The Political Whore

Pam Iorio’s State of the City Address

During her first term in office, Tampa Mayor Pam Iorio had the luxury of an up-market, sunny days and lots of people interested in building new condos and offices in her city. But for the past two years, in her second term, Iorio has spent her annual State of the City Address trying to reassure city workers that they wouldn’t be laid off and discussing how to live within the new boundaries that local governments in Florida are facing with the so-called tax reform measure taken two years ago.

On Monday, she stayed with that theme, but added a strong condemnation of Florida’s “boom-and-bust” growth mentality that if not aimed at county and state leaders should have been. And, she said, approving her rail transit plan that will hook up the airport with downtown with the USF area ushers in “an era of smart growth” that could just restore and grow our economy.

“I know that these are very difficult times,” Iorio said to an overflow crowd at a ballroom in the city’s Tampa Convention Center downtown. “It’s going to take some tough decisions.” It is time to fundamentally re-examine the state’s revenue structure, away from its “boom-and-bust mentality that really has plagued the State of Florida for too long.” That “policy of urban sprawl” has wrecked the environment and forced workers to live far distant from their jobs at a time when money is tight and gas prices remain precarious.

“We end up with a pattern of growth that is not sustainable … and not a model for the 21st Century,” Iorio told the crowd of mostly city employees. “And so I talk about light rail because it is the key to our economic future.”

Iorio also threw lots of love her employees’ way, reassuring them that she won’t slash their jobs willy-nilly and praising the city’s accomplishments over the past six years as laying the arts, cultural and transportation foundation for generations to come. She said she was dismayed by a lack of trust among voters for their national government and institutions and lauded her ranks for maintaining the trust of city taxpayers. “We’ll spend their taxes well,” Iorio said. “We won’t be wasteful.”

Bonus cuts:

Download a copy of the city’s Progress Report.

Watch a video Here’s a video of the city’s accomplishments, played at the speech Monday.

The Tampa Tribune’s headline? “Iorio Cites Dismal Economy In Annual Address”

The St. Petersburg Times’ headline? “Tampa mayor says state of the city not so good”
The Tampa Bay Business Journal’s headline? “Mayor Pam Iorio delivers multimedia presentation at Tampa Convention Center”

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