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Joyce Aurelia SAVOCCHIO

3/24/2011 Erie Times-News article:

Former Mayor of Erie Joyce Savocchio knew from a young age that she wanted to be involved in politics.

The only child of Dan and Esther Savocchio, both of whom were children of Italian immigrants and first generation Americans, she was raised in Erie where her parents owned the Brown Avenue Market.

�My father used to leave the store to watch me cross the street safely between home and school,� Savocchio remembers. �He would stand there in his butcher's apron, and stop traffic for me to get to school and back home, when I was in elementary school at Irving, junior high at Roosevelt, and high school at Strong Vincent.�

Finally, the city police awarded him with a police cap and he became the first crossing guard in the City of Erie.

Savocchio earned her undergraduate degree in history from Mercyhurst, and from there she taught history and social studies for 24 years. She also spent four years as an assistant principal at Strong Vincent.

She also holds a master's degree in education from the University of Pittsburgh and a bachelor's degree in secondary school administration from Edinboro University. She was president of the Erie Education Association for a time as well.

After retiring from a career in education, Savocchio decided to run for city council. Her goal was to be the first woman ever elected to the position. Taking a cue from her high school days, when she served as a �Kennedy girl,� helping to campaign for President John F. Kennedy (and even debated Kennedy's arguments in a high school debate against a classmate debating for Richard Nixon), Savocchio served three terms coinciding with the terms that Louis J. Tullio served as mayor.

When Tullio resigned, Savocchio spent a great deal of time contemplating her goals before deciding to run for mayor. She was elected, the first female mayor the City of Erie.

Savocchio's time in office brought progression and physical change to the city.

�It was a time for the city to regain its pride,� Savocchio notes. Empty downtown buildings were filled, and our Otters and Seawolves sports teams found their place in the city. Savocchio led the city with an emphasis on infrastructure, both technological and architectural.

She also partnered with the late Ralph White to introduce the Erie Partners Program, designed to allow the public and private sectors to work in conjunction with one another.

And yet, says Savocchio, �probably the most important thing I ever did in my life, and with my life, was working with John Kanzius.� The former mayor helped to fund Community United for a Cancer Cure, the organization that would later become the Kanzius Cancer Research project.

She is also active on the Regional Cancer Board, the LECOM Institute for Successful Aging, and the Jefferson Educational Society of Erie which strives to promote civic enlightenment and community progress.

Savocchio says, "An extraordinary woman is an ordinary person who attempts, and hopefully achieves, something that is viewed by others as extraordinary.�

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