Lackawanna County Commissioner Chris Chermak defended his credentials to run the local airport Thursday, saying his professional and government backgrounds make him more than qualified.
In an interview that he sought with WVIA News, Chermak, 62, professed “a love of aviation” and a passion for the Wilkes-Barre/Scranton International Airport that make him stand out as an executive director candidate.
“So, I think it's important for the public to know that I'm not just some politician looking for a job,” Chermak said. “I'm the guy that is concerned about the airport and knows the potential that's there and wants to see our airport prosper. It's a jewel in Northeastern Pennsylvania that I can't let fail if I have an opportunity to be the person.”
Chermak said he sought to explain his qualifications publicly after a taxpayer questioned them at a commissioners meeting Wednesday.
Already stepping up
Chermak also said he stepped in to help run the airport “the last couple years” after former executive director Carl Beardsley Jr. developed “health problems” that curbed his availability. That marked the clearest confirmation of why Beardsley left to date and also the first time anyone said his health problems were not recent.
“I stepped in,” Chermak said. “I'm the one that's passionate about this place. I know the area. I know the region. I have the connections with our state and local and federal folks that fund these things and fund the airport and where the grants come from.”
He declined to elaborate on Beardsley’s health problems, citing federal medical record privacy law.
“But he had health issues that really, he started failing a couple years ago, and which we all worked with him. We all loved Carl,” he said.
Beardsley took a leave of absence in November for undisclosed reasons that an airport solicitor hinted were health-related. In March, Chermak announced the airport couldn’t wait any longer for Beardsley to return and announced a replacement search.
Later that month, the airport board hired ADK Consulting & Executive Search to search nationwide at a cost of $47,574.
Chermak, who has temporarily stepped aside as an airport board member while the search goes on, said he believes he’s one of five finalists.
Lackawanna County Commissioner Thom Welby, another airport board member, said Wednesday the board may choose a new executive director at its July 23 meeting.
The journey to applying
Several weeks into the search, rumors began to circulate that Chermak applied, but he refused to confirm that until a board meeting last month.
Chermak said he delayed confirming “because I wanted to make sure that ADK was going to put me through to the next round.”
“And I thought if I don't get put in, I'll pull my application, and I didn't know how I was going to do,” he said.
Once the search began, he applied because “some of the administration” asked him to apply.
“And actually, a couple of the other board members also said, ‘We think you’d be a great addition and a great executive director. Everybody loves you here. You get along with everybody. You’re involved. You know what’s going on,’” Chermak said.
He declined to name the administrators and board members.
Why he's qualified
Besides his passion, Chermak said he’s qualified because he’s:
- Served as a board member for seven years with three one-year terms as chairperson. In the last couple years, he was directly involved in discussions with contractors, engineers, rental car companies, the construction of new private aircraft hangars.
- Served as a certified first responder for decades, a skill that will come in handy at the airport, too.
- Held a license to fly single-engine planes for 40 years, giving him an understanding of aviation issues.
- Managed his family’s car dealership in Clarks Summit for decades, giving him experience in dealing with vendors, suppliers and car companies and knowledge of the heavy equipment common at airports.
- Served as a commissioner for almost seven years, overseeing a large budget, “32 departments, seven unions, 1,200 employees.”
- Taken an active role in recruiting new airlines, including Breeze Airways.
- A regular visitor to the airport and checks in with staff several times a month.
“I've been involved in the budgets at the airport. I've been involved with the safety and security ... the law enforcement officers, the fire department side of things, the safety and security, our security team,” he said.
“I'm involved with all of those folks. I have a great relationship with all of them. I know everybody, from the guys that do the maintenance and clean the floors to the people in the administrative office.”
A lack of qualifications
He acknowledged falling short of two requirements in the airport’s job posting.
The posting requires a bachelor’s degree in aviation management, business administration, public administration or a related field.
It also requires “a minimum of 10 years of increasingly responsible experience in the management of a primary/commercial service airport.”
Chermak, who said he’s taken college courses, has no bachelor’s degree.
“Here’s my take on that,” he said. “So, when you do a nationwide search, you put criteria in place. That's obviously what you do, and you put minimum requirements. But does that mean it's gospel? Absolutely not.”
A fuller background should matter more, he said.
“Because I can tell you right now, I would much rather have somebody with the experience and the knowledge that I have rather than some person I don't know that's got some fancy thing hanging on his wall,” he said. “That doesn't mean they're a good fit.”
Chermak said he’s “already doing” the job and doesn’t need to learn it “or learn who these people (airport staff) are.”
“I have the support of the staff and the administration at the airport. I have the support from most of the other board members, most everybody except for one,” Chermak said. “I can start tomorrow, hit the ground running.”
What airport board members think
His fellow board members weren’t ready to jump on the Chermak bandwagon Thursday. Each said the board has made no decision on a new executive director.
Airport board member Romilda Crocamo, also Luzerne County’s manager, said she will decide once the selection process runs its course.
“That process exists precisely to ensure that all candidates receive fair and equal consideration, that their qualifications, experience, and vision for this airport are thoroughly reviewed and carefully examined before any determination is made,” Crocamo said in a text. “To render judgment before that process is complete is not only premature, it is fundamentally unfair to every individual who applied in good faith.”
Board member LeeAnn McDermott, a Luzerne County council member, said ADK has yet to issue its recommendations. She remains undecided and was irritated by any suggestion she has, she said.
“Don’t say something is a done deal when it’s not,” McDermott said.
Welby said he hasn’t made up his mind either.
“We have not yet met to choose the finalists,” he said. “We hope to do that next week.”
In a text, board member Chris Belles, another Luzerne County councilman, said he supported Chermak’s decision to apply, but that’s it.
“But that does not necessarily mean I will end up voting for him. My obligation is to do what is right for the airport and ultimately, Luzerne County,” Belles said. “I wouldn’t be surprised if several of the candidates have support from all of the board members — it’s a competitive role to fill. Our job now is to decide on one candidate, and I still have all of the confidence in the world that our board will select the person best suited to lead (the airport).”
Board member Bill Gaughan, a Lackawanna County commissioner and frequent Chermak nemesis, said his colleague's comments “are somewhat shocking because what he's suggesting is that he has the votes and the support already lined up.”
“And the second thing is a national search should end with the best candidate, not the candidate with the best political headcount, which is it seems like what he gave you, and that's really concerning,” he said.
“The fact of the matter is Commissioner Chermak doesn't meet the basic qualifications, and it's unbelievable to me that he made it down to the final few candidates," Gaughan said. "A pilot's license doesn't have any bearing on running the actual airport. You need education experience. You need experience actually running it. It's a big operation. He doesn't have it.”
