affordable housing complex, which the County Commission approved after residents voiced concerns about traffic and congestion. Wilson was one of two Commissioners who opposed the project.

Wilson is pushing to free up Orange County tourist development tax money on infrastructure and other community needs. It’s a position that Orlando’s hospitality industry fiercely opposes.

So far, Arthur has raised about $246,000 compared to Wilson’s $38,000.

“I’m not bought and paid for. I work for the people.” Wilson said of those fundraising totals. “I sleep very well at the night.”

Orlando Sentinel columnist Scott Maxwell wrote that Wilson has angered some of Central Florida’s most influential players, like Walt Disney World. Arthur said he believes his war chest — which is the second-largest amount raised for any Orange County candidate this election cycle, including Orange County Sheriff John Mina — shows he has strong support in his community.

If elected, Arthur’s job would be to provide oversight for the county’s multibillion-dollar budget.

Records show Arthur, who ran a gymnastics gym with his brother, has faced several legal problems over finances.

The most recent lawsuit was from 2019, when Arthur was sued by Barclays Bank Delaware for owing about $5,920 to the traveling booking company Priceline. The case was closed, and Arthur was ordered to pay his debt as well as $370 in court costs.

Between 2018 and 2019, the IRS filed three federal tax liens equaling about $108,000 against Arthur’s business. The largest lien was for $84,518.

In 2017, Arthur and his brother were also sued for not paying $35,534 in late rent for their gym in Seminole County’s Longwood. The brothers later paid the rent and complained in court records that their landlord’s heating and cooling system was faulty, so the gym wasn’t safe.

Many of those legal problems stem from the financial challenges of running a small business, Arthur said.

Arthur, who competed in gymnastics until he was 16 and comes from a family of gymnasts, ran the gym he and his brother co-founded in 2014 that has about 75 employees. Arthur also started a marketing firm with gymnastic centers as clients.

“I had to take out a credit card to pay payroll,” Arthur said. “It was either that and don’t pay or close the business.”

For the tax liens, Arthur said the gymnastic center was incorrectly flagged for a lien when they changed payroll management companies.

“Once the correction was made, we actually got a bunch of money back from the IRS. As of today, all matters have been resolved and my businesses and I are in perfect standing with all taxing authorities,” Arthur said.

Arthur stepped away from his business last year to devote running his campaign full-time, he said.

“No financial issues whatsoever,” he said.

Arthur’s criminal issues happened within a four-month period in 2009 when he was 23 years old.

A House of Blues security guard at Disney Springs said Arthur punched him in the nose. The security guard took Arthur to the ground in a fight that required an Orange County Sheriff’s deputy to intervene and tase Arthur twice, according to the Orange County Sheriff’s arrest report.

The victim later decided not to press charges, according to the State Attorney’s Office, which destroyed the records from the case that is now 15 years old.

Arthur said the police report inaccurately described the situation.

He said he had been shoved in the dark and then thought he was being attacked at the concert venue.

“Upon inspection of House of Blues surveillance tapes, the person that assaulted me was a security guard at the establishment. He stated that he shoved me because he mistakenly believed I was someone else who had been sneaking into the establishment that night and was underage,” Arthur said.

“I believe that person had possibly physically engaged with the security officer that night prior. He made a mistake, and this is why the charges were dropped.”

Despite being arrested for battery on a uniformed security officer and resisting an officer without violence, Arthur won the support from the Fraternal Order of Police in his County Commission race. Arthur said he had been vetted by the FOP and explained to them what happened.

“In the upcoming election, we proudly stand behind you, confident that your service as an Orange County Commissioner will contribute to the betterment of our community. Your Endorsement by the Orange County Sheriff’s Fraternal Order of Police Lodge #93 reflects the trust and respect you have earned among those who dedicate their lives to protecting and serving,” the organization’s President Jeff Stinson wrote in a letter that Arthur posted on his website.

Four months after his Disney Springs arrest, Arthur was at a bar near University of Central Florida when the water went out. Arthur and his friend were spotted outside by broken pipes spouting water, an arrest report said. They ran away, but Arthur’s friend got tackled by an off-duty security guard. Arthur returned to the scene and was also arrested.

Authorities accused them of criminal mischief and said six backflow water valves had to be immediately repaired, causing hundreds of dollars of damage, according to the Orange County Sheriff’s arrest report.

The charges were dropped because of a lack of evidence, the State Attorney’s Office said. These records were also destroyed.

Arthur again disputed the arrest report.

His friend who was going through a hard time had been drinking, Arthur said.

“I stepped to the side of the building to find him kicking sprinkler heads, during that moment police spotted this activity and arrested both of us,” he said. “I was in the wrong place at the wrong time and not kicking sprinkler heads. This is why the charges were dropped.”

“Nothing is a secret with me,” Arthur added in his Tuesday interview, as he continues his County Commission bid. “I haven’t shied away from talking about anything, and that’s because it’s all part of my journey. It’s all part of who I am today. It’s part of the lessons that I’ve learned.”