0 WATF responds to Washington Post editorial, Rep. Wolf's GAO request

Yesterday Leo Schefer of the Washington Airports Task Force issued a response to an editorial that ran in the Washington Post on Sunday entitled "How Not to Choose an Executive" commenting on the search for a new chief executive for the  Metropolitan Washington Airports Authority. You can read the editorial for yourself above.

WATF also acknowledges U.S. Rep. Frank Wolf's request for congressional investigators to audit MWAA. Below is WATF's response:

Regarding the Washington Post’s editorial yesterday, and Congressman Wolf’s GAO request today, concerning Washington’s airports, the Washington Airports Task Force (WATF):

1. Shares the Washington Post’s opinion on the importance of the Airports Authority’s job to our region, and

2. Notes that the current management and leadership of the Airports Authority are respected within the airport industry for their competence and integrity.

Jim Wilding, and his successor Jim Bennett, built a management team with real depth. Their leadership and example earned the respect of the region, their peers, the airlines and the financial community. When Jim Bennett retired last spring, the Airports Authority Chair, Charles Snelling, with the support of his Board, appointed Lynn Hampton, then Chief Financial Officer, as CEO.

Ms. Hampton and her team have sustained the Airports Authority’s reputation, launched a customer service quality program, and kept the first phase of the Dulles Rail/Silver Line project on-cost and essentially on-time. The WATF would be delighted to see Ms. Hampton remain as CEO, however she wishes to retire in the near future. In the meantime her presence gives the Airports Authority Board of Directors time to find the best possible executive to fill this critical regional responsibility.

WATF is confident that Mr. Snelling, aided by his Board that includes four new members, will select an executive with the integrity, competence, experience and leadership qualities required to sustain the health and competitiveness of our airports, and to complete the Dulles rail project on-time and on-cost.

WATF also applauds Congressman Wolf’s request for a GAO study of the first 24 years of the Airports Authority’s existence, and is confident the findings will show that the staff “is operating responsibly, with transparency and efficiency, and consistent with best practices in the industry”, to quote Mr. Wolf’s statement.

The WATF is an independent, public-private sector, non-profit leadership organization that works to ensure that the aviation services, related infrastructure, policies and knowledge, are in place to position our region for prosperity by sustaining Washington Reagan National Airport and optimizing the expansion of Washington Dulles International Airport.

Washington Airports Task Force
44701 Propeller Court, Suite 100
Dulles, VA 20166
703 572-8714 - office
703 572-8418 - fax
http://www.washingtonairports.com/