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Politics

Iorio's first term

By JANET ZINK
Published January 21, 2007

It's been a tough year for Mayor Pam Iorio. Her father fell ill, her driver died when a drunk driver hit his car, she sprained her ankle, sent her oldest child off to college, and battled the flu. But she'll probably get a break March 6. Neither of her opponents - police Capt. Marion Lewis and former fire Chief Aria Green - has political experience. And as the incumbent she can run on her record.

So, with a nod to Ebert and Roeper, here's a look at some hallmarks of Iorio's first term.

Iorio wants a 2.4-mile linear park downtown along the Hillsborough River. Her goal is to have most of it finished by 2009. The price: at least $40-million. The problem: Paying for it. She has committed $5.6-million in city money. The state has twice turned down requests to contribute more than $5-million. She's now seeking $11-million from the Southwest Florida Water Management District. Iorio hopes a private fundraising campaign will bring in most of the money for the project.

Thumbs up: "All great downtowns need a galvanizing focal point."

Lynette Judge, District 5 City Council candidate.

Thumbs down: "I have to look at my district, East Tampa, and see how we would benefit from this. When I drive down Nebraska Avenue, we've still got potholes."

Tom Scott, District 5 City Council candidate.

Iorio inherited plans for a pricey art museum from her predecessor, Dick Greco. Fearing it would need huge city subsidies, she pressed museum leaders to shoulder most of the burden for the $76-million project. Eventually that plan imploded, although the city still had to pay $7-million for the discarded design. More recently, Iorio and art museum leaders agreed on a smaller, cheaper building.

Thumbs up: "For this city, a smaller version of the art museum is better than the one they originally thought of doing."

Frank Reddick, District 5 City Council member and candidate.

Thumbs down: "There are ways of compromising. It left a lot of people sour, the way it went down. (The original plan) should have been built."

Denise Chavez, District 1 City Council candidate.

Urban redevelopment

Residential development downtown has exploded, with more than 2,800 units either built or under construction and 7,620 more in the planning stages. Iorio created four special taxing districts to funnel property tax dollars into redevelopment in depressed neighborhoods. Under her watch, a blighted public housing complex between downtown and Ybor City is being turned into a mixed-income neighborhood. Development has also started on a 48-acre riverfront project called the Heights.

Thumbs up: "It's great that we've got all this new residential downtown. I hope we can get them filled. And I hope we can work toward having the transportation and the jobs and the retail and quality of life that we need to get people to move in there."

Mary Mulhern, District 2 City Council candidate.

Thumbs down: "There are challenges with encouraging economic growth along busy corridors. That would be a good place for her to focus in her next four years."

Randy Baron, District 1 City Council candidate.

Funding for sidewalks, street repaving, park upgrades and other basics has increased by 138 percent. Iorio also made code enforcement its own department, began foreclosure proceedings on repeat code violators and created the Clean City Division to keep Tampa tidy.

Thumbs up: "If we don't maintain our neighborhoods, we can't have a prospering economic structure. The direction she's given has been in the best interest of the citizens."

Rick Barcena, District 1 City Council candidate.

Thumbs down: "We need to have the proper code enforcement. I'm hearing from folks that they don't think the city's responding to code enforcement violations."

Frank Margarella, District 7 City Council candidate.

Iorio has urged regional leaders to dust off old rail plans, sparking mass transit discussions in Tampa area counties. She is also pushing for short bus routes in urban areas and more links between the Pinellas and Hillsborough bus lines.

Thumbs up: "We're in a good spot because it sounds like the public's ready to get behind it. It's good the mayor has come out and made it a priority."

Mary Mulhern, District 2 City Council candidate.

Thumbs down: "We need to walk before we can run and check the feasibility of doing some of the smaller things to gauge whether people are going to use public transit."

Frank Margarella, District 7 City Council candidate.

Iorio battled the City Council's move to cut Tampa's property tax rate. It passed despite her protests. She responded by pushing to slash the budgets of the Tampa Bay Performing Arts Center and other nonprofits to make up for the lost tax revenue. The council rejected this and found other budget cuts.

Thumbs up: "The mayor's budget was very well-reasoned and responsible with no fluff. I did not believe it was responsible to unravel such a carefully constructed budget."

Linda Saul-Sena, District 3 City Council member and candidate.

Thumbs down: "I feel very comfortable with the fact that we reduced the taxes for the first time in 20 years. It was the right thing to do. We should continue to try to do that."

John Dingfelder, District 4 City Council member and candidate.

Iorio made good on a campaign promise to change the face of City Hall. Many longtime employees retired. She showed others the door. Result: almost all new department heads and top deputies.

Thumbs up: "She's surrounded herself with people she likes. You have to do that."

Charlie Miranda, District 6 City Council candidate.

Thumbs down: "They've created all these layers, and that's where taxpayers' money is going, to pay the salaries of personnel at the top."

Marion Lewis, Mayoral candidate.

Previous Mayor Dick Greco left the city's housing department in disarray. Housing director Steve LaBrake was jailed for trading city contracts for discount work on his own home. Iorio revamped the department. Strict guidelines for building affordable housing and new ethics rules for all city employees are now in place.

Thumbs up: "Anytime you make government more accountable to people, that's a good thing."

Shawn Harrison, City Council member and District 2 candidate.

Thumbs down: "The policies for affordable housing are making it very difficult for the average low-income citizen to qualify for help with affordable housing or rehabbing homes."

Frank Reddick, District 5 City Council member and candidate.

Fees for services such as sewer, water, garbage pickup and parking have risen significantly. Iorio also created a stormwater fee that was tripled in 2005, to about $36 a year for homeowners. And she surprised developers with a water impact fee that amounts to about $1,500 per unit. Iorio says the increases were needed to pay for basic services. The stormwater fee enabled a $60-million, five-year drainage improvement plan.

Thumbs up: "That stormwater fee increase was a long time in coming. That was a necessity."

Mary Mulhern, District 2 City Council candidate.

Thumbs down: "I am against fee increases. We need to be creative and innovative and progressive and find other ways to account for enhanced services."

Julie Brown, District 4 City Council candidate.

[Last modified January 21, 2007, 05:50:06]