Iorio: ambitious plans for upcoming term

Monday, March 12, 2007

Pam Iorio overwhelmingly won a second term as mayor Tuesday.

After an overwhelming victory at the polls, Tampa Mayor Pam Iorio is ready to lay out her plans for Tampa in her annual state of the city address on Monday.

"We've got a full agenda for the next four years," Iorio said on election night.

Iorio's goals include a completed riverwalk, a new museum and a move on light rail.

Iorio told Bay News 9 she plans to make light rail a priority during her term, although the system may not be built for years.

"We owe it to the next generation," she said. "It certainly wont be done over the next four years, but I'd like to lay that groundwork, the plan and funding in place so it can be done for the future."

Iorio also said she'll focus on downtown Tampa.

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"We've got a downtown that's booming, but we've got a ways to go there to make it pedestrian friendly," she said. "Complete the river walk. Make a beautiful park downtown. Make it so people really want to live downtown."

The mayor's state of the city address begins at 10 a.m. at the Tampa Convention Center on Franklin Street. The event is free and open to the public.

Because of term limits, this will be Iorio's final four-year term as mayor and Bay News 9 political analyst Bob Buckhorn said she'll have to act quickly to complete her agenda.

"She's at the peak of her popularity now," Buckhorn said. "She needs to move and move fast on things like mass transportation, the river walk, focusing on east Tampa and trying to get some development in some areas that have been disregarded for a long time. Those are the big picture items that you're going to see her focus on. And she certainly has the springboard to be able to do it."