Tampa lawyer and Democratic congressional candidate Bill Mitchell said Wednesday he wants to see Wall Street held accountable for the $700-billion bailout proposed by the Bush administration last week.

He also wants to see relief for homeowners facing foreclosure and reforms to the bond-rating system for mortgage-backed securities.

In a statement sent to Bay Buzz that also highlighted Mitchell's master's degree in economics (University of California, Berkeley), the Democratic challenger said his Republican opponent in the race for U.S. House District 9, Gus Bilirakis, “can’t be trusted to get our economy back on track.”

Mitchell, 61, questioned Bilirakis’ votes against the Housing and Economic Recovery Act of 2008, which includes provisions for foreclosure assistance, and H.R. 3915, designed to curtail predatory lending practices.

“My opponent votes the wrong way when it comes to fixing our economy and keeping Florida families in their homes. My opponent said no to aiding homeowners and the state of Florida, and he said no to cracking down on unethical mortgage brokers. With that record, we can’t trust him to vote the right way and turn our economy around,” Mitchell said in the statement.

Rita Farlow, Times staff writer

*