Despite Advice, Cleveland Mayor Searching for New Airport Director

After Frank Jackson was elected mayor in November, business leaders went to him with some advice: Keep John Mok as director of Cleveland Hopkins International Airport.

They said Mok's professionalism and knowledge have stabilized the airport and helped keep Continental Airlines' hub here, which is critical to Hopkins' role as an economic engine for the region. Continental and Southwest Airlines have signed on for 10 more years at Hopkins.

And suburban mayors, who complained for years about the airport's management, say they are pleased with Mok's leadership.

So why is Jackson conducting a national search for an airport director?

Jackson declined to talk about Mok other than to say that as mayor, he gets to pick the airport director and a search gives him the opportunity to find the best one.

Mok says he wants to stay. His many supporters in the business community worry that if he doesn't, the progress and stability of the airport could end.

"He's got a tremendous vision for the future of the airport and the impact it can have on Cleveland and Northeast Ohio," said Dick Pogue, a consultant for Jones Day law firm and a former board member for Continental. "You just don't snap your fingers and develop that.

"Without good air service, our region is doomed."

Jackson said through spokeswoman Maureen Harper that discussing the search would jeopardize its fairness.

But others say accusations that Mok, who is Asian, discriminates against black employees might be fueling the search for his replacement.

Attorney Fred Nance, who is co-chairman of the mayor's search committee for the airport director, said a small group of airport employees sent letters to committee members accusing Mok of discrimination.

Nance said it is not the committee's charge to investigate the claims.

But if Mok is one of three finalists for the job, he could be questioned about personnel issues, Nance said.

Mok said he is aware of only one formal discrimination complaint against him by the airport's maintenance manager, who is black.

It alleges that race was the reason he was subjected to a random drug test, denied a raise and denied the use of a city-owned vehicle.

An investigation by the U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission found no evidence to substantiate the complaint and dismissed it.

A Plain Dealer review of union grievances filed at the airport last year found none that allege discrimination.

Despite the absence of substantiated complaints, or even anecdotes that suggest discrimination, talk persists that Mok discriminates.

Mok bristles at the vague accusations.

"I will not respond to hearsay and conjecture," Mok said. "Give me a specific charge. Give me a complaint."

Without one, Mok said, "It's kind of like asking me: 'Do you beat your wife?' "

Zack Reed, a black Cleveland councilman who served on council's Aviation and Transportation Committee the past four years, defends Mok. He said Mok helped black shoeshine employees expand their business at the airport and supported efforts to hire more minorities during Hopkins' runway expansion.

"I think it's ludicrous to say that that man has not been sensitive to the plight of minorities at the airport," Reed said. "I've worked with that man and I've asked him to go to bat for minorities, and he's done it."

Privately, those who know Mok also say the knock on him is that he can be arrogant and disconnected from City Hall.

Under former Mayor Jane Campbell, he had free rein to do things his way and skip the political rallies and events that most of her other Cabinet members attended.

Mok, who is the highest paid city employee, with a salary of $202,000, also declined to take a voluntary pay cut after Campbell announced layoffs three years ago. Campbell and most of her Cabinet took the cut.

It's unclear whether Jackson, who runs a tighter ship and stresses loyalty, would offer Mok the same independence he has enjoyed the past four years.

Mok said his achievements and abilities should trump concerns about his personality.

"People can comment all they want about a person's style," he said. "To me, all that matters is substance.

"As far as I'm concerned, my record speaks for itself."

No one disputes that Mok's record far outshines those of the airport directors who immediately preceded him.

When Campbell took office four years ago, she made no secret of her disgust with management of the airport. City Council had long complained about it, too.

"A political dumping ground," longtime Councilman Jay Westbrook called it recently.

Campbell conducted a national search to find a qualified director. Mok, who arrived in 2002, fit the bill. An apolitical outsider, he came with management experience at major airports in Dallas-Fort Worth and Hong Kong.

His supporters say he has brought credibility and knowledge to the complicated business of running Hopkins airport, especially after the terrorist attacks of Sept. 11, 2001.

Suburban mayors say Mok is accessible, open and responsive to their communities' concerns. Representatives from Continental and Southwest describe Mok as a professional.

"We view our relationship with him as a good one," said Steve Sisneros, who is in charge of negotiating airport lease agreements for Southwest. "We'd hate to lose it."

Some in the region oppose a change not only because they respect Mok but also because they worry that replacing him could be a disaster and send a message that the airport director's job is - in one businessman's words - "a political football."

"To me, that's the core of the issue: If we show there's no stability in this job, you're never going to recruit a real pro," said Mal Mixon, chief executive of a medical equipment company based in Elyria and a member of the search committee that found Mok in 2002.

Fred Krum, Akron-Canton Airport's longtime director and a friend of Mok's, agrees.

"You won't find better," Krum said of Mok. "If they would not rehire him, that would send a danger sign out to the other airport directors in the country that it's not a stable situation.

"There's no reason whatsoever to let someone like that go."

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