Bill Saffo

Bill Saffo
Mayor Saffo, July 2008
Mayor of Wilmington
Incumbent
Assumed office
July 11, 2006
Preceded bySpence H. Broadhurst
Member of the Wilmington City Council
In office
December 2, 2003 – July 11, 2006
Succeeded byJoseph C. “J.C.” Hearne II
Personal details
Born
Vassilios Avgerinos Saffo

1960 (age 64–65)
Wilmington, North Carolina, U.S.
Political partyDemocratic
Alma materUniversity of North Carolina at Wilmington (BA)
ProfessionReal estate businessman

Bill Saffo (born Vassilios Avgerinos Saffo; 1960) is an American politician and real estate businessman serving as the current mayor of Wilmington, North Carolina. A member of the Democratic Party, he was elected to the Wilmington City Council in November 2003, serving in the role until his appointment as mayor in December 2006.

Consecutively winning every election since assuming Wilmington's mayoralty, Saffo is the longest-serving mayor in the city's history, carrying out his eighth term as of 2023.

Personal life and education

Born Vassilios Avgerinos Saffo in 1960,[1] the son of first-generation Greek immigrants,[2][3] Saffo is a native Wilmingtonian.[4] Graduating from John T. Hoggard High School in 1978, he went on to obtain a Bachelor of Arts in political science from the University of North Carolina Wilmington.[2][3][4] Subsequently, Saffo began working at Hanover Realty Group, a real estate firm founded by his father, Doky Saffo, in 1965.[1][4] In 2010, Hanover Realty merged with Seacoast Realty, Inc., a Coldwell Banker-affiliated company, since operating as Sea Coast Advantage.[1][5]

As of May 2023, in addition to the mayoralty, Saffo continues to work as a real estate agent with Sea Coast Advantage.[2][5] He is a member of the St. Nicholas Greek Orthodox Church.[2]

Political career

Saffo first expressed interest in joining the Wilmington City Council in 2003, later successfully campaigning for a seat in November of the same year.[3][6][7] In May 2006, nearing the end of Saffo's first term, Mayor Spence Broadhurst announced his upcoming relocation to Greensboro and intention to resign his position.[8] On May 10, Saffo was nominated to fill Broadhurst's unexpired term by Mayor Pro-Tem James Quinn, a motion which was approved unanimously,[9] with Saffo assuming the mayoralty on June 11, 2006.[10]

During his first year in office, Saffo consolidated the city's water and sewage departments; initiated a review of the salaries of municipal employees, cautioning voters that fair salaries would require higher taxes; and began to investigate the economic potential of using revenue from the State's hotel room tax to build a new convention center, with construction underway by 2009.[11][12] The convention center, which opened in 2010, is regarded as having been successful in expanding the city's convention and tourism business.[13]

Map of the 2019 Wilmington Mayoral Election, which Saffo won narrowly against Devon Scott
Legend

As mayor, he helped usher in the age of digital television on September 8, 2008, when Wilmington became the first city in the United States to switch over from the previous analog television platform.[14][15]

Having won every mayoral election since his appointment in 2006, Saffo became Wilmington's longest-serving mayor after he again won reelection on November 7, 2017, surpassing the record set in 1937 by Walter H. Blair, who held the office for 11 years.[16] As of 2023, Saffo is serving his eighth consecutive term as mayor.[17]

References

  1. ^ a b c Glatt, Jennifer (June 9, 2013). "The Greater Good". Wilmington Magazine. DueSouth Publishing, LLC. Retrieved May 10, 2023.
  2. ^ a b c d "Mayor Bill Saffo | City of Wilmington, NC". wilmingtonnc.gov. Retrieved May 10, 2023.
  3. ^ a b c "City Council Members: Mayor Bill Saffo | City of Wilmington, NC". wilmingtonnc.gov. Archived from the original on February 10, 2012. Retrieved May 10, 2023.
  4. ^ a b c Mazzolini, Chris (February 15, 2008). "Wilmington's 'first lady'". StarNews. Wilmington, N.C.: Gannett. Retrieved May 10, 2023.
  5. ^ a b "Bill Saffo - Wilmington, NC". Sea Coast Advantage. Coldwell Banker. Retrieved May 10, 2023.
  6. ^ Lewis Hilburn, Rachel (September 15, 2017). "CoastLine Candidate Interviews: Wilmington Mayor Bill Saffo". WHQR. Friends of Public Radio, Inc. Retrieved May 10, 2023.
  7. ^ Fennel, Bettie (December 10, 2003). "City Council's changing of the Guard; A new start; Broadhurst sworn in; Padgett named mayor pro tem". StarNews. Wilmington, N.C.: Gannett. ProQuest 285575807. Retrieved May 10, 2023.
  8. ^ Callison, Jenny (September 14, 2017). "Former Mayor Spence Broadhurst Returns To Wilmington". Greater Wilmington Business Journal. SAJ Media, LLC. Retrieved May 10, 2023.
  9. ^ Spicer-Sidbury, Penelope, City Clerk (May 10, 2006). Special City Council Meeting Minutes of May 10, 2006 (Report). City of Wilmington, N.C. Retrieved May 10, 2023.{{cite report}}: CS1 maint: multiple names: authors list (link)
  10. ^ Spicer-Sidbury, Penelope, City Clerk (June 11, 2006). City Council Meeting Minutes of June 11, 2006 (Report). City of Wilmington, N.C. Retrieved May 10, 2023.{{cite report}}: CS1 maint: multiple names: authors list (link)
  11. ^ Mazzolini, Chris (September 19, 2007). "Bill Saffo: Putting priority on partnership". StarNews. Wilmington, N.C.: Gannett. ProQuest 285508988. Retrieved May 10, 2023.
  12. ^ Gannon, Patrick (February 11, 2009). ""Beam signing" indicates there's no turning back on Convention Center". StarNews. Wilmington, N.C.: Gannett. ProQuest 285685896. Retrieved May 10, 2023.
  13. ^ Wagner, Adam (April 18, 2016). "Wilmington Convention Center reports strongest year yet". TCA Regional News. Chicago: Tribune Publishing. ProQuest 1781476654. Retrieved May 10, 2023.
  14. ^ Schatz, Amy; Johnson, Fawn (September 9, 2008). "Digital-TV Switch Is Tested". The Wall Street Journal. Dow Jones & Company. Retrieved May 10, 2023.
  15. ^ Giovannelli, Marina (September 8, 2008). "The Digital Television Switch is On". WHQR. Wilmington, N.C.: Friends of Public Radio, Inc. Retrieved May 10, 2023.
  16. ^ James, Andrew (November 8, 2017). "Saffo makes history with another election win; Barnett to join council incumbents". WWAY. Wilmington, N.C.: Morris Multimedia. Retrieved May 10, 2023.
  17. ^ Buckland, Tim (November 7, 2017). "Saffo headed to victory". StarNews. Wilmington, N.C.: Gannett. Retrieved May 10, 2023.