Charlotte Airport - drive to convert to Airport Authority from City run airport (Raleigh: appointed, 2013)
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Now that merger is about to happen and airport is going be big or relegated to history based on what US/American does, the following drama has started!!! Sounds like union busting initiative.
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Sources with knowledge of the airport authority talks say the push is coming from Republican members of the local delegation. The GOP controls the House and Senate with supermajorities. Former Charlotte mayor Pat McCrory, who is also a Republican, has just completed his first month as the state’s governor, ending a 20-year run for Democrats in the governor’s mansion.
Mecklenburg Republican Bob Rucho, co-chair of the senate finance committee, could not be reached Thursday for comment.
Malcolm Graham, a Democrat who also is the newly appointed leader of the local legislative delegation, said in an interview with the Charlotte Business Journal today that he opposes the idea of an authority.
“That’s asinine,” said Graham, a state senator who previously served on City Council in Charlotte. “The airport is Charlotte’s economic engine. It’s been working to perfection.” An authority, he added, “is the wrong conversation to be having. I’m hearing the same thing (about the Charlotte airport becoming an authority). It’s coming from the Republican side of the aisle. The question is, why?”
My understanding is that CLT under Jerry Orr has been one of the most efficient (airline low cost per passenger) airport - hence the reason it grew so fast.
Let's hope CLT continues to be run like a business and we keep the politics out - only way to offer low cost to airlines and provide much needed jobs for Charlotte.
Another Republican solution in search of a problem. Bob Rucho has an agenda that he won't admit to.
Not really. From the Winston Salem paper.
"Charlotte Douglas is now the state’s only major city-run airport. Under the proposal, it would join Raleigh-Durham, Piedmont Triad International and several other North Carolina airports that are controlled by authorities"
It should be noted that those authorities were created when the state was run by democrats.
Considering the regional impact that the airport has on noise, pollution, and safety - it sounds appropriate to give the surrounding towns and counties more representation on the board.
The airport is a regional asset - not just one that benefits Charlotte. This is about the City and Mecklenburg continuing the cherish the role of the "Great State of Mecklenburg." No one can demonstrate that having a regional authority, representing the Metrolina region, would have a negative effect on Charlotte.
This is not a democrat or republican issue - it's about common business sense for the region and the state. There is no down side except the Mayor and some members of the City Council have their knickers in a wad that they are losing some power. And, that Jerry Orr is not opposed to this move to set up a regional authority says enough. He's muzzled right now, but if he were to be asked straight forward, he would say set up the authority. Every county around her should have a voice. There is no city money that goes into the running of the airport. That's a good thing. Keep it in the hands of the Council and sooner or later there will be a grab for some of the revenue to fund things like the Foxx Folley street car and Panther Stadium.
I am not a fan of Senator Rucho, but I say -- drive on.
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