City Council OKs Nominee for Airport Commission

Longtime City Hall insider Dan Garcia won unanimous City Council approval Wednesday to take a seat on the Los Angeles Airport Commission.

The council confirmed without discussion Garcia’s nomination by Mayor Richard Riordan, who has frequently sought Garcia’s help on important projects. Last year, the mayor moved Garcia from the Airport Commission to the Community Redevelopment Agency board, of which he is president, to help the embattled agency find new direction and to head off a move by the City Council to take over the redevelopment board.

Riordan’s latest assignment for Garcia has fueled speculation that the mayor wants to ensure an orderly transition if another trusted aide, Airport Commission President Theodore Stein Jr., steps down early next year for a widely expected run for city attorney.

Los Angeles International Airport and the mayor’s controversial efforts to funnel more of its revenues into city coffers is a key cog in the mayor’s promise to expand the police force and improve city services without raising taxes.

Garcia, an attorney and former lobbyist who is a vice president at Warner Bros., served as president of the planning and police commissions in the Tom Bradley Administration.