Bilirakis Already In Cross Hairs

By BILLY HOUSE and WILLIAM MARCH The Tampa Tribune

Published: Aug 17, 2007

WASHINGTON - Eight months into GOP Rep. Gus Bilirakis' congressional career, two area Democrats are eyeing runs for his U.S. House seat in 2008.

Former Plant City Mayor John Dicks traveled to the nation's capital two weeks ago to meet with national party officials about his potential bid. He said Thursday in an interview that he will make his decision by about Labor Day.

Bilirakis already has one Democratic opponent, William D. "Bill" Mitchell, a Tampa employment lawyer and Navy veteran. He also filed to run for the seat in 2006 but withdrew in deference to Phyllis Busansky, defeated by Bilirakis in November.

Bilirakis spokesman John Tomaszewski said, "We're not going to comment on any alleged or rumored opponents at this time."

Asked whether Bilirakis has decided to run for a second term, Tomaszewski said, "I've heard nothing to the contrary."

For nearly a quarter-century, the Bilirakis name has dominated what now is Florida's 9th Congressional District. From 1983 until last year, the area had been represented by Michael Bilirakis, the current congressman's father.

Hillsborough County Democratic Party Chairman Mike Suarez said both Mitchell and Dicks should be considered serious candidates to unseat Bilirakis.

"There is a school of thought that Bilirakis is vulnerable this year because of the troubles of George Bush, despite the advantages of incumbency and a well-known name," he said.

Tony DiMatteo, Republican Party chairman in Pinellas County, differed.

"It will be hard to unseat somebody with his integrity and work ethic," DiMatteo said. "The Bilirakis name is the gold standard around here."

Dicks, 54, is a lawyer and former Plant City commissioner who was the city's commissioner-mayor for three nonconsecutive years from 1999 through 2006.

He met in Washington with Rep. Chris Van Hollen of Maryland, chairman of the Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee, which heads up national party efforts to elect Democrats to the House.

Dicks called the visit "more of a fact-finding mission" and said no commitments were made by Van Hollen in terms of funding or support from the DCCC, and Dicks made no such request. But he said Van Hollen was "very supportive and encouraging."

Rather than running against Bilirakis, he is looking at it more as an opportunity to represent the people of this area, he said.

"I think it is a seat that works well for a conservative-minded Democrat," he said.

The DCCC's Southern regional spokeswoman, Kyra Jennings, said, "We are excited that he is considering a possible challenge against Gus Bilirakis."

Mitchell, 60, who lives in Carrollwood, ran for a state House seat as a Republican in 2002, losing in the primary to state Rep. Kevin Ambler. He changed parties two years later, he said, largely because of disillusionment with the conduct of the war in Iraq.

"I'm one of these people who believes the Republican Party has moved away from where it used to be," he said. "I'm very comfortable with the Democratic Party."

Mitchell had $137,485 in his campaign bank account at the end of June, according to his most recent fundraising report, which showed that money included a $100,000 loan from himself.

Reporter George H. Newman contributed to this story. Reporter Billy House can be reached at (202) 662-7673 or bhouse@tampatrib.com. Reporter William March can be reached at (813) 259-7761 or wmarch@tampatrib.com.