Veteran Airport Manager to Resign

Jack Driscoll, the veteran City Hall manager who has headed Los Angeles International Airport under Mayor Richard Riordan, said Monday that he will leave his post in August, a move that comes amid continuing signs of mayoral frustration about the airport expansion effort.

“It’s time to leave, time to hang it up,” Driscoll said in an interview. “I’ve got 35 years of government time, and it’s time to go.”

A congenial and well-liked manager with many allies at City Hall, Driscoll denied that he was forced out and said reported clashes with Airport Commission President John Agoglia did not precipitate his decision to retire. Driscoll did not, however, paint an entirely rosy picture of the city’s Airport Commission, where three new commissioners have taken their seats in recent months, meaning that a majority of the board is operating with relatively little experience.

Compounding that problem is the fact that two of the commissioners who departed, Dan Garcia and Ed Manning, were among the most well-versed in the effort to expand the airport, a massive undertaking that proposes to double passenger and cargo traffic at a cost of $10 billion to $12 billion. Driscoll’s impending departure means the airport will lose yet another experienced hand.

Riordan was out of town and unavailable for comment Monday, but sources close to the mayor have long indicated that while he considers Driscoll a competent and decent manager, he is more committed to Agoglia and his leadership. That faith is not shared by all, however, as the commission president has angered a number of officials since being selected by Riordan to head the commission last year.

Although declining to comment on the Airport Commission’s internal politics, Driscoll acknowledged that significant problems confront the expansion campaign.

“Is everything wonderful in paradise?” he asked. “No. Everything’s never wonderful in paradise.”

But Driscoll added that he nevertheless believes the expansion effort ultimately will prevail on its technical merits. Without it, congestion and other problems at the airport will worsen, he said, adding that the investment in a revitalized airport ultimately will help not just the regional economy, but the community surrounding the airport as well.

Councilwoman Ruth Galanter has clashed often with Driscoll over the expansion plans, but publicly admired him and his management of the city’s airports. On Monday, she said she would miss him.

“I’m very disturbed that he’s leaving,” she said. “I think his departure will leave a real hole in the management of the system.”

Galanter, who supports regional airport expansion but opposes what she sees as Riordan’s undue emphasis on Los Angeles International Airport, added that filling Driscoll’s vacancy will prove another challenge, because Riordan is entering his final two years in office. Once Riordan leaves, a new mayor presumably will replace the existing Airport Commission, and that new panel would have the option of firing whomever Riordan and the current board appoint as general manager.

The ebbing of the Riordan administration poses an increasingly serious challenge for airport expansion supporters. With environmental analyses repeatedly set back and now expected to be done late this year, there is virtually no chance that construction can begin on a new LAX before Riordan leaves office. Any expansion plan, therefore, will depend on the next mayor to carry it out.

Deputy Mayor Noelia Rodriguez, who praised Driscoll for his long career of public service, said it was Riordan’s determination to see that by the time he leaves office, the plans are well-developed for the expanded airport.

“The mayor is setting the groundwork for the groundbreaking,” she said, adding that the administration never anticipated that actual construction would begin during his second term.