Top Wieder Aide to Manage Airport : George Rebella Known for His Non-Abrasive Style

George Rebella, chief of staff for Supervisor Harriett Wieder, was appointed Tuesday as manager of John Wayne Airport.

Rebella, 40, who has worked for the county for the past 16 years and is known for his low-key, non-abrasive management style, was selected for the $68,000-a-year job that for years has been the pressure cooker of county government and at a time when the county is embarking on the most ambitious expansion in the airport’s history.

Rebella will oversee the $190-million airport improvement that eventually will bring substantial increases in jet service, a new 390,000-square-foot terminal building and relocation of most of the businesses at the airport.

“I believe he is a good manager and a good administrator, and I believe he can work with people,” said Board of Supervisors Chairman Thomas F. Riley.

“We were looking first of all for a person with a slow burn,” Riley added. “I’ve had my own share of calls from citizens that I know on their own can be very abusive, but we’re not allowed that privilege, and I don’t think an airport manager can be either.”

Succeeds Murry Cable

Rebella replaces Murry Cable, who recently left the airport manager job to become assistant county administrative officer.

Rebella is widely credited with bringing increased stability to Wieder’s staff, which in recent years had been plagued with the highest turnover rate of any of the supervisors’ staffs. Several county officials said Rebella was able to forge alliances with other board offices that gave Wieder greater credibility with the rest of the board.

“I think that basically I plan on continuing the management of the airport along the same veins,” Rebella said Tuesday. “They have an excellent staff at the airport. I’ve already talked with several people, and they’ve pledged their support.”

Cable’s two chief lieutenants, operations officer Denis Horn and administrative officer Stephen Kozak Jr., were both candidates for the airport manager job, as was employee relations manager John Sibley. Riley said Horn would have been his first choice.

“Obviously, if you were in the Marine Corps, the next in command takes over many times, so I felt very comfortable that Denis would make an outstanding airport manager,” said Riley, a retired Marine Corps general. “However, the majority of the board was very supportive of George, and it seemed that starting off in a job of that importance to the County of Orange, it should be unanimous. So that’s what it was.”

While a recent settlement with airport neighbors in Newport Beach leaves the most strident controversy over airport expansion behind, several key decisions remain, including the number of jet flights to be allowed, their allocation among competing airlines, and new lease agreements with airport businesses that face relocation.

But Rebella says he envisions no change in the airport’s basic role in the community. “What the master plan has called for is a fairly good-size airport with a lot quieter planes that will serve the community better with the least amount of impact,” he said. “At this point, I don’t see it expanding into any kind of regional airport. I think it’s impossible in light of the constraints.”

Rebella, a graduate of Cal State Long Beach and Western State University College of Law, joined the county in 1969 with the Probation Department as a juvenile counselor. Later, he joined the county administrative office, where he negotiated complex tax transfer agreements with city governments and oversaw a major review of special districts in Orange County.