The Wimp

Gary Dellapa's retirement from MIA comes not a moment too soon

A A A Comments By Jim DeFede Thursday, Aug 3 2000

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Appointing Johnson would be contentious. Many people believe that to end the cronyism and corruption at the airport, an outsider needs to be brought in. Ethnicity also may play a role. Johnson, like all his predecessors, is an Anglo. There has been grumbling within the Latin community that a position as powerful as aviation director needs to be filled by a Hispanic, especially given MIA's efforts to develop better relations with nations throughout Latin America.

The real question, however: Is Johnson up to the job? Is he the man to clean up MIA?

Gary Dellapa deserves to go down as the worst aviation director in the county's history

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I don't know the answer. I've talked to some people who view Johnson as a younger, slightly tougher version of Dellapa. He may not be so quick to accommodate the wishes of politicians and lobbyists, but eventually he will compromise what he believes is right. That's not good enough.

Personally I tend to agree that the best way to clean up MIA is to bring in an outsider, preferably one who is Hispanic or at the very least speaks Spanish. The only real requirement, though, should be anatomical: Whoever is hired needs a backbone.

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