I thought my head was going to pop on Wednesday morning when I picked up the St Pete Times and read an article by Steve Huettel referencing travel and entertainment expenses of Tampa International Airport’s new Executive Director Joe Lopano. In Lopano’s very short tenure as the Airport Chief, there have been a series of articles from Mr Huettel and the Tampa Tribune’s Ted Jackovic about Mr Lopano, including an article about business class travel on long trips for airport executives and Lopano’s recent trip to Washington to meet with the Cuban Ambassador.I won’t detail the many distortions in this most recent article, but as an example I checked out the room rates at the Roosevelt in New York …there are no rooms available for $239. The least expensive I could find on a night that was actually available was $400 with tax. While that may seem trivial, it was the shameless imbalance of this article that struck me. It does not appear to be an objective piece of journalism . Former airport director Louis Miller was used extensively as a comparison to Mr Lopano. And while the comparisons focused on expenses, it made no effort to form a connection to revenue.Let’s go back to business school for a moment. If Johnny offered to give Sally a nice bike for $5, would Sally make that deal? Of course she would. Now, if Sally goes home and tells her family that Johnny took $5 from her, leaving out the part about how Johnny reciprocated by giving her a bike, one can understand why most listening to Sally would think that Johnny is a real cad. In this example, Sally’s story is much the same as Mr Huettel’s..
Since Lou Miller left his post, TIA has initiated flights to Puerto Rico, an additional flight to the UK and brand new routes to Cuba. Certainly the additional revenue generated from this traffic more than pays for a couple of hundred dollars of dinners for aviation executives.
Why does this upset me? Well, I will go on record saying I am a big fan of Joe Lopano, at least what I have seen so far. I like that he is a salesman for the Bay Area. I like that he had a record of success at one of the largest airports in the world. I like that he has made efforts to cooperate with the local economic development professionals, the Chamber of Commerce and fellow transportation entities (i.e. HART).
For too long our area has been afflicted by what I call “fiefdom-ism,” the symptoms of which can be seen in the animosity between the myriad of townships, extremely disjointed economic development efforts, cannibalism in the Arts Community and downright nastiness between various factions separated by the chasm created by a body of water and three bridges. Lopano doesn’t seem to know or care about any of these things. He has been out knocking on doors of the Chamber and various Economic Development interests and sitting down and trying to figure out how to sell this area and our airport.
If Lopano is successful, we all benefit from the efforts. TIA is one of the main economic pillars of this community and increased traffic at TIA means more jobs and more opportunities for businesses in our region. Bring in more passengers and Tampa benefits. It’s a simple formula.
I am transparent. I want the Salesman Lopano to have confidence to do his thing….work his magic….recreate what he already did for another city. I don’t want the “fiefdom-ism” to chew him up and spit him out before he has a chance to make it or at least have a fair shot at doing so. And if you don’t agree with me, that is your prerogative. But, if you agree with me and are influenced by my opinion, at least I offered you the courtesy of explaining my bias.
And Mr. Huettel? It’s OK. You are a big fan of Louis Miller, a friend actually. Apparently you feel that he was unfairly let go. You can say it. Go ahead. It can be cathartic. Friendships, however, should be disclosed in objective journalism.
In the meantime, Joe Lopano should be given a chance. He is different from your friend Lou, who was a good bean counter; however, numbers had sagged in the waning years of his tenure. Maybe it was time for a change. But, that is not for us to decide. What is past is in the past and Mr. Lopano is our Chief now. Mr. Lopano wants to invest in new relationships in hope of a return…a return that will benefit many of us in this community. His style and strategy is different, but we need all of our leaders out selling right now…out investing right now. Airline executives who are investing hundreds of thousands of dollars in each new route need to know that they have aligned themselves with a partner they can trust not to hang them out to dry. That trust is built with more than just a couple of phone calls and a get-together at the local Applebee’s. In a couple of years, if Lopano’s way is not working, then let’s re-evaluate, but at least give the guy a chance and some room to operate his way.
Lastly, Mr. Huettel, if you feel compelled in the future to run more slam pieces on the man, at least give your readers the courtesy of disclosing your bias.
Anyone interested in contacting Steve Huettel, he can be reached at [email protected]. Or Graham Brink, the business editor, at [email protected]
