Garvey Tapped For Transition Team; Woerth Could Be Next FAA
Chief
Some interesting names with close ties to the aviation industry
are being tossed around as possibilities for high-level positions
in the Obama presidential administration.
At the top of the list is former FAA Administrator Jane Garvey
(right), who oversaw the agency through the crisis of 9/11. Garvey
resigned from the board of directors at Bombardier on Monday, and
was named to Obama's transition team. Aides tell The Wall Street
Journal she is a top contender to be the next Secretary of
Transportation, replacing current DOT chief Mary Peters.
Another name likely to raise eyebrows is Duane Woerth, who is
rumored to be a strong candidate for the position of FAA
Administrator. While he makes his living today as an industry
consultant, from 1999 to 2006 Woerth was president of the Air Line
Pilots Association and a pilot at Northwest Airlines.
Woerth was voted out from his ALPA position in October 2006...
and his familiarity with contentious labor negotiations could be a
boon for air traffic controllers, who have battled against the
current FAA regime over contract issues for several years. He
reportedly has the tentative backing of House Transportation and
Infrastructure Committee Chairman James Oberstar (D-MN,) and is
slated to meet with Senate Aviation Subcommittee chairman Jay
Rockefeller before Thanksgiving.
Conversely, a potential roadblock in Woerth's path to the top
job at the FAA could come from Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid...
who reportedly wants aide Robert Herbert to win the job.
Still, there's little doubt the National Air Traffic Controllers
Association is watching current developments with a hopeful eye. In
addition to Woerth's experience with (and assumed sympathy for)
many of the same issues controllers are now fighting for, the union
also fondly recalls the contract it won in 1998... when Garvey was
the new FAA administrator.
Furthermore, in 2006 then-Senator Obama sponsored legislation to
strip the FAA of its ability to impose labor rules.
As ANN reported, that measure failed and the
FAA declared an impasse, forcing a new contract on controllers...
but NATCA hasn't forgotten who its friends were.
"We are seeing a lot of controllers saying, 'You know what, I'm
going to wait this out and see what happens next year,'" said NATCA
spokesman Doug Church. "[Obama] was a candidate that had been
friendly to them."
In related news, Debbie Hersman -- a member of the National
Transportation Safety Board who rose to prominence as spokesperson
during a number of high-profile aviation accident investigations,
including the August 2006 takeoff crash of Comair Flight 191 in
Lexington, KY -- is reportedly among the candidates to replace Mark
Rosenker as NTSB chairperson.