Roanoke Times
Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: TUESDAY, May 4, 1993 TAG: 9305040472
SECTION: EDITORIAL PAGE: A4 EDITION: METRO
SOURCE:
DATELINE: LENGTH: Medium
Possibly it's not the assignment Baliles would have preferred. He was mentioned prominently for appointment by Clinton for both attorney general and U.S. trade representative - only to see those jobs go to others. Nonetheless, this one seems right up his runway.
As governor, Baliles oversaw the transfer of control of both National and Dulles airports in Northern Virginia from the federal government to the Metropolitan Washington Airports Authority. He also initiated a study of Virginia's transportation needs that led to creation of the Transportation Trust Fund. One result: State spending for aviation increased from $4 million in 1986 to more than $10 million in 1987 - and is now at about $15 million a year. The state money helped pay for the new airport terminal in Roanoke, among others.
As Clinton says, "Perhaps no other governor in the past decade devoted more thought and attention to the global nature of the challenges facing his state. [Baliles] recognized that aviation is the lifeblood of commerce in a global economy and made it an important part of his state's competitive strategy."
And, of course, Baliles has spent more than a little time in the air: on numerous international trade missions when he was governor and, more recently, as international trade czar for his Richmond law firm, Hunton & Williams.
Since leaving the governor's office in 1990, Baliles has kept a low profile. He may be cast into high-profile controversy with this effort to get wheels up for an industry that's lost $10 billion in the past three years.
It's a challenge that he seems well-equipped to pilot, and to steer to a happy landing.
by CNB