Former Postmaster General John E. “Jack” Potter has been appointed as CEO of the Metropolitan Washington Airports Authority. “Jack is … the right person at the right time to meet the challenges of building Metrorail in the Dulles Corridor and improving the Dulles Toll Road to promote mobility and economic development for our region,” said MWAA Chairman Charles D. Snelling in making the announcement.
Potter, the son of a Manhattan mail carrier, began his career as a postal clerk in 1978. He served 10 years as Postmaster General, where, the MWAA press release states, “He worked to modernize management and led the transformation of the Postal Service into a service-driven, customer-focused and cost-sensitive organization.”
(MWAA did not mention that the Post Office lost $8.5 billion in its most recent fiscal year.)
Said Potter of his second career: “The core reason I accepted this challenge is because I believe the Airports Authority can do more to grow the economy of this region than almost any organization. Our two great airports and the rail system to Dulles are extraordinary job creators.”
Potter strikes me as a competent and energetic man. Judging by his statement, he has an expansive view of his job. He will focus on creating jobs, presumably by, to use Snelling’s words, “providing outstanding aviation services to the Washington region” — a potentially expensive undertaking.
I suspect that the MWAA board found the perfect executive to carry out its ambitious vision for the Rail-to-Dulles project. The big question: Will he balance MWAA’s vision with a respect for the interests of the Virginia taxpayers who will be financing the heavy rail expansion? A second question: Given his experience with the postal union, will he favor or resist the mandated use of organized labor in Phase 2 of the construction project?