Pamela Dorothy Iorio (born April 27, 1959) is an American politician and author, who served as mayor of Tampa, Florida from 2003 to 2011.

Early life, education, and family

Iorio moved with her family to Temple Terrace as an infant and attended Hillsborough County public schools. Iorio earned her bachelor's degree from

American University The American University (AU or American) is a Private university, private University charter#Federal, federally chartered research university in Washington, D.C., United States. Its main campus spans 90-acres (36 ha) on Ward Circle, in the Spri ...

and followed up with her masters at the

University of South Florida The University of South Florida (USF) is a Public university, public research university with its main campus located in Tampa, Florida, Tampa, Florida, United States, and other campuses in St. Petersburg, Florida, St. Petersburg and Sarasota, ...

. Iorio has been married to Mark Woodard, County Administrator for

Pinellas County Pinellas County (, ) is located on the west central coast of the U.S. state of Florida. As of the 2020 United States census, 2020 census, the population was 959,107, making it the seventh-most populous county in the state. It is also the most d ...

, since 1987, and they have two children, Caitlin and Graham. Her father, John Iorio, was an Italian immigrant and English professor, and one of the first professors at the

Career

In 1985, at the age of 26, she became the youngest person ever elected to the Hillsborough County Commission. For a decade before her successful run for mayor, she served as Supervisor of Elections for Hillsborough County. During the 2000 presidential election recount, she was the president of the State Association of County Elections Supervisors propelling her into the role of spokesperson. In 2001, her account of the

white supremacist White supremacy is the belief that white people are superior to those of other races. The belief favors the maintenance and defense of any power and privilege held by white people. White supremacy has roots in the now-discredited doctrine ...

White Municipal Party was published in ''

The Florida Historical Quarterly ''The Florida Historical Quarterly'' is an American academic journal, published four times a year by the Florida Historical Society. History Organized on November 26, 1902, and chartered three years later, the Florida Historical Society was t ...

''. On April 1, 2003, she was sworn in as

Mayor In many countries, a mayor is the highest-ranking official in a Municipal corporation, municipal government such as that of a city or a town. Worldwide, there is a wide variance in local laws and customs regarding the powers and responsibilitie ...

Tampa Tampa ( ) is a city on the Gulf Coast of the United States, Gulf Coast of the U.S. state of Florida. Tampa's borders include the north shore of Tampa Bay and the east shore of Old Tampa Bay. Tampa is the largest city in the Tampa Bay area and t ...

, becoming the second woman to hold the office. Her first term dealt largely with re-energizing the downtown area, as well as the economic revitalization of Tampa’s most neglected neighborhoods. Iorio was also a big supporter of the arts, working to make Tampa a major arts center in the

South South is one of the cardinal directions or compass points. The direction is the opposite of north and is perpendicular to both west and east. Etymology The word ''south'' comes from Old English ''sūþ'', from earlier Proto-Germanic ''*sunþa ...

. Iorio has also been credited with a sharp drop in

drug trafficking A drug is any chemical substance other than a nutrient or an essential dietary ingredient, which, when administered to a living organism, produces a biological effect. Consumption of drugs can be via inhalation, injection, smoking, ingestion, ...

in the city limits and a significant drop in major crimes. In her second term, Iorio advocated for improved

mass transit Public transport (also known as public transit, mass transit, or simply transit) are forms of transport available to the general public. It typically uses a fixed schedule, route and charges a fixed fare. There is no rigid definition of whi ...

, favoring a multi-modal plan which included a

light rail Light rail (or light rail transit, abbreviated to LRT) is a form of passenger urban rail transit that uses rolling stock derived from tram technology National Conference of the Transportation Research Board while also having some features from ...

system. While mayor, Tampa hosted a

Super Bowl The Super Bowl is the annual History of the NFL championship, league championship game of the National Football League (NFL) of the United States. It has served as the final game of every NFL season since 1966 NFL season, 1966 (with the excep ...

and successfully attracted the

2012 Republican National Convention The 2012 Republican National Convention was a gathering held by the Republican Party (United States), U.S. Republican Party during which Delegate (American politics), delegates officially nominated former Governor of Massachusetts, Massachuset ...

. In her official capacity as mayor, Iorio represented the city at important events such as the opening of the Tampa Bay History Center on January 17, 2009. On January 28, 2010, when Iorio welcomed

U.S. President The president of the United States (POTUS) is the head of state and head of government of the United States. The president directs the Federal government of the United States#Executive branch, executive branch of the Federal government of t ...

Barack Obama Barack Hussein Obama II (born August 4, 1961) is an American politician who was the 44th president of the United States from 2009 to 2017. A member of the Democratic Party, he was the first African American president in American history. O ...

and

Vice President A vice president or vice-president, also director in British English, is an officer in government or business who is below the president (chief executive officer) in rank. It can also refer to executive vice presidents, signifying that the vi ...

Joe Biden Joseph Robinette Biden Jr. (born November 20, 1942) is an American politician who was the 46th president of the United States from 2021 to 2025. A member of the Democratic Party (United States), Democratic Party, he served as the 47th vice p ...

Governor of Florida The governor of Florida is the head of government of the U.S. state of Florida. The Governor (United States), governor is the head of the Government of Florida#Executive branch, executive branch of the government of Florida and is the comman ...

Charlie Crist Charles Joseph Crist Jr. ( ; born July 24, 1956) is an American attorney and politician who served as the 44th List of governors of Florida, governor of Florida from 2007 to 2011 and as the United States House of Representatives, U.S. represen ...

, and

Chief Financial Officer A chief financial officer (CFO) is an officer of a company or organization who is assigned the primary responsibility for making decisions for the company for projects and its finances; i.a.: financial planning, management of financial risks, ...

Alex Sink, all of whom came to the

University of Tampa The University of Tampa (UTampa, UT or Tampa U) is a private university in Tampa, Florida. It is accredited by the Southern Association of Colleges and Schools. UTampa offers more than 200 programs of study, including 19 master's degrees and a br ...

for a national "Town Hall Meeting" to announce federal funding for Florida High Speed Rail and other projects. Iorio criticized Florida Governor

Rick Scott Richard Lynn Scott ( Myers; born December 1, 1952) is an American attorney, businessman, politician, and United States Navy, Navy veteran serving as the Seniority in the United States Senate, senior United States senator from the state of F ...

's decision to veto the high speed rail project, claiming he did so "purely on ideological reasoning." Her book, ''Straightforward'', was released in November 2011. In the book she draws from her own experiences and shares the skills and characteristics needed to become an effective leader. Since her time as mayor ended, Iorio has focused her time on working with Tampa area non-profits and spending time with her family. She has been involved with the Tampa Bay History Center, the Curtis Hixon Park and Riverwalk, and the

USF USF may refer to: Universities * University of Saint Francis (Indiana), Ft. Wayne, Indiana * University of San Francisco, California * University of South Florida, Tampa, Florida * University of St. Francis, Joliet, Illinois * University of Sioux ...

Foundation She had been mentioned as a possible Democratic Party candidate for governor of Florida in 2014. Iorio ultimately did not run. Iorio has also proposed changes to Florida's election laws in order to avoid long lines at the polls and other irregularities. In February 2014 Iorio was named as the President and CEO of

Big Brothers Big Sisters of America Big Brothers Big Sisters of America is a 501(c)(3) non-profit organization whose mission is to "create and support one-to-one mentoring relationships that ignite the power and promise of youth". Adult volunteers are matched with children from ag ...

, effective March 31, 2014. In November 2018, Iorio was included in PEOPLE Magazine's "25 Women Changing the World in 2018."

Publications

* * *Colorless Primaries: Tampa's White Municipal Party, The Florida Historical Quarterly, Vol. 79, No. 3, Reconsidering Race Relations in Early Twentieth-Century Florida (Winter, 2001), pages 297-318 (22 pages) *

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Iorio, Pam 1959 births 21st-century mayors of places in Florida American people of Italian descent American University alumni C. Leon King High School alumni Florida Democrats Living people Mayors of Tampa, Florida People from Temple Terrace, Florida People from Waterville, Maine University of South Florida alumni Women mayors of places in Florida 21st-century American women politicians

Early life, education, and family

Career

Publications

See also

References