From the recent Florida Humanities Council “A Tale of Two Cities” forum featuring Tampa Mayor Pam Iorio and St. Petersburg Mayor Rick Baker, here are the two mayors answering the question: Who is your favorite mayor from your city’s past?

Full video answers after the jump.

Tampa Mayor Pam Iorio, who a few months ago expressed interest in Mel Martinez’s seat in the Senate, said today she will not run for statewide or national office in 2010.

“My four-year term as mayor does not end until March 2011 and I believe that running both the city of Tampa and a statewide campaign at the same time over the next eighteen months would shortchange the citizens of Tampa,” she said in a statement e-mailed to supporters and the news media.

Her full announcement after the jump:

A Statement from Mayor Iorio May 11, 2009

There has been a lot of political interest generated since Florida*s
Senator Mel Martinez made his announcement about stepping down in 2010.
I have gotten my share of phone calls and letters from people wanting to
know what political plans I had for the future.

Over the past several months, I have given much thought to this and
have concluded that 2010 is not the right time to pursue a statewide or
national office. My four-year term as mayor does not end until March
2011 and I believe that running both the city of Tampa and a statewide
campaign at the same time over the next eighteen months would
shortchange the citizens of Tampa. Properly balancing the city*s
budget in these difficult economic times deserves my full attention, as
does the completion of the major capital improvement projects I began
with the new Cultural Arts District along our downtown waterfront. Of
particular importance to me, and to the entire region, is the major
initiative of light rail, which needs time and strong support to become
a reality.

I appreciate the words of encouragement and support from many friends
and constituents but will not be announcing for any other office this
year.

The evolution of a mayor, 1974-present?

In Tampa these days, playing “Will Dick Greco run for mayor in 2011?” is getting to be nearly a full-time sport, the rumors are just that hot-and-heavy. So I picked up the telephone and gave him a call and asked him, “Are you getting ready to run for mayor – yet again?”

The answer?

“I haven’t seriously given any thought to it,” Greco said, laughing. “Everybody thinks the race is in 2010. It’s March 2011. If I was talking about running for mayor, I wouldn’t start two years out. It’s just way to early.”

If that sounds like a non-denial denial, keep reading.

Even though balloting is nearly two years away, the number of big-name candidates already in the race or rumored to be running is unprecedented. Councilman Tom Scott announced last week that he wants to start early so he can raise enough money for his campaign (you can download a .pdf of the announcement here press-release-councilman-thomas-scott-2). Councilwoman Linda Saul-Sena told Creative Loafing that she’s in, as well, but will not formally announce for some time. And County Commissioner Rose Ferlita has “announced” on Facebook but not held a formal newser face the media about her strong desire to be the next mayor of Tampa.

Also out there are some big names who are considering the race, too. Former Councilman Bob Buckhorn told me last week that he is definitely interested and weighing entry. (He ran and lost in 2003.) Former County Commissioner Ed Turanchik, who has been building a line of low-cost “green” homes in West Tampa, is also thinking about it.

But the specter of Greco eclipses them all in terms of lore and media interest.

Greco is the city’s 50th and 56th mayor (1967-74 and 1995-2003). He loves to talk about his accomplishments (during his second tenure, the city passed the Community Investment Tax, which built Raymond James Stadium, dozens of schools and parks, streets and the like for decades) and even produced a booklet outlining all of them after he left office in 2003.

There was a time when it was unthinkable that a Greco candidacy could fail. He was that popular. But while Tampa is capable of giving him a third round in the mayor’s office, Greco’s winning is not a foregone conclusion. His reputation was tarnished at least to some degree by a scandal in his administrtion’s housing department that saw an employee go to prison. And there’s the age question. Greco was 34 when he first took the job. He is now 75. “The first, they said I was too young,” Greco recalled. “Now, they’ll say I’m too old.”

He’s downplaying the idea of running, publicly for now. But he still seems to have a fire in the belly to add “Tampa’s 58th mayor” to his political resume.

“It probably would be fun,” he said. “The truth of the matter is I’ve loved being mayor. I’d rather do that than anything else I’ve ever done.”

C’mon 2011.

They are an unlikely pair: She’s a lifelong Democrat, and he’s a conservative Republican. Their cities are known for decades of feuding and rivalries, a history that seems remote in these days of regionalism. But Tampa Mayor Pam Iorio and St. Petersburg Mayor Rick Baker both share a passion for history; Iorio was a history major at USF and earned her master’s in the subject, while Baker has written his own history of St. Petersburg.

In “A Tale of Two Cities,” a forum held last night at the historic Centro Asturiano building between downtown Tampa and Ybor City, Baker and Iorio showed off their historian chops in front of a crowd of a few hundred people. USF historians Gary Mormino and Ray Arsenault moderated.

I was asked to join La Gaceta publisher Patrick Manteiga and St. Petersburg Times columnist Ernest Hooper in questioning the two mayors on historical matters, and I asked both: What one historical building that no longer exists in your city would you like to have back, and why?

Their answers, and pictures of those two buildings, after the jump:

Pam Iorio chose the moorish former Hillsborough County Courthouse. Designed by J.A. Wood, the same architect who did the brilliant onion-skin domes on the Tampa Bay Hotel (today’s Plant Hall at the University of Tampa), it stood from 1892 until 1949, when it was stupidly knocked down and a new nondescript courthouse built.

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For Baker, whose town has done a much better job of preserving its architectural treasures (see: Vinoy), it was the Florida Theatre, the city’s first air-conditioned cinema and the location for a 1956 Elvis Presley concert.

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If you are a history buff or just want to join in on the discussion, the sponsoring Florida Humanities Council has a blog on the subject. It also plans to stream some or all of Wednesday night’s program. When I get details on that I will update.

This is the story of a little-known South Florida mayor, a progressive anti-automatic weapons kinda politician with little name recognition and labeled with the tag “the gay candidate” in his quest to be the next U.S. senator from Florida. His name is Kevin Burns. More about him after we set the rest of the field.

Charlie Christ’s decision to wait until the end of the legislative session before declaring his political future has frozen most Republicans with fanciful ambitions of higher office through the first part of 2009.

But with three weeks to go before the popular chief executive announces whether he’ll run for re-election or opt to set his sights on Mel Martinez’s seat in Washington, some members of the GOP last week realized they can’t wait any longer.

Agriculture Secretary Charles Bronson, who by name recognition from his movie star namesake alone should do well with the law-and-order crowd, acknowledged the unusual election cycle in 2010 last week and said he could run for governor. If Crist does run for the Senate, it could mean every statewide constitution could be open.

Also, former New Hampshire Senator Bob Smith, now a Sarasota resident, says he is seriously considering a return to the nation’s capital.

But for other Republicans, it’s wait-and-see time.

Ditto for the Dems. Speculation is rampant that CFO Alex Sink will make a run for the governor’s office IF Crist decides not to run for re-election. The dominoes could continue to fall if her seat then becomes available (Tampa Bay mayors Pam Iorio and Rick Baker come to mind).

What is interesting is that before it became a possibility that Charlie Crist might not want to run for re-election, nary a whisper was heard about ANY Democrat taking him on.

Conventional wisdom is that if Christ wins the GOP Nomination for Senate next year, he’ll be a strong favorite to win the seat.

But at least the Democrats are fielding candidates in that race.

Kendrick Meek has been the star in the early going, both with his key union endorsements, and impressive fundraising totals.

Miami Beach State Sen. Dan Gelber has been in session for the past 6 weeks, but has still reportedly raised more than $400,000 in the race.

The third declared Democratic candidate is North Miami Mayor Kevin Burns.

Kevin who?

It’s OK if you haven’t heard about him yet. But he hopes to change that in the next year and a half. Among some political analysts, he’s known simply as “the gay candidate.” But as he is quick to respond to those who label him as such, asking a reporter, “Do you call Kendrick Meek the African-American candidate, or Dan Gelber the Jewish candidate?”

But if that sounds as if he responds defensively to the question, that’s surely not the case.

And for being the mayor of a not-so-big city (population: 65,000), Burns has shown ambition in his two terms in office (he’s term-limited this year). He’s been active with the U.S. Conference of Mayors, is on the Executive Committee Steering Committee with Chicago 2016 Olympic Bid Task Force, and is also with the group Mayors Against Illegal Guns.

Speaking to me on a recent Saturday morning, less than 24 hours before 8-year-old Paris Whitehead-Hamilton would tragically be shot three times in the back and die in a fusillade of bullets in St. Petersburg, Burns said he wanted the 1994 Assault Weapons Ban reinstated.

“I’ve been called too many times at 1, 2 a.m. from my police chief, calling me about another drive by shooting. I’ve gone hunting, and it’s a great sport. But I’ve never seen any hunters use AK-47 or an automatic assault weapon to shoot a deer. It’s not necessary.”

The issue may not be at the top of topics in this time of economic unrest, but Burns says it should be. He says that as a Mayor, he gets the issue of gun violence in a way that those governing from Tallahassee or Washington can’t.

”We’re the closest representatives to the people”, he says. “If you see a problem in your city, you call and complain to the Mayor or your City Council member.”

When asked where he gets the cojones to think that he can be a serious contender in a mammoth state like Florida, Burns says the election of Barack Obama shows that anything is possible now. And that answers goes double for his sexual orientation.

“I think people are over the labeling. I think the last election proved that with the almost election of a woman (Hillary Clinton) and the actual election of an African-American,,,,I think people are looking for problem solvers.”

Burns said he and his partner participated in a civil union in Vermont, and they have a 7 year old daughter, named Autumn. ( If you’re asking: Is he circumventing Florida’s ban on gay adoption? he’s not. At the time of his civil ceremony, the couple had dual residency in Vermont and Florida, which is where they adopted her).

When asked about how strong can a gay candidate run in a state that strongly supported Amendment 2 last fall (the measure that bans same sex marriage in the Sunshine State), Burns is sanguine, saying that he’s been out and honest about his relationship seemingly “forever,” and that his being gay had no impact on North Miami citizens voting for him twice as mayor “It never was an issue in my elections”, he insists.

(And he references Kevin Beckner’s success in Hillsborough County last year as further evidence of the growing acceptance of competence over cultural issues).

On gay marriage, which seemingly looked down for the count nationally after the measure went down to defeat overwhelmingly in Florida last November as well as California, but has now been revived with recent actions in Iowa and Vermont, Burns sounds just like Obama, Clinton and other mainstream Democrats, who always appear to be sympathetic to the notion but are reluctant to support it outright.

He says he sees marriage as a religious institution, and believes religious organizations shouldn’t be forced by the government to do something against their religious beliefs.

But he is passionate about being discriminated against.

“I believe that if I’m in the hospital, my partner should be able to come and visit me and make medical decisions for me… I believe our banking , real estate shouldn’t have a special contract… We should be entitled to some of the 1500 federal laws that straight people are allowed to.”

Burns’ campaign consultant, Broward County strategist Stephen Gaskill, acknowledges that his man is a dark horse but believes Burns story will play well in the anti-Washington ethos felt by Floridians in the post-bailout era.

“Connecting with the people is what matters,” Gaskill wrote to me in an e-mail. “Yes, it will be an expensive campaign, and Kevin will be competitive.”

That remains to be seen. But the debate could be all the richer in the next year and a half as state Democrats try to find the candidate who might do the seemingly impossible in Florida politics: defeat Charlie Crist.

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”

Ahh, the good old days.

But I love this podcast biz. For my first, I invited WMNF’s Mitch Perry and Democratic consultant Ana Cruz to throw around three of the biggest issues of the week: the economic recovery and whether the Florida Legislature will try to reject some stimulus dollars; Barack Obama’s timetable for withdrawal in Iraq, which has not pleased some on the far left; and Mayor Pam Iorio’s rail-transit dreams running into a bit of a buzzsaw at the Hillsborough County Commission. Plus, we listen to the sound clip of the week. I’ll give you a hint: it is from a well-known prescription drug abuser.

Listen and enjoy, and we’ll have a new one for you every week.
Download

She wrote to City Council members today:

Dear Council members,
I want to give you more information about the article you may have read in Saturday’s SP Times about Georgetown Property.

Several months ago the city initiated discussions with the Trust for Public Land and the County (ELAPP) about the possibility of acquiring the 160- acre Georgetown Apartment site.  Historically this site has housed 600 apartment units however it was sold in 2005 for $125 million with plans to build approximately 1,240 units of single-family and multi-family units.  Due to the recession the property has gone into foreclosure and Bank of America will be soliciting bids for the property.  This is a beautiful piece of land – most of it undeveloped with great access to the bay.  To be able to protect the majority of the land from development forever would be of great benefit to our environment and to the community.

After many discussions and inputs we thought the best course of action would be to have the Trust for Public Land submit a bid when BOA is ready for proposals. The Trust has a successful track record of helping communities around the country to conserve strategic land resources for public use.

I will keep you informed as this progresses and if you want to talk about this further please give me a call.
Sincerely,
Pam

Here is the property from Google’s satellite view:

But it does have value. On the Democratic side, it helps shape decisions to run or not to run. And it helps the early money figure out on whom to bet, errr, give a campaign contribution.

Given those two benefits, you have to think that today’s Strategic Visions poll on the 2010 race emboldens Tampa Mayor Pam Iorio.

The mayor, who has said she is considering a race but has not announced a decision, runs in a statistical tie with U.S. Rep. Kendrick Meek and slightly behind U.S. Rep. Ron Klein. She places ahead of State Sen. Dan Gelber in a Democratic primary:

1. Whom would you support for the Democratic nomination for United Senate, if the choices were Dan Gelber, Pam Iorio, Kendrick Meek, and Ron Klein?
Ron Klein 12%
Kendrick Meek 10%
Pam Iorio 8%
Dan Gelber 4%
Undecided 66%

Even better, Iorio runs strongest of all the Democrats tested against Crist, who has a 2-1 lead over anybody who would run against him if he so chooses.

Iorio’s head-to-head with the Gov?

6. If the election for United States Senate were held today and the choices were Charlie Crist, the Republican and Pam Iorio, the Democrat, for whom would you vote?
Charlie Crist 57%
Pam Iorio 29%
Undecided 14%

The big winner on the GOP side, other than Crist, is U.S. Rep. Connie Mack. He holds a 2-1 lead over any other Republican mentioned without Crist in the mix.

Here’s the full Strategic Vision poll.

Iorio had been described to me as a competent, unimaginative public servant, but in our conversation she sounded almost visionary. “If there can be any good from this economic calamity, that is occurring, it is causing us to reassess ourselves as a country, as a state, as a city,” she said.

Iorio’s transit plans were touted in the article in this week’s magazine that details the Florida real-estate market as a Ponzi scheme.