Acting Administrator May Get The Permanent Gig

ANN has learned that the Obama administration has nominated Michael Huerta, currently the Acting Administrator of the FAA, to take on the post, in full. Huerta assumed his current role on December 5, 2011, after the resignation of Administrator Randy Babbitt... following his arrest for DWI just days before.

Huerta is something of a professional bureaucrat... having been a commissioner of New York City's Department of Ports, International Trade and Commerce from 1986-89. He then served as the Executive Director of the Port of San Francisco from 1989-1993. From 1993-98, he held senior positions in the U.S. Transportation Department in Washington, D.C., serving under Secretary Federico Pena and Secretary Rodney E. Slater. He holds a bachelor's degree in political science from the University of California-Riverside and a master's in international relations from the Woodrow Wilson School of Public and International Affairs at Princeton University. He was also instrumental in developing transportation facilities for the Salt Lake City Olympics.

He is not a pilot.

While a number of aviation organizations and luminaries have been suggesting names for Babbitt's replacement, Huerta was thought a long-shot and rarely mentioned by aviation's inner-circle for the permanent post. Still; Huerta will face confirmation by the US Senate and the process is expected to be somewhat contentious as the current political drama accelerates in advance of the presidential election this fall. ANN will have more info as the story and details develop.

FMI: www.faa.gov