The metaphor was perfect: downtown Tampa’s protean skyline and cultural-arts-district-to-be as seen from the Hillsborough River.
A bank of the Hillsborough was an ideal spot for Pam Iorio to officially launch her mayoral campaign. In her formal announcement, she pretty much covered the waterfront of all the good things we all want to happen, no matter who is elected mayor. No one is against progress or in favor of leaving anyone behind. No one is for more garages on the river. No one wants an ethics-challenged City Hall. No one doesn’t want a “can-do” mayor. Everyone wants a mayor who sounds this positive and this good, even with laryngitis.
But more pointedly, the site behind the University of Tampa was reinforcing to a major theme of her candidacy. She is not, she avowed in a still raspy voice, about pitting downtown interests against neighborhoods. Hers is a Pam glossian scenario — the best of all possible Tampas.
“Residents sometimes feel that big ticket items take away from an investment in everyday needs — sidewalks, drainage, roads, parks, public safety,” stated Iorio. “I believe we can have both