Ever since she took office in 2003, Tampa Mayor Pam Iorio has been a voice of equality for the LGBT community—and the GaYbor Coalition wanted to reward her for that.
On June 2, Streetcar Charlie’s played host to a luncheon honoring the two-term mayor, who has eight months left in her current role. Term limits prevent her from running again and many have speculated as to what her future holds.
Even the mayor herself isn’t sure what’s in store after she leaves office.
“I have so much to do I don’t even think about it,” Iorio told the crowd. “But if I did I would tell you.”
Iorio has undertaken plenty of projects during her tenure. She organized and rebuilt Curtis Hixon Park downtown, added two new city museums and has mapped out a new light rail system for the city. She is also heavily involved in the planning of a high-speed rail system that would connect Tampa to Orlando.
When she first took office in 2003, Iorio was quick to update city policies to recognize the same-sex domestic partners of employees for insurance purposes and readily attends the Tampa International Gay and Lesbian Film Festival each year. She also spoke at the now-defunct Winter Pride Tampa Bay.
Last year, she appointed openly lesbian Jane Castor to the Chief of Police position in the Tampa Police Department.
“The gays love Mayor Pam,” said Carrie West, president of the GaYbor Coalition. “And the community loves Mayor Pam.”
Iorio was presented with a crystal plaque thanking her for her 25 years of support of the LGBT community and the UV Rays, a division of Una-Voce, the Florida Men’s Chorale, performed.
