City Personnel Chief Chosen to Manage LAX : Airports: Civil servant has managerial expertise, supporters say. Galanter blasts ‘back-room decision’ by ‘Bradley cronies.’

City Personnel Director John J. Driscoll was named Monday to manage Los Angeles International Airport, the world’s third-busiest air transportation hub, as the facility enters a critical period in its development.

The Airport Commission, in a closed-door meeting, unanimously selected Driscoll to succeed Clifton A. Moore, the longtime airport manager who is retiring. Driscoll, 50, will receive about $147,000 a year to oversee the Los Angeles airport as well as the city-owned airports in Ontario, Palmdale and Van Nuys.

The appointment comes as the Los Angeles airport--the city’s largest asset with $2 billion in property and an annual operating cost of $187 million--is poised for an unprecedented expansion. It also comes on the heels of voter approval in November of a measure allowing the city to tap airport revenues to help finance strapped city services. In addition, the city is considering leasing or selling the airport, which last year served 46 million passengers.

The City Council could override the commission’s decision if 10 of the 15 members vote to do so.

“It’s just another in a long chain of back-room decisions by (Mayor) Tom Bradley’s political cronies at his direction,” said Councilwoman Ruth Galanter. “They’ve known for months what they were going to do but they didn’t have the guts to say it. All this stuff about independent commissions is baloney.”

Galanter, whose district encompasses LAX, expressed concern about persistent rumors at City Hall that whoever was appointed as airport general manager would be expected to hire longtime Bradley aide Phil Depoian.

Galanter said she wants to ask the commissioners “why airport experience is insignificant. They’ve never told us.”

Councilman Zev Yaroslavsky, however, called Driscoll “top flight.”

“Jack Driscoll is a first-rate general manager,” Yaroslavsky said. “He has no airport experience, but he has a lot of managerial experience.”

Driscoll, reached at home, said that although he has no experience in managing airport facilities, he has the skills to effectively run the organization.

“What I know is management,” said Driscoll, who for the past 14 years has run the city’s Personnel Department. “That’s what I’ve been doing all these years.”

Bradley, who appoints airport commissioners, concurred in Driscoll’s selection, said commission President Robert Chick.

“We decided that at this time in the history of the airport, we needed a manager who was familiar with all aspects of our city government,” Chick said.

He said the airport is entering a new relationship with the rest of city government after voter approval of Proposition K, which allowed the city to tap surplus airport revenues for city services.

Before joining the city of Los Angeles in 1978, Driscoll worked for the city of Seattle in a variety of jobs including mayoral aide and head of personnel for four years.

He said his ability to work with the mayor’s office and City Council will be critical in running the Department of Airports.

Since passage of Proposition K, “the airport is no longer an island,” Driscoll said.