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3 Democrats Vie To Run Against Rep. Bilirakis

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By GEORGE WILKENS

The Tampa Tribune

Published: July 31, 2008

Voters will decide Aug. 26 which of three Democratic candidates will challenge freshman Gus Bilirakis for the 9th Congressional District, a Republican-held seat since its creation in the early years of the Reagan administration.

The district is a Bilirakis dynasty. The incumbent's father, Tarpon Springs native Mike Bilirakis, was a first-time candidate in 1982 when elected to the newly created district. Re-elected 11 more times, the elder Bilirakis retired in 2006. Gus Bilirakis, 45, an eight-year veteran of the Florida House, was elected to Congress in 2006.

The diverse 9th District takes in eastern Hillsborough County; northern parts of Pinellas County, including Clearwater; and the Pasco County coast.

Anita de Palma

Anita de Palma of Clearwater is a first-time candidate and lifetime activist who recently completed her fourth term as Florida director of the League of United Latin American Citizens, a voluntary post.

In tune with fellow Democrats in the race, she said the three major issues are the economy, health care and the war.

"The people, right now the economy is hitting them very hard," she said. "They say they're afraid to wake up in the morning and see what the gas is going to be that day. They go into church, they see one price; they come out of church, they see another.

"I strongly feel we are on the verge of a depression if we don't do something immediately," she said. "Wages don't go up, and people get laid off or their hours get cut."

On Iraq, de Palma said: "We have to make a plan where we can get ourselves out of this as quickly and humanely as we can. The war, it's hurting. It hurts you morally, it hurts you in your heart, it hurts you in your brain. You just see the casualty numbers keep piling up and you say to yourself, 'Why did we ever get into this crazy war?' It was ill-advised, ill-planned, sold to us incorrectly."

Making it worse, American troops face multiple tours of duty, she said. "How many times can you roll the dice? That is what hurts the most."

De Palma said she supports current restrictions on offshore drilling in the eastern Gulf of Mexico, as at today's consumption rate, it would provide only a 14-month supply that would not reach U.S. markets for a decade.

The need for improved health care through a national program, de Palma said, is among the main issues that inspired her to seek office. "It is getting to the point of ridiculous," with complicated insurance and rising co-payments, whereas nations in Europe and elsewhere have superior plans, she said.

"Other countries manage to do it and do it well. Why can we not do it?" she said.

"I saw it getting progressively worse. If I could see a glimmer of hope somewhere," de Palma adds, she might not have entered the race.

John Dicks

John Dicks, former mayor of Plant City, said he wants to bring "a common-sense, fresh perspective" to Congress. During talks with residents since launching his campaign in October, he has noted a distinct shift.

"You could hear a distinct transition" starting about Thanksgiving, he said. "And all of a sudden, when gas prices took off around the first of the year, that's been the total focus of people."

With pump prices up 40 percent since then, $4 a gallon gas is changing the habits of people, where they work and where they vacation, Dicks said. "It's having a huge effect on everyone's lives."

Although demand dictates price, worldwide oil consumption has not doubled, said Dicks, who blames speculators for the sharp increase. Energy futures contracts on margins as low as 6 percent are driving costs, he said.

"We could see a dramatic fall in the price of oil" with more stringent regulation of speculators, which Congress is just starting to examine, Dicks said.

Dicks opposes drilling in the eastern Gulf of Mexico. "Just because you give more leases doesn't mean they'll charge you any less at the pump," he said, adding that there has been no drilling on the millions of acres in the Gulf opened to drilling two years ago.

Regarding Iraq, "We're serving as a police force" between warring sects, Dicks said. "Iraq has to be able to take more responsibility so we can begin to redeploy troops and concentrate on the mission of battling terrorists, wherever they may be."

Dicks said an affordable, comprehensive health insurance program is necessary to meet the needs of 47 million uninsured or underinsured Americans creating a financial burden on the system.

Dicks, who has served 14 years on the board of South Florida Baptist Hospital in Plant City, said 11,000 of the 50,000 annual visits to the emergency room there are individuals who are indigent or lack health insurance.

"They knew if they went to the emergency room they'd be treated," but providing health care through trauma centers is the not a cost-effective way to provide routine medical care, he said.

A tax credit for those with health insurance would motivate young people to sign up, lowering premiums for all, he said.

Dicks has received numerous endorsements, including those of state Sen. Arthenia Joyner and Tampa City Council members Tom Scott, Gwen Miller, John Dingfelder, Mary Mulhern and Linda Saul-Sena.

Bill Mitchell

Bill Mitchell of Carrollwood, an employment lawyer who has worked for the Federal Trade Commission and was in private practice in Washington, said his background makes him exceptionally qualified to help solve the nation's key problems.

"I understand how big oil operates and defends themselves," said Mitchell, whose FTC duties included investigating bidding for offshore drilling leases. "I have that experience. I want to use that background to get rid of disruptive price spikes" for gasoline that gouge motorists and negatively impact the economy, he said.

Computer manufacturers are among the many industries improving their products while reducing prices; why can't big oil do that, Mitchell said. "What's going on there?"

Thorough investigation of the oil and gas industry is needed to curb speculators and drive down prices at the pump, Mitchell said. "The bottom line is government's hands-off policy is not going to work in this market, with this industry."

As for opening the eastern Gulf of Mexico, Mitchell said, "I don't think drilling offshore is going to reduce the price of gas in Florida" and it would pose a business risk for the Sunshine State, economically tethered to tourism and its beaches.

A Navy veteran who commanded troops during the Vietnam War, Mitchell, a 61-year-old father of three sons, said it is time to withdraw from Iraq. "We need to get out in an orderly way," he said.

"I think we want to and need to redeploy so we can strengthen our own country. We're investing money in Iraq that should be invested in Tampa-St. Petersburg," for health care and other domestic needs, he said. "You can see Iraq is hurting our economy very badly."

Mitchell said serious misgivings about the war, plus other concerns, prompted his party affiliation switch from Republican to Democrat in 2004.

Active with veterans groups, Mitchell said he regularly visits James A. Haley Veterans' Hospital and speaks with troops at MacDill Air Force Base. "We're in touch with what's happening with the military, and we want to use that information to get our troops home safely," he said.

Endorsements for Mitchell include Fred Taylor of New Port Richey, Democratic candidate for Florida Senate District 11 and three-time Purple Heart recipient; Oldsmar City Councilman Greg Rublee; and East Lake Fire Commissioner Tom McKone.

Reporter George Wilkens can be reached at (813) 865-4433 or gwilkens@tampatrib.com

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