Pam Iorio, Mayor

Pam Iorio, Mayor Pam Iorio, 50, is the mayor of Tampa, the nation’s 53rd 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: 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:   The Tampa Police Department reported a 9.2 % decrease in part one crimes this year bringing Tampa’s total crime reduction over the past six years to 46 %. A plan for The Tampa Riverwalk was developed in order to open the river to the people and to connect all of Tampa’s downtown cultural assets from the Channel District to Tampa Heights. The Master Plan for the Riverwalk was adopted in 2006 and to date 41% of this public/private project has been completed. Iorio has taken a leadership role in bringing light rail to Hillsborough County and to the region. For the first time the City’s comprehensive land-use plan recognizes the role of transit and seeks to reshape our community around light rail and an enhanced bus system. The Tampa Bay Area Regional Transportation Authority, known as TBARTA, unanimously endorsed the Hillsborough Rail Plan concept and encouraged the placement of the one-cent sales tax initiative to fund the plan for November of 2010. Since the establishment of East Tampa as a Community Redevelopment Area in 2004, over $15 million in Tax Increment Financing has been generated providing the necessary financial resources to upgrade aging infrastructure, make corridor beautification improvements and provide investment incentives to make East Tampa an even better place to live. The Mayor instituted a Stormwater fee to address long-neglected flooding and drainage issues. The City has embarked on a systematic pipe replacement program for its aging water and wastewater pipe systems. In fiscal year 2009, Stormwater alone is investing up to $40 million in water quality and flood protection improvement projects, Wastewater is replacing deteriorating force mains and manholes, and the Water Department is tackling nearly $150 million in projects to improve the potable and reclaimed water systems. A Clean City Division was established in July 2005 to reduce litter in neighborhoods throughout the city and last year alone the division collected over 1,500 tons of litter and debris from city streets. Downtown is transforming from a business and government center into a 24/7 regional center for business, entertainment, the arts and urban living. Some of the most notable projects to recently provide residential opportunities for Tampa’s citizens include Skypoint, The Plaza at Harbour Island, The Arlington, The Residences of Franklin Street, Element, Towers of Channelside, Grand Central at Kennedy and The Place at Channelside. The Mayor’s Youth Corps was initiated in 2003. A service-oriented leadership program for a select number of Tampa’s teens, the Youth Corps provides an opportunity for involvement in community service projects, leadership development activities and the production of an award-winning television show From the Corps. 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. Iorio named Tampa’s first Green Officer in April 2008. In early 2009, Tampa was named a Certified Green Gold Local Government by the Florida Green Building Coalition – one of only two cities in the state to receive this designation. As mayor, Pam Iorio serves on the Aviation Authority, the Port Authority, the Board of Trustees of the University of Tampa and the Tampa Bay Area Regional Transportation Authority. 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 was elected Mayor of Tampa in March 2003 and re-elected in March 2007. 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.