[JYO] Blakey confirmed, starts as FAA head Monday

from AOPA...


Marion C. Blakey will start her first full day as FAA administrator on 
Monday. The Senate unanimously confirmed her appointment late last night. A 
top FAA official told AOPA that Blakey, the former chairman of the National 
Transportation Safety Board, will be shifting between agencies through the 
weekend. She will be sworn into office today or tomorrow.

"Ms. Blakey had a solid record at the NTSB, and in our interactions with her, 
she seemed eager to work with the general aviation community," said AOPA 
President Phil Boyer. "We are looking forward to her assuming leadership next 
week."

AOPA has already established a working relationship with Blakey. "Although 
she is not a pilot, she does have a keen interest in aviation and extensive 
experience with transportation issues," said Boyer. "I've found her to be 
extremely personable and very politically astute. In my 11 years as AOPA 
president working with more than half a dozen FAA administrators, I've found 
the one quality most important for the FAA head is the ability to work 
effectively with both parties in Congress and with the top levels of the 
Administration."

Blakey has also served in the Reagan and the first Bush administrations. She 
is a close political ally to White House Chief of Staff Andy Card. That is 
particularly important because during the aftermath of September 11, FAA did 
not always have direct access to the people in the White House who were 
making decisions about the nation's aviation system.

Blakey has held four presidentially appointed positions. She has served as 
the administrator of the National Highway Transportation Safety 
Administration and as a Department of Transportation official.

Blakey has been at NTSB less than a year. She took over shortly after the 
September 11 terrorist attacks and had to deal with the crash of American 
Airlines Flight 587 less than two months after her confirmation. Prior to her 
appointment to NTSB, she ran her own Washington-based public relations firm 
for eight years, specializing in transportation issues. Her clients included 
an organization representing airports.

Blakey is the second woman to hold the post, and the second to serve a 
five-year term (Jane Garvey was the first in each of those categories). AOPA 
had successfully lobbied for a fixed term for the FAA administrator. The 
five-year term is intended, like the Federal Reserve Board chairman's 
six-year term, to remove the position from political intrigue.

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