Bilirakis faces entrepreneur in his last run for House
If Mike Bilirakis has his way, there will be a Bilirakis in Congress in 2004 and one in 2006, too.
By RICHARD DANIELSON
Published August 13, 2004
It just won't be the same Bilirakis.
After 22 years in the House, the Tarpon Springs Republican says he will not seek re-election after this year. Instead, he hopes that in two years his son Gus, a state representative from Palm Harbor, wins the seat he has held since 1982.
"It's my last race," he says. "I didn't anticipate being in this long. (But) time gets away from you, and you pick up these responsibilities."
So he wants to go back to Washington, where he is chairman of the House Subcommittee on Health and is vice chairman of the Veterans' Affairs Committee.
To do that, Bilirakis, 74, must win one more election, this time against a fellow Republican. It is only the third time as an incumbent he has even faced a primary opponent.
Entrepreneur Joseph H. Stanley, 39, of Carrollwood is seeking public office for the first time. He warns of looming fiscal problems from Social Security, Medicare and the federal deficit, and says he's not inclined to wait for Bilirakis to retire.
Nor should voters wait for career politicians to act, he says.
"It's a clear choice," says Stanley, who says he would have the "leadership and courage to do the right thing."
"When you start talking about a cut in the expenditures or a raise in the taxes, nobody wants to do that," he says. He proposes to cut agricultural and business subsidies and reduce other spending.
"We spend $60-billion a year on the Department of Education, but they don't teach a single student," he says. "I'm all for education, but it's a local issue."
On Social Security, Stanley is intrigued at the experience of Chile, which privatized its national pension system more than two decades ago.
"We have to look at some alternatives," he says.
As a business owner who has worked a variety of jobs, Stanley says he has the common sense to help him in Congress. One life experience, however, he wishes he didn't have. In 1993, he was charged with DUI in Orange County and pleaded no contest.
"Wrong night, wrong place and lesson learned," he says.
Stanley has fewer resources to draw on than does Bilirakis. Through June 30, Bilirakis had raised more than $426,000, more than half from political action committees and similar groups, according to the Federal Election Commission. His campaign expenditures topped $303,000.
Stanley, who vows to accept no money from PACs or people outside the district, had raised $8,600, far short of his campaign's expenditures of about $69,600.
Still, Bilirakis is skipping the Republican national convention to campaign in the district.
"It's a matter of not taking anybody lightly," he says. "We just think about ourselves, who we are, what we've done, what we hope to accomplish."
The Aug. 31 GOP primary almost certainly will decide the election. On Nov. 2, the winner of the primary faces only write-in candidate Andrew Pasayan, 86, a security guard from Holiday who says Americans should consume less tobacco, pork and beef.
Bilirakis touts his work improving benefits for disabled veterans, his sponsorship of a law to facilitate organ donation, and his role on the conference committee that worked on the Medicare drug prescription benefit to be offered in 2006.
It's not a perfect law, he concedes. For one thing, there's the coverage gap known as the "doughnut hole." Under the standard benefit, Medicare will pay 75 percent of a patient's annual drug costs from $251 to $2,250. Then coverage stops until the patient's out-of-pocket spending reaches $3,600. After that, Medicare pays about 95 percent of the bill.
Despite the gap, it's a good start, he says. He's especially proud that lawmakers included his provision to let new Medicare beneficiaries get a physical.
"With the limited funds available to us, I think we did a pretty darn good job," he says. "It's taking care of the poor and taking care of the very sick."
Otherwise, he wants to continue working on his portfolio of largely health-related issues, such as scrutinizing Medicaid spending so that states don't spend money in unauthorized ways, and giving the new director of the National Institutes of Health the authority to conduct research as he sees fit.
"It's just a matter of continuing what we've tried to do all these years," Bilirakis said.
The job: U.S. House District 9 includes parts of western Pasco, northern Pinellas, and northern and eastern Hillsborough. U.S. representatives serve two-year terms and receive $158,100 annually.
The candidates
MICHAEL BILIRAKIS, 74, is a lawyer, former restaurant owner and petroleum engineer who lives in Tarpon Springs. He was first elected to Congress in 1982. He is a member of the House Energy and Commerce Committee, chairman of the Health Subcommittee and vice chairman of the Veterans' Affairs Committee. Born in Tarpon Springs, he grew up in Pennsylvania, worked in steel mills and served in the Air Force. He attended the University of Pittsburgh and the University of Florida law school. He is married and has two children. ASSETS: IRAs, stocks, annuities, bank accounts, real estate. LIABILITIES: mortgages, loans. SOURCE OF INCOME: congressional salary. WEB SITE: www.house.gov/bilirakis
JOSEPH H. STANLEY, 39, is a construction company owner who lives in Carrollwood. He has worked as a sheriff's and fire dispatcher, boat captain and chimney sweep. In 1989, he started as a cable television installer and worked his way into management. He also owned a cable TV contracting company. He has served as a volunteer firefighter and reserve sheriff's deputy. He was born in Stevens Point, Wis., grew up in Clearwater and graduated from Citrus High School in Citrus County. He is married and has a son. ASSETS: bank account, 401k, stocks, precious metals, personal property. LIABILITIES: loan, credit card. SOURCE OF INCOME: business salary. WEB SITE: www.justvotejoe.com
