Bradley Aide Favored for New Position at LAX

The Los Angeles Airport Commission has moved to create a $112,000-a-year, top-level management job, and one of Mayor Tom Bradley’s longest serving City Hall aides is a leading candidate for the appointment.

Philip Depoian, who started out as a campaign aide for the mayor more than 20 years ago and is the mayor’s liaison to the Department of Airports, is being considered for an emergency appointment to the new post, Airport General Manager Clifton Moore confirmed.

Councilwoman Ruth Galanter, whose district includes Los Angeles International Airport, on Tuesday requested a formal council review next week of the new job. The post may not be justified, she said, and it appears geared to promotion and expansion of LAX, which already has noise, safety and traffic problems.

Galanter said she also wants to make sure this is “not something being reserved for someone who is an insider or well connected.”

The Airport Commission authorized creation of the job Wednesday afternoon--on the eve of the Thanksgiving holiday--catching many airport and city officials by surprise.

As part of a reorganization of the $200 million-per-year department, the commission, with little discussion, agreed to authorize a third deputy general manager who would oversee public relations, marketing, lobbying, and noise and environmental issues.

The position still requires Civil Service Commission approval, but Moore and Airport Commission President Robert Chick both said they already had discussed the post with Depoian.

“He’s impressed me as the kind of person who could do the work,” Moore said, adding he is “almost certain” that the position will be filled on an emergency basis.

Although Depoian is under consideration, others are expected to apply and will be evaluated, Moore said.

If Depoian is selected, his current $71,000-per-year salary and pension benefits would rise sharply, and he would receive civil service job protections he does not enjoy as a political appointee.

The semi-independent Airport Department is not bound by the current citywide hiring freeze because it is supported by airline landing fees rather than city taxes.

However, Councilwoman Joy Picus said creation of the job amid a growing city fiscal crisis--and the linkage to a longtime mayoral aide--”looks terrible.”

“It sends a very negative message when everybody is cutting back,” she said.

Depoian, 48, did not respond to requests for an interview. He is among the mayor’s closest and most loyal advisers, but is rarely in the public spotlight. He joined the mayor’s staff when Bradley was elected in 1973.

Bradley spokesman Bill Chandler confirmed that Depoian is interested in the airport job but said no pressure was applied by the mayor’s office to create the position or consider Depoian.

The city personnel director, Jack Driscoll, said Moore called him to a meeting several weeks ago in the mayor’s office with Deputy Mayor Mark Fabiani to discuss how the job could be created. But Driscoll and other officials said no potential candidates were discussed.

Chick, the Airport Commission president, said he pushed Moore to create the post as a way to improve the airport’s image and its relations with lawmakers and surrounding communities.

Chick said he talked to Depoian about the job and views him as “very qualified,” although he knew nothing about his educational background.

Chandler said he did not have a resume for Depoian, but noted that he has been a liaison to the Police Department, has supervised the mayor’s community relations staff and has worked with a local, state and federal agencies on a variety of issues.

Moore said a new deputy general manager--one rung below the general manager--is needed because the department faces a variety of issues, including federal noise legislation, development of the Palmdale airport, demands by the City Council that the airport share its wealth and a proposal to sell LAX to private operators.

If Depoian receives an emergency appointment to the post, he would serve for six to eight months, when the civil service exams would be completed and Moore would be given a list of six candidates.

Driscoll and others agreed that an interim appointment would give a candidate an advantage in the final selection.

Picus said, “I guess (Depoian’s) saying if the mayor doesn’t run again, I want to get myself a nice, sure job.”

Chandler said the mayor has made no decision about seeking another term in 1993.