Sticks of Fire: a Tampa blog

Under pressure from Mayor Pam Iorio and County Commissioner Ronda Storms (both Port Authority board members), Zelko Kirincich stepped down as interim Director & CEO of the Tampa Port Authority. The retired president of GTE of Florida, Bill Starkey, was named interim director, while a national search for a replacement begins in earnest. You may remember the fiasco when Kirincich was first named as interim.

Anyway, the Port Authority had been more concerned with developing real estate and assisting new businesses (such as cruise ships). The traditional maritime businesses have had a hard time understanding why the authority doesn’t devote more focus to their concerns, so they want to change the makeup of the board to include two people from their sector. The port is a vital piece of the economic pie here, both traditional uses as well as new business. Combine that with all of the condos going up in and around the waterfront, and you see that this is a serious matter. Adding a couple voices to the board and shaking up the executive office is a good thing. We’ll try to keep an eye on this.