An article in the St. Petersburg Times, Tampa Bay section endorsed John Dicks as the candidate for change in Iraq this month. The article cited Dicks as an anise to the incumbent Bilirakis's ineffective partisan methods on the hill with regard to Iraq expenditure and relaxing oil bans off Florida's coast. Because Florida's economy depends heavily on beach traffic and the tourist trade, many Floridians are up-in-arms with regard to relaxing any ban on oil drilling on the coast.

From the Times:

The Florida native [Dicks] has the best grasp of the issues. His plans to reduce federal spending, expand health insurance and increase America's energy independence are the right priorities for the nation and the district. Dicks opposes relaxing the ban on oil drilling off Florida's Gulf Coast. He favors shifting the Bush tax cuts from the wealthiest to the middle class when the cuts expire in 2010.

For the full statement on environmental energy and resources, click: http://www.johndicksforcongress.com/issues.php?category=7#

Democratic Congressional Candidate for Florida’s 9th District John Dicks actually has answers and plans to questions and concerns many voters across the United States have. Majority of the members of Congress give the diagnosis of what the United States has but never a treatment.

On the issue of taxes Mr. Dicks states, “Congress should conduct a comprehensive review and revision of the entire tax code, similar to that which was done in 1986,” and later adds, “Congress should eliminate special interest tax loopholes while ensuring that middle-class Americans are not being penalized for their success and increased income or being subjected to the application of outdated programs such as the Alternative Minimum Tax (AMT).

However, the matter of privatization of Social Security is discussed but briefly and he is opposed but does not go into detail why he is against this proposal. Voters should know why Mr. Dicks is not for this bill and should disclose information for or against this issue.

Mr. Dicks has a lot of endorsements from many Council members, State Senators, Mayors and publications.

The recent signing of the new GI bill into a law by President Bush marks the beginning for many vets returning home from Iraq and Afghanistan who are looking to continue their education.

Dicks cites the fact that Gus Bilirakis voted against the bill in Congress as proof of Bilirakis lack of commitment to veteran aid.

Dicks: "We just had a new GI Bill that passed in Congress, my opponent voted against it. I'm amazed at that...The new GI bill will provide educational opportunities for the 21st century to make certain that they will be able to continue their studies."

Dicks makes the argument that Florida's 9th district needs to be fed labor via legal immigration methods in order to keep farms in migrant labor during the harvest season. He also says that he believes in respecting America's history as a nation of immigrants and does not want to deter those who would become legal citizens, paying taxes and observing laws.

However, says Dicks, the rampant infiltration of illegal immigrants must cease in order to stabilize wages for the middle class and help Americans secure well-paying work.

Dicks: "The point of the matter is the people that are here, we need to develop a system where they can become citizens, but that doesn't mean that they get to jump to the front of the line."