Dick A. Greco
Dick Greco | |
---|---|
Nick Chillura Nuccio, 1st term; Sandra Freedman, 2nd term | |
Succeeded by | Richard L. Cheney, 1st term; Pam Iorio, 2nd term |
Personal details | |
Born | Richard Attilio Greco September 14, 1933 Ybor City, Tampa, Florida |
Political party | Democratic[1] |
Alma mater | University of Tampa |
Richard Attilio Greco (born September 14, 1933) is a politician, businessman, and civic activist from
Early life
Dick Greco was born in the
Political career
In 1963, Greco decided to use his growing public profile to campaign for a seat on the Tampa city council. He won the election for District 4 and was sworn in on October 1, 1963, less than two weeks after his 30th birthday.[3]
Mayor of Tampa, Part I
In 1967, Greco ran a successful campaign to be Tampa's youngest ever mayor at 34 years old. He was one of the youngest mayors of a major city in the United States when he was elected. He beat incumbent and fellow Ybor City native Nick Nuccio in an election that was seen as a transfer of power from one generation to the next[4][5][6]
In his first term, Greco balanced issues such as simmering racial tensions, crime, and extremely limited tax revenue. In 1971, Greco again beat Nuccio in a mayoral election rematch, but resigned in 1974 to accept a job with
Mayor of Tampa, Part II
Greco remained with the DeBartolo Corporation for 21 years, much of it spent away from Tampa.
During his fourth term as mayor, Greco's administration was involved in controversy when the city's housing director, Steve LaBrake, was accused of improperly awarding city contracts and taking bribes. Despite mounting criticism, Greco refused to fire LaBrake until after the director was indicted in federal court. LaBrake eventually served time in prison for his actions.
Despite some controversy during his last years in office, Greco was still widely popular in Tampa and was the second former mayor (after Nick Nuccio) to be honored with a public statue. The statue depicts Greco sitting on a bench beside
After leaving the mayor's office, Greco returned to the DeBartolo Corporation, which had moved its headquarters to Tampa in 1999 at his recommendation.[8]
5th run for mayor
In 2010, Greco announced that he would try to win an unprecedented 5th term as mayor of Tampa in 2011 when Iorio's second term expired,
References
- ^ Johnson, Neil (February 27, 2011). "Flier pushes GOP candidates in Tampa races". The Tampa Tribune. Retrieved September 9, 2012.
Former Mayor Dick Greco, a Democrat and the perceived frontrunner in the mayoral race, has been targeted in attack ads by another Miami-based third party group backed by Republicans.
- ^ "Member Search Results – The University of Tampa". Archived from the original on July 20, 2011. Retrieved October 5, 2006.
- ^ "City of Tampa Archives – City Council Members". August 1, 2017.
- ^ "Debate brings new edge to Tampa mayor's race – St. Petersburg Times". Archived from the original on February 12, 2011. Retrieved March 23, 2011.
- ^ Greco vs. Nuccio – Cigar City Magazine Archived July 26, 2011, at the Wayback Machine
- ^ "Dick Greco - 50th And 56th Mayor". City of Tampa. June 17, 2014. Retrieved April 10, 2021.
- ^ Candidates bring wealth of experience to Tampa mayoral race, tbo.com
- ^ a b c Cronan, Carl (June 23, 2003). "Former mayor back home with DeBartolo". Tampa Bay Business Journal. Retrieved August 1, 2017.
- ^ Zink, Janet (November 29, 2010). "Dick Greco files papers to run for mayor of Tampa". Tampa Bay Times. Archived from the original on August 2, 2017. Retrieved August 1, 2017.
- ^ "Greco's legacy permanently stained by the dirt of LaBrake scandal" – St. Pete Times
- ^ "Master salesman Dick Greco seeks a fifth term as mayor". Archived from the original on March 6, 2011. Retrieved April 29, 2011.
- ^ ""Greco: There's nothing I would have done differently" – St. Pete Times"". Archived from the original on October 15, 2012. Retrieved April 29, 2011.
- ^ ""Former Tampa Mayor Dick Greco honored" – St. Pete Times". Archived from the original on October 15, 2012. Retrieved April 29, 2011.
- ^ "Greco puts a spark to trolley fire" – St. Pete Times
- ^ Greco shakes up Tampa mayor's race with bid for a 5th term
- ^ It's still too close to call
- ^ "Buckhorn routs Ferlita in Tampa mayor's race, then talks of creating a better Tampa – Tampa Bay Times". Archived from the original on February 25, 2012. Retrieved March 6, 2012.
- ^ Analyzing why Dick Greco came up 384 votes short | Daily Loaf