Tampa Mayor Pam Iorio and St. Petersburg Mayor Rick Baker debated the history, culture, and characters of the two cities on April 22 at the historic Centro Asturiano Theatre in Tampa.
The Florida Humanities Council sponsored the Tale of Two Cities event. The moderators were historians and directors of the Florida Studies Program at University of South Florida in St. Petersburg, Gary Mormino and Ray Arsenault.
The event was a rematch of a 2003 mayoral meeting when the leaders first came together to discuss their cities’ heroes and rogues. This program was presented in partnership with the Tampa Bay History Center, University of South Florida Libraries, University of South Florida St. Petersburg, and the Florida Studies Department at the University of South Florida/St. Petersburg.