LAX head gets support

Councilwoman Janice Hahn seemed to give the all-clear today by praising Gina Marie Lindsey, the city's airport director, after two weeks of allegations and innuendo that Lindsey had improperly handled a big contract. "We have great confidence in Gina Marie Lindsey and are delighted she was tapped to run our airport," said Hahn, who chairs the Trade, Commerce and Tourism Committee. The suspicions apparently got started with an anonymous email making the rounds at City Hall in which Lindsey was accused of ordering underlings to steer the contract to a favored firm. No proof, just rumor – perhaps started by a disgruntled airport employee not happy with changes Lindsey has been making. There also were several over-reaching stories in the Daily Breeze that the LAT then picked up on (are there any editors in the house?). From the LAT:

Today's committee hearing indicated that Lindsey had very little to do with initiating the second review that recommended DMJM over Bechtel. Two of five members of the first evaluation panel said they and their colleagues requested the second review because they wanted more information about Bechtel and DMJM before making a formal recommendation. After the first evaluation, "there was no comfort by anyone on the panel with moving forward, given the importance of the project. All of us asked for the second interview," said Roger A. Johnson, airport deputy executive director.

The real problem is a nearly impossible bidding system that handcuffs city officials from making expedient decisions. All the rules and regs are in response to past instances of wrongdoing, but as happens in bureaucracies, the safeguards have become counter-productive. My pal Bill Boyarsky laid it out nicely on Patt Morrison's show.