Pam Iorio, 49, is the mayor of Tampa, the nation’s
55th largest city. Sworn into office for a second
four-year term on April 1, 2007, Mayor Iorio has
established six strategic goals to guide Tampa
throughout this decade. These areas of focus are:
investing in neighborhoods, economic development of our
most challenged areas, creating a residential community
downtown, efficient city government focused on customer
service, establishing Tampa as a city of the arts, and
making regional mass transit a reality.
Mayor Iorio is committed to improving the quality of
life in Tampa. Under her leadership there has been a
commitment to the basics of city government including
public safety, parks and recreation, neighborhood road
improvements, and improved drainage and pipe systems.
For the first time in Tampa’s history, the city has a
five-year stormwater plan to address long-neglected
flooding and drainage issues and the city has also
embarked on a plan that begins to address Tampa’s aging
water and wastewater pipes.
Since her first month in office there has been a
crackdown on street level drug dealing and a renewed
commitment to community policing. This has resulted in
a dramatic decline in Tampa’s crime rate. In 2007, the
crime rate dropped another 10% bringing the total
decrease in crime to 42.5% over the last five years. The
city is being cleaned up through invigorated code
enforcement and an established Clean City division that
is dedicated to reducing litter in neighborhoods
throughout the city.
From New Tampa and East Tampa to West Tampa and South
Tampa nearly every part of the city is experiencing new
development. Downtown is transforming into a residential
community and the city continues to attract new
businesses. Recognizing the emerging global economy,
the Mayor’s Global Business Committee was established to
support the expansion of trade in the Tampa area.
Iorio has sparked a renewed commitment to protecting
Tampa’s environment. In 2007 the city successfully
negotiated an agreement with the Southwest Florida Water
Management District on a minimum flow for the
Hillsborough River that should guarantee its health and
vibrancy for future generations. She also named Tampa’s
first Green Officer for city government whose primary
responsibility is to ensure the City reaches its goal to
become a Certified Florida Green Local Government by
October 2010.
Iorio is also dedicated to working with governments,
businesses and civic leaders throughout the region to
make a quality mass transit system in our area a
reality. Under her leadership, Tampa hired its first
transit manager in order to more effectively move the
city’s mass transit initiative forward.
As mayor, Pam Iorio serves on the Aviation Authority,
the Port Authority, the Board of Trustees of the
University of Tampa and the recently established Tampa
Bay Area Regional Transportation Authority. She also
serves as a member of the advisory board for the Dr.
Kiran C. Patel Center for Global Solutions at the
University of South Florida.
Iorio began her political career at age 26, when she
became the youngest person ever elected to the
Hillsborough County Commission (1985-1992). A year later
her fellow commissioners elected her chairman. After
serving two terms on the County Commission, Iorio was
elected three times to the office of Supervisor of
Elections for Hillsborough County (1993-2003). In 2000,
she was elected President of the Florida State
Association of Supervisors of Elections, becoming the
spokesperson for the supervisors during the 2000
presidential election.
Iorio attended Hillsborough County public schools and
graduated from American University in Washington D.C.
with a BS Degree in Political Science. Iorio also earned
a Master’s Degree in History from the University of
South Florida in Tampa in 2001. She has published
several articles on Tampa’s civil rights and political
history.
Iorio is married to Mark Woodard. They have two
children, Caitlin and Graham.