News

In a split vote, board makes airport board appointment

Bill Moyer

By Bill Moss, Published: July 5, 2014

In another split vote over an appointment, the Board of Commissioners named former commission chair Bill Moyer to a Henderson County seat on the restructured Greater Asheville Regional Airport Authority Board.

A past three-term member of the Board of Commissioners, Moyer won the vote of the man who beat him four years ago, Michael Edney, plus allies Tommy Thompson and Charlie Messer. Commissioners Grady Hawkins and Larry Young voted for Henry Johnson, a retired Air Force officer and active private pilot.
"Mr. Johnson is more than qualified particularly with his flight background," said Hawkins, who like Johnson is a retired U.S. Air Force colonel with extensive flying experience.
The state law that restructured the airport board requires that one member have aviation experience. "I don't see that being fulfilled (by the Moyer appointment) so I think we're missing the opportunity to fulfill that requirement at this time," Hawkins said.
The board has voted 3-2 on numerous appointments, with the same three-vote margin prevailing over the nominees supported by Hawkins and Young.
Moyer is a past member of the airport authority.
The airport authority appointment was for a seat on a new independent governing board, which the Legislature created in 2012 to replace the old authority. The new authority is to be made up of two appointments each from the Asheville City Council, Buncombe County Board of Commissioners and Henderson County Board of Commissioners. Those six then appoint a seventh member, who may be a resident of either county.
In a letter asking for the appointment, Johnson, a former three-term mayor of Laurel Park, cited his past civic contributions and aviation experience. In the Air Force he commanded two flying units. He has broad knowledge about military and civilian airfields, he said, including maintenance, security, crash response, navigation and siting issues. A private pilot and a recent past president of the WNC Pilots Association, he attends airport authority meetings and has worked closely with airport administrators both on general aviation issues and in planning HonorAir flights for World War II veterans.
Johnson said after the vote he believed he would have been a good choice for the aviation expertise seat but could live without the volunteer job.
"It's not the end of the world," he said. "It's all politics."