Set against a backdrop of stubbornly high unemployment and sky-high home foreclosures, Democratic congressional candidate Joe Garcia unveiled an economic plan Thursday pushing for help for small businesses and homeowners — and a heap of tax cuts and credits.

Garcia’s plan centers on offering more loans and tax incentives to small businesses and providing more tax cuts and deductions for the middle-class, working parents and the elderly.

Lawyer and former Energy Department administrator Joe Garcia and Longshoreman’s Local official Luis Meurice are vying to be the Democratic standard bearer in November.

Mr. Garcia challenged then-incumbent Mario Diaz-Balart in 2008 and lost by six percentage points. Mr. Diaz-Balart’s shift to his brother Lincoln’s congressional seat this year created a rare opening for the U.S. House in South Florida.

Over 1,300 Floridians have already signed our petition urging Gov. Crist to call an emergency legislative session to permanently ban offshore drilling in Florida.

Last Thursday, I saw first-hand the economic impact the BP oil spill has had on our community.

NAPLES — Just steps away from calm, blue-green water lapping under the Naples Pier, congressional hopeful Joe Garcia on Thursday announced a petition urging Gov. Charlie Crist to ban offshore drilling in the Gulf for good.

“The BP spill not only affects the Gulf, but everyone who lives here in Florida,” Garcia said. He’s running in Congressional District 25, which covers parts of Collier, Miami-Dade and Monroe counties.