TAMPA — Tampa attorney Steven Anderson, who has served as general counsel for agencies including the Tampa Port Authority and Tampa Sports Authority, was arrested Wednesday on a misdemeanor domestic violence charge.

Anderson, 70, was taken into custody at his home in the 400 block of Bosphorous Ave. after a woman told an officer Anderson hit her across the face with a hat and then threw it at her, according to Tampa police. Later, the woman told police, Anderson pulled her out of bed by the arm while she was sleeping.

The woman told police she feared for her life. Anderson denied striking the woman, according to police. Her name and relationship to Anderson were not released.

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Anderson was booked into the Hillsborough County jail about 4 a.m. and was still being held. Bail had not been set.

Anderson rose to prominence in Tampa Bay in the late 1980s and 1990s as a key political ally and fundraiser for Democratic Gov. Lawton Chiles. He changed his voter registration to Republican in 2007.

Anderson has served as general counsel for government clients including the Tampa Port Authority, now called Port Tampa Bay; the Tampa Sports Authority; the Hillsborough County Property Appraiser's Office; the Tampa-Hillsborough County Expressway Authority; and the city of Tampa.

Anderson spent a decade with the port, replaced as counsel by an in-house attorney in 1995 but retained to oversee legal matters until 2001.

"His work can be seen in almost every facet of the port, from the Channelside retail center and cruise terminals, to refrigerated warehouses and parking garages," according to a biography on his website.

Anderson's billings were criticized by state auditors when he represented the Expressway Authority. He was fired by the agency's board in 2006.

Anderson has served for decades on a number of community boards initiatives. He was a member of the Sports Authority from 1992 through 2000, serving as vice-chair and chair during the design of Tampa's new NFL stadium and during contract negotiations with the Tampa Bay Buccaneers. An alumnus of the University of South Florida, he served in 1999 on the University of South Florida Presidential Selection Advisory Committee that chose Judy Genshaft, who is retiring this year.

He is also immediate past president of the Tampa Friends of the Riverwalk and chairman of the Historical Monument Trail Committee.

Records show he has no previous arrests in Florida.

Contact Tony Marrero at tmarrero@tampabay.com or (813) 226-3374. Follow @tmarrerotimes.