Bill Saffo | |
|---|---|
.jpg) Saffo speaking at the Port of Wilmington in 2024 | |
| Mayor of Wilmington | |
| Assumed office June 11, 2006 | |
| Preceded by | Spence H. Broadhurst |
| Member of theWilmington City Council | |
| In office December 2, 2003 – July 11, 2006 | |
| Succeeded by | Joseph C. “J.C.” Hearne II |
| Personal details | |
| Born | Vassilios Avgerinos Saffo 1960 (age 64–65) |
| Political party | Democratic |
| Alma mater | University of North Carolina Wilmington (BA) |
| Profession | Real estate businessman |
Bill Saffo (bornVassilios Avgerinos Saffo; 1960) is an American politician and real estate businessman serving as the currentmayor ofWilmington,North Carolina. A member of theDemocratic Party, he was elected to theWilmington 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.
Born Vassilios Avgerinos Saffo in 1960,[1] the son of first-generationGreek immigrants,[2][3] Saffo is a native Wilmingtonian.[4] Graduating fromJohn T. Hoggard High School in 1978, he went on to obtain aBachelor of Arts inpolitical science from theUniversity 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., aColdwell 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. NicholasGreek Orthodox Church.[2]
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 toGreensboro 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]
| Saffo 50–60% 60–70% 70–80% No Votes | Scott 40-50% 50–60% 60–70% 80–90% |
As mayor, he helped usher in the age ofdigital television on September 8, 2008, when Wilmington became the first city in the United States to switch over from the previousanalog 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]
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