LARGO - Bob Derry, a 67-year-old St. Petersburg retiree, realizes that unseating an influential, well-financed veteran like U.S. Rep. C.W. Bill Young would be difficult.
Difficult. But, he believes, not impossible.
On Friday morning, Derry announced his candidacy for the 10th Congressional District, which includes Largo, St. Petersburg and Clearwater.
With about 35 supporters at Tucson's Restaurant & Brewery, Derry, a Democrat, laid out why he thinks voters should send Young, R-Largo, packing after more than three decades in Washington.
Derry, who has never held elected office, criticized Young for supporting tax cuts "for the rich"; a Medicare prescription program that "does almost nothing for consumers but is a profit bonanza for drug and insurance companies"; and oil drilling closer to Pinellas beaches.
"Tourism's our No. 1 industry, and bringing drilling closer . . . cannot do anything but harm us," said Derry, who has three adult children with Sharon, his wife of 47 years.
"I'm in this race because . . . our government is going entirely in the wrong direction," Derry said. "Bill Young may once have been part of the solution but now he is part of the problem."
Derry was raised by his grandmother in Peoria, Ill. He earned business degrees at the University of Virginia and the University of Wisconsin. Last year, he and his wife sold Sunshine Financial Services Group Inc., a business Sharon said was a "fiscal guardian" for people who are disabled, elderly, and substance abusers.
Derry knows it will be difficult to beat Young. "I cannot match (Young's) funding," he said. "I hope to raise sufficient funds to get our message out. I believe if we get our message out . . . that will bring the voters to our side."
Young, chairman of the House Appropriations Committee, began serving in Congress in 1970. He declined to comment through a spokesman.
