Labor Chief Named to Airport Board

Continuing to reach out to labor leaders who did not back his election, Mayor James K. Hahn said Thursday that he has appointed county Federation of Labor chief Miguel Contreras to the city Airport Commission.

Contreras will fill a seat being vacated by Kaiser Permanente executive Leland Wong, whom Hahn is moving to the Department of Water and Power board.

“He is reaching out,” Contreras said, noting that his appointment follows Hahn’s naming of other labor leaders to city boards overseeing the Fire Department and Community Redevelopment Agency.

Contreras and other labor leaders backed former Assembly Speaker Antonio Villaraigosa over Hahn in the 2001 mayoral election, and were instrumental in electing Villaraigosa to the City Council this month.

“A smart mayor doesn’t just appoint his supporters,” Contreras said. “He tries to bring in a broad cross-section of people.”

Hahn held a cordial meeting Thursday with Villaraigosa to discuss how they can work together when the councilman-elect takes office July 1.

The mayor said he appointed Contreras because the labor leader, who served on the Airport Commission during Richard Riordan’s administration, shares his desire to move ahead with a new master plan and security measures at the airport.

Jeff Brain, president of the secession group Valley VOTE, said Contreras’ appointment also appears to be payback for the labor leader’s work with Hahn in defeating the San Fernando Valley cityhood measure on the November ballot.

“They removed people from commissions for supporting secession, so it is not surprising they would appoint people who opposed secession,” Brain said. “It disappoints us.”