Mayor Pam Iorio is, by nature, an optimist. If she had been mayor during the Great Depression, she would have noted that the soup business had never been better. OK, that’s bad pundit hyperbole, but the reality is she is a leader who can see the forest of opportunity and progress beyond the trees of economic challenge.
It was a major theme of her final “State of the City” address last week in front of about 1,500 spectators–from family members and close friends to city workers and political luminaries. Here a Bob Buckhorn, there a Rose Ferlita. Her second term was blindsided by a recession that was worse here than most other places. “During down economic times,” she stressed, “that’s when you really have to step on the gas pedal.”
She then cited what is certain to be her signature accomplishment: all that came on line along the still-expanding Riverwalk. Two museums, a history center and the “instantly transformative” Curtis Hixon Waterfront Park that has, she pointed out, “opened up the waterfront to the people in a significant way.”
“I hope this city never stops progressing,” she underscored with a rhetorical nod to her successor. “Remember its history. It has always thought big. … It has never allowed any setback to stop progress.”
Iorio then chronicled a short list of prime, historic examples: the railroad, (Depression era) Bayshore Boulevard, the reincarnation of the Tampa Bay Hotel into the University of Tampa, Tampa International Airport, USF, a National Football League franchise.
“We’ve always made investments for the future,” she said. And in a less than subtle reference that also targeted Gov. Rick Scott: “Every decision involves some risk.”
And, yes, she’s still a true believer in modern mass transit that includes regional light rail and its high-speed counterpart between Orlando and Tampa. And, no, nary a regret for using her bully pulpit to make the cases.
“It is not optional,” she said of the role of rail. “For us to maintain our status as a great city in the United States, we must have a modern transportation system. … The one thing we can’t afford is to do nothing. There is risk in doing nothing. … I think we learned from that (transit-referendum campaign). Much ground work was laid. We must find a solution that’s acceptable to the people.”
Iorio also pointedly noted that progress during tough times was hardly limited to the high-profile re-energizing around the Riverwalk. *Major crime is down more than 60 per cent from 2003 to 2011. *The city’s reserve funds tripled–to $150 million–from 2003 to 2011. *City bonds were consequently refinanced at lower rates. *The widening of 40th Street has been completed. *The investment in neighborhood infrastructure projects was nearly tripled.
The outgoing mayor also sprinkled in shout-outs–ranging from an emotional paean to a police department that suffered four officer deaths during her tenure to City Council, MacDill Air Force Base, her family and Tampa’s “can-do” spirit.
Iorio will be remembered for Riverwalk synergy, some key capital projects and for pragmatic fiscal moves. As Tampa’s tax base eroded, she cut jobs and consolidated departments to meet operating expenses.
“While many cities across the nation are looking at near bankruptcy and all kinds of fiscal trouble, we stand strong financially,” she stated. “That is possibly the best gift I can give the city.” Even political competitors and those who have perceived a micro-manager, concede a leaner city hall machine is a legitimate legacy credit.
The Iorio Presence
But Iorio will also be recalled fondly for style. Beyond the hair, glasses and sensible shoes. Killer podium skills, wonkish detail recall, sense of humor, aura of class, feel for inclusiveness. She wasn’t known as a big deal “closer” the way her iconic predecessor, Dick Greco, was, but anyone present during her Super Bowl pitch can tell you how effectively she represented Tampa.
“I exit the stage today one last time, and I must say, my heart is full,” said Iorio in near-poetic cadence. “What a wonderful eight years.”
And then a final, parting piece of advice for the next mayor. “I ask only that you take care of the city that we love,” she said to Buckhorn and Ferlita, both seated in the Convention Center ballroom’s front row. “I wish you the best.”
Arguably, they will need it.
The times remain a formidable challenge–“strategically” shrinking the budget while providing necessary services and growing jobs–to her successor, whose identity we will know on Tuesday. But both Buckhorn and Ferlita also know this–after personally witnessing Iorio’s final, formal, podium tour de force. For one of them, this will be a very tough act to follow. For the other, a seemingly impossible act to follow.