Airport manager finalists bring baggage

But, FitzGerald added, “I think the selection panel needs to do some due diligence in investigating those types of issues directly.”

Miller resigned as airport executive director last winter after the Tampa International Airport board raised questions about zoning permits for building height variances at the airport and whether project approvals were proper. The questions came amid concerns raised in local news reports, including over plans to tear down a former Continental Airlines reservations center.

The board commissioned a review of the zoning permits, which concluded the work was not done in “sound practice.” Though the officials involved contend the structures met federal aviation guidelines and posed no health or safety risk to the public, permits were issued improperly, with more than 300 documented violations for airport zoning regulations, according to the review.

"It was kind of procedural. It's all been corrected," Miller said.

Clark, who has run the Indianapolis airport since April 2009, is under scrutiny from issues arising at his previous job managing the Jacksonville, Fla., airport. Clark was criticized in media reports for travel expenses in Jacksonville. The Florida state attorney has asked for records, said Jacksonville Aviation Authority spokesman Michael Stewart, who added he could not comment further because of the potentially continuing investigation.

“To have someone challenged over their expense account is rather standard,” FitzGerald said. “What they find is something else.”

Robinson had led Detroit Metropolitan Airport and nearby Willow Run Airport since 2000, but his contract was not renewed and he left the airport in June. News reports in Detroit pointed to political issues brewing at the airport authority board when the decision was made.

One issue Robinson dealt with before he left was an internal audit that found deviations from standard airport business practices on an airport parking contract, airport spokesman Michael Conway said. Robinson put new procedures in place and made changes before he left, Conway said.

Reed’s office did not make the airport manager finalists available for interviews, and Robinson and Clark did not respond to requests for comment.

All of the candidates have overseen significant expansion and customer service issues similar to those at Hartsfield-Jackson, if not on the same scale. In Atlanta, they would be stepping into an arena that has been tainted in the past by contracting scandals and legal disputes -- including a recent case in which the city was ordered to pay millions to a businessman who lost an advertising contract to a politically connected rival.

Whoever is chosen for the job of leading Hartsfield-Jackson “had better had a thick skin,” said Roy A. Williams, an airport consultant and former airport manager. “It’s a tough place and it needs someone who can handle tough issues.”

One of the biggest challenges will be completing the $1.4 billion international terminal, which will bring fundamental changes to the way the airport operates. The airport managers will need to deliver results with a limited budget, FitzGerald said.

“That’s the microscope all three will be under by the selection panel,” FitzGerald said. “Certainly the ambitious program that Atlanta has should have someone that is well experienced at delivering results on a large development program.”

Bill Fife, a part-time consultant and former airport manager, said that any of the three finalists “could be an outstanding leader for Atlanta,” so “it’s going to come down to the chemistry” with the mayor and others selecting the next manager of Hartsfield-Jackson.

Williams said any airport manager in the business long enough will encounter issues.

“I think the mayor has to take into account these issues . . . Are they just things that happen that anybody could have been airport director and this problem arose, or do they reflect on the particular style or approach of this person?” he said.