Mayor Reed to Interview Airport GM Candidates

By Jim Burress

Atlanta, GA – Atlanta's mayor is spending his Monday interviewing candidates vying to be the next General Manager of Hartsfield-Jackson International Airport. By his own admission, Mayor Kasim Reed has had little to do with the search so far. Reed says Home Depot CFO Carol Tome has been in charge.

Based on Tome's recommendations, the mayor will interview the top five candidates Monday and make public three finalists' names sometime this week.

At a recent press conference, Reed said he'd then wait to see what local media have to say about the candidates.

"Once you publicize the candidates names, the press does its own job of vetting," Reed told reporters, getting a laugh. "I'd like to give that a little chance to breathe, if you will."

Reed was joking about media scrutiny over his recent search for Atlanta's police chief. He chose George Turner, an internal candidate who served as interim chief.

For the airport job, Reed only mentioned Robert Kennedy by name. Kennedy also happens to be the interim general manager.

Jim Burress, WABE News.