State control over Hartsfield-Jackson hotly debated

State Rep. Bob Smith said he wanted to “start a conversation” about who should control Hartsfield-Jackson International Airport when he introduced House Bill 644.

What the Watkinsville Republican started was more like a verbal riot in the two-hour hearing the bill got last week. The head of the airport, a leading Atlanta mayoral candidate, a former Democratic U.S. Senate candidate and a businessman suing the city were among those who showed up to either bash or praise the idea of removing the world’s busiest airport from city of Atlanta control and placing it under a state-created board.

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Kimberly Smith/ksmith@ajc.com

A billboard truck circle the Georgia Capitol building last week.

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Accusations of cronyism, back-room deals, cost overruns and unacceptable delays were tossed about in the hearing room. Outside, a truck towed a portable billboard around the state Capitol urging people to report “airport corruption.” It was owned by Billy Corey, the businessman suing the city

By the time airport General Manager Ben DeCosta addressed the hearing, he was on the defensive.

At one point, DeCosta confronted former TV reporter-turned-U.S. Senate candidate Dale Cardwell, who had just told the hearing that Hartsfield-Jackson vendor contracts are often reserved for those willing to “pay to play.”

“If you’ve got evidence of a conspiracy, you should tell somebody so they can bring indictments and walk them out in handcuffs,” DeCosta told Cardwell. The airport leader admonished critics to “put up or shut up.”

Despite the sound and fury, the bill is for all practical purposes dead for the session. It was introduced late, and it’s too far into the 40-day session to move it forward unless it’s attached to other legislation.

Smith said he introduced the bill after he became concerned about airport cost overruns and construction delays, as well as complaints from constituents about how long it takes to get from arriving international flights to the front of the airport. Smith said the airport impacts the entire state, and the state should have a say in how it’s operated.

Smith said he plans to make a strong push for the bill next legislative session, rekindling the raucous debate about who should control an airport that has a $23 billion annual impact on the city, state and region.

“This is the gateway to the Southeast, not just the city of Atlanta,” Smith told the hearing. “It’s time for Georgia to have a seat at the table.”

Said Smith of the current airport oversight: “The existing model is not working.”

State Sen. Kasim Reed (D-Atlanta), who wants to be Atlanta’s next mayor, called Smith’s bill “wrong-minded” and urged lawmakers to abandon it.

“This bill will be intensely divisive when we don’t need to be sending that message nationally or internationally,” Reed said.

DeCosta, meanwhile, described Hartsfield-Jackson as one of the most efficient airports in the world. It provides jobs, processed 90 million customers last year and is headquarters to Delta Air Lines, the world’s largest carrier.

“If it ain’t broke, why would you try to fix it?” DeCosta asked lawmakers.