Two argue for leaving airport board intact

By: DAVE DOWNEY - Staff Writer | Monday, November 27, 2006 9:11 PM PST ∞

NORTH COUNTY -- A pair of airport board members said Monday that Lindbergh Field should remain in the hands of the single-purpose agency that operates it -- the San Diego County Regional Airport Authority -- and the agency's board should not be filled with local politicians.

Paul Peterson, a San Diego attorney who has served on the board since the agency's inception in 2002, said in a meeting with the North County Times editorial board that the airport is complex and requires an agency's full and undivided attention.

"The airport should be free standing. It should be autonomous," Peterson said. "It is primarily a big, important business. It is an economic engine that drives this community."

Peterson was joined in the meeting by board member Paul Nieto, a South Bay developer.

"There is a danger if you over-politicize an enterprise," Nieto said.

Peterson said it would be a mistake to reconfigure the board so it is run exclusively by elected officials from cities around San Diego County, one of the ideas that emerged from a pair of legislative hearings in recent weeks addressing the airport authority's future.

Other ideas ranged from taking the salaries away from three full-time positions on the nine-member board to scaling back the agency's responsibilities to eliminating it altogether and giving the task of running the airport to a multipurpose regional agency, such as the San Diego Association of Governments.

State Sen. Christine Kehoe, D-San Diego, presided over the hearings and is preparing to write legislation early next year to change the way the authority does business. The pending changes come in the wake of the overwhelming defeat in the Nov. 7 election of the authority's measure to move the airport to Miramar Marine Corps Air Station.

Peterson, who earlier served on a countywide commission that explored options for a regional government, said the association is ill-equipped to manage the airport or find a new site because it is made up of officials from every city in the county and the county government.

"With the parochialism on SANDAG, and how they vote and how they scratch each others' back and how they carve up the melon, which they do for (ground) transportation funding, to me it's just an absolutely nonissue," Peterson said. "I don't think you could get anything through SANDAG in terms of future airport expansion."

Garry Bonelli, an association spokesman, said in a telephone interview later that his agency would be up to the task, if asked to manage the airport.

"We've shown that we can take on regional projects," Bonelli said. "The board has made decisions based on the best interests of the citizens overall, regardless of geographical area. Mr. Peterson needs to attend one of our board meetings to see how we operate. We're ready to work with anybody to make Lindbergh the best it can be."

Peterson and Nieto also maintained that a single-purpose agency is needed because one with several diverse functions might be tempted to use Lindbergh revenues for projects largely unrelated to the airport. Although that practice is barred by federal law, they said there are ways to get around it. And they said the Port of San Diego, which managed Lindbergh before the authority, diverted funds. They did not give specific examples and amounts.

"We know that there was substantial revenue diversion by the port -- revenues that could or should have been used for the airport," Peterson said. But he was quick to add, "I'm not saying that there was any violation of federal law."

Irene McCormack, a port spokeswoman, said later that "we are unaware of any federal finding that there was substantial revenue diversion by the port. When the port operated the airport, all its finances were audited and approved by the airlines and the FAA (Federal Aviation Administration)."

McCormack said such major airports as those in Los Angeles and Seattle have been successfully run by agencies involved in more than aviation.

Peterson called the airport authority selection process for appointing board members "rather unique," but said it has delivered a board representative of the entire county. Under state law, three members are appointed from San Diego, two from North County, one from East County, one from the South Bay, one from the county at large and one from the unincorporated area.

The law calls for a mix of elected officials and citizens.

Up to five of the nine members are expected to be replaced next month, including Bob Maxwell, coastal North County's representative. Ramona Finnila, chairwoman of the McClellan-Palomar Airport Advisory Committee, said she has expressed interest in the job to be appointed by the coastal mayors.

Alan Bersin, the former state education secretary and San Diego schools superintendent, has been nominated by Jerry Sanders to represent San Diego and businessman Bob Watkins has been nominated by Sheriff Bill Kolender to represent the unincorporated area. Peterson and Nieto will remain on the board.

-- Contact staff writer Dave Downey at (760) 740-5442 or ddowney@nctimes.com.

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