Port Tampa Bay CEO Paul Anderson has a new statewide role. Anderson was elected chairman of the Florida Ports Councils, an association of the state's 15 seaports, the port announced Thursday. Anderson came to Port Tampa Bay in 2013, leaving the Jacksonville Port Authority to take the job. He was recruited to Jacksonville in 2011 for his political and maritime connections. “Florida’s seaports are vital economic drivers in this state,” Anderson said in a statement.