We admire Pam Iorio's vision in recognizing art and culture's enormous value as major dynamic components within her city. Among her first acts were to hire Paul Wilborn as Creative Industries Manager and to begin a national search for a Director of Arts and Cultural Affairs, who will oversee the development of the cultural arts district. The creative community is counting on a person with intimate knowledge of all the arts. Hiring Wilborn — a former Tampa musician, journalist and playwright, and creative mover and shaker in his own right — could turn out to be an inspired move. In his first few months at City Hall, Wilborn set out to "get a feel for where we are and what are our strengths and weaknesses." He calls this "listening tour" a strategy focusing on "people who are in the trenches." We're all for this bottom-up approach, which means gathering information and then ensuring that everyone's ideas count. Both of these hires are sensible moves, but in the end, like all political decisions, only outcomes count. Meanwhile, the Planet will be watching, hopefully, as we look to Mayor Iorio's steady leadership in merging the cultural community's realities and dreams with economic realities.
This article appears in Sep 25 – Oct 1, 2003.