The congressman from the 9th District is Gus Bilirakis, a Republican first elected in 2006 to succeed his father, 12-term Republican Rep. Michael Bilirakis. Bilirakis (bil-uh-RACK-iss) joined Republican Connie Mack in the Florida delegation as a lawmaker who followed a parent into Congress. Bilirakis remembers stuffing envelopes at age 7 for Republican Louis “Skip” Bafalis, who lost his 1970 bid for governor but was elected to five terms in Congress. In college, Bilirakis interned in the Reagan White House and went on to earn a law degree from Stetson University. He worked for former Rep. Don Sundquist, a Republican who went on to become Tennessee’s governor, and later was a probate lawyer and estate planner. In 1998, he was elected to the first of four terms in the Florida House. Bilirakis’ career has always been closely tied to his father’s. When Michael Bilirakis decided not to seek a 13th term, his son was presumed to be the favorite for the seat and drew only nominal opposition for the Republican nomination. Gus Bilirakis was not shy about running on the family name. He touted the relationship on his web site, appeared on the ballot as Gus Michael Bilirakis and raised money from many political action committees that supported his father, who had had a seat on the powerful House Energy and Commerce Committee. Read More

The congressman from the 9th District is Gus Bilirakis, a Republican first elected in 2006 to succeed his father, 12-term Republican Rep. Michael Bilirakis. Bilirakis (bil-uh-RACK-iss) joined Republican Connie Mack in the Florida delegation as a lawmaker who followed a parent into Congress. Bilirakis remembers stuffing envelopes at age 7 for Republican Louis “Skip” Bafalis, who lost his 1970 bid for governor but was elected to five terms in Congress. In college, Bilirakis interned in the Reagan White House and went on to earn a law degree from Stetson University. He worked for former Rep. Don Sundquist, a Republican who went on to become Tennessee’s governor, and later was a probate lawyer and estate planner. In 1998, he was elected to the first of four terms in the Florida House. Bilirakis’ career has always been closely tied to his father’s. When Michael Bilirakis decided not to seek a 13th term, his son was presumed to be the favorite for the seat and drew only nominal opposition for the Republican nomination. Gus Bilirakis was not shy about running on the family name. He touted the relationship on his web site, appeared on the ballot as Gus Michael Bilirakis and raised money from many political action committees that supported his father, who had had a seat on the powerful House Energy and Commerce Committee.

Democrats recruited Phyllis Busansky, a former eight-year member of the Hillsborough County Commission and the first executive director of the state’s welfare-to-work program. Busansky played up her background in health care and senior citizens’ issues. Bilirakis pointed to his own credentials as a lawyer who specialized in elder law. In the legislature, he had also spearheaded legislation supporting community health care centers that treat the uninsured. Bilirakis’ soft-spoken style contrasted with Busansky’s assertive personality. She ran television ads portraying Bilirakis as a follower and accused him of relying on his father’s reputation. She trailed in the polls for much of the campaign, but gained some momentum in October after criticizing Bilirakis for his “deep and lucrative ties” to GOP leaders who had failed to act on knowledge of sexually explicit emails that were sent by former Republican Rep. Mark Foley of Florida to congressional pages. The national Republican Party did not leave this race to chance. President Bush, Vice President Dick Cheney and Speaker Dennis Hastert all stumped for Bilirakis and helped him raise money. He outspent Busansky $2.6 million to $1.4 million, and won 56%-44%.

In the House, Bilirakis established a voting record placing him near the center of House Republicans. He initially distanced himself from partisan fights and focused on his legislative agenda. Soon after taking office, he voted to increase the minimum wage. And in 2008, he worked with Rep. Lloyd Doggett, a Texas Democrat, to win House passage of a “silver alert” bill to assist states in finding senior citizens who disappear. Bilirakis was spurred by the case of an 86-year-old Largo woman who was found dead in the Intracoastal Waterway after she disappeared from an assisted-living facility. But in 2010 he joined the Tea Party Caucus and showed a sharper rhetorical edge in attacking President Obama’s economic initiatives as too costly. He also took the House floor on several occasions to denounce the 2010 health care overhaul as a “government takeover.”

From his perch on the Homeland Security Committee, Bilirakis tends to focus on immigration and border security. He has sponsored legislation to expand a program collecting fingerprints of suspected terrorists and illegal immigrants caught at sea. The House has passed the bill twice, but it has languished in the Senate.

In 2008, he has a surprisingly easy re-election against lawyer and former naval submarine Officer Bill Mitchell, who criticized Bilirakis’ opposition to the bailout of the financial markets and to a bill extending the renewable energy credit, calling him “a friend of Big Oil.” Bilirakis largely ignored the attacks and won handily, 62%-36%. He had even less trouble in 2010, winning more than two-thirds of the vote over Anita de Palma, a retired concert pianist.