Northpinellas: Greeks wooed in race for House

Chuck Kalogianis, like so many before him, is in the last long days of a long shot campaign to topple a giant. Mike Bilirakis has shrugged off challengers to his congressional seat for 20 years.

Bilirakis, 72, has name recognition, a long voting record and powerful committee appointments. He has twice the money.

But Kalogianis thinks he can win.

He is closing in on the District 9 incumbent, he contends, by brazenly targeting Bilirakis where he is strongest. Seniors, veterans, Greek-Americans, even Republicans -- Kalogianis courts them with confidence.

At the wire, he hopes that Greek voters -- the same bloc that helped elect Bilirakis 20 years ago -- will give the underdog Democrat the edge.

"It's one Greek running against another," said Kalogianis, 39. "Now the Greeks want to turn him out."

The Bilirakis campaign refuses to dignify such remarks with a response. The Republican is confident but not complacent, his office said. He takes no vote for granted. But as for speculation and strategy: "We'll find out Nov. 5," Bilirakis said.

University of South Florida political scientist Susan MacManus couldn't help but laugh a little at the notion that an ethnic population will decide the election.

"It's not that big a factor," she said.

Kalogianis has tried and failed to draw Bilirakis out for public debates. So while the incumbent knocks on familiar doors, holds informal gatherings in the district and touts his record, Kalogianis churns out position statements, goes to debates alone and coaches constituents on the pronunciation of his unfamiliar name (it's kall-OH-yon-nis).

Thursday morning's stop at the Dove Restaurant in Holiday fit his script for success.

The Greek-run restaurant is friendly to the challenger. His campaign signs decorate the parking lot. Inside, Madeline Taft, 73, told Kalogianis she'd already voted for him because of his position on a prescription drug benefit for seniors.

Both candidates have said the drug benefit is a key concern in the district. Kalogianis advocates Sen. Bob Graham 's plan to provide a benefit through Medicare. Bilirakis favors a less expensive plan that passed the House this year but ultimately failed.

"I take 11 pills a day," Mrs. Taft said. "That's what kills me."

Over in the smoking section, disabled veteran Danny Callahan, 56, greeted Kalogianis like an old acquaintance. "I know you," he told the challenger.

He knows all about the candidate's proposal to bring a veteran's hospital to Pasco County. "I think it's a good idea," he said.

Bilirakis has brought a veterans outpatient clinic to Port Richey and a spinal cord injury center to Tampa. He is vice chairman of the Veterans Affairs Committee and has a long record on veterans' issues.

But Callahan, who served 25 years in the Army, blinked away tears when he said he'd waited two years to see a neurologist. Bilirakis, he said, has not done enough. Callahan, of New Port Richey, doesn't know if Kalogianis has a chance. "I hope he does," Callahan said.

Kalogianis wooed a table of four Republicans by appealing to their concerns about living with disabilities. He talked class size with a former teacher.

He ate an omelet -- with Egg Beaters, no cheese -- and headed off to an afternoon function at the Veterans Administration.

It's going to take more than a healthy breakfast to overcome the odds, MacManus said.

Kalogianis has no political experience, having run unsuccessfully for state representative four years ago. He is perhaps best known for the wrong reasons, she said.

"The first sentence in every article is that he was a former male stripper," MacManus said.

Kalogianis doesn't hide from his college career choice. He is now a New Port Richey attorney. Both candidates have resisted the opportunity to sling mud. Bilirakis, also an attorney, drew criticism in 1999 over his ownership of three dilapidated rental buildings and for conflicting evidence about when he sold the buildings.

Kalogianis is at a serious financial disadvantage in the race, and money is a huge factor, MacManus said.

Bilirakis has raised $586,684 to Kalogianis' $300,852, as of Oct. 16, and much of the money in the Kalogianis campaign account is his own. His account reflects weak party support, MacManus said.

"If the party really believed he could beat Bilirakis, they'd be there with lots of money," she said.

Philosophically, the candidates are classically opposed on party lines. Bilirakis says government should help people help themselves. His campaign spokesman uses the word "bootstraps" a lot, saying that's how Bilirakis worked his way out of the steel mills of western Pennsylvania as a young man. Kalogianis supports an expanded government role in education, health care and other arenas.

In the redrawn district that sprawls across Hillsborough, Pinellas and Pasco counties, Republicans outnumber Democrats 172,378 to 143,481. Kalogianis hopes he can sway independent voters.

As for ethnic support, Kalogianis estimated there are 20,000 to 25,000 Greek-Americans in the district, and about 15,000 in Tarpon Springs alone. In the 2000 census, 2,479 of Tarpon Springs' 21,066 residents reported Greek ancestry. There were 1,247 in Holiday and 1,707 in Palm Harbor.

That's hardly enough to swing an election, MacManus said. "I think that's an unrealistic expectation."

Kathy Alesafis, Tarpon Springs city clerk, remembers when Greek Democrats switched parties to vote for Bilirakis in the primary 20 years ago. She considers Bilirakis a friend, she said, but she hasn't heard much buzz in the community to indicate that support has slipped.

"He's done too much," she said. "God keep him healthy."

Kalogianis admits he's eager for the campaign to end. He has put on a few pounds, he's tired and his kids miss him.

For Mrs. Taft, the race is already over. She went to the polls early because she worried about the new voting machines, but she's sure her vote was counted.

She proudly told a number of people at the restaurant, including the candidate, about casting a vote for Kalogianis. Her waiter even taught her to say it in Greek.

"Epsifisa gia sena," she said. "I voted for you."

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