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Norita still the administration’s choice for CPA
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Posted on May 23 2006
The Fitial administration is confident that former Rep. Clyde Norita will become the executive director of the Commonwealth Ports Authority sooner or later.
This comes despite the apparent reluctance on the part of the CPA board of directors to accept the governor’s recommendation, as well as the board’s ongoing effort to find an executive director for the ports authority.
“The governor has great confidence in [Norita’s] qualifications. He is a former police officer. He is very knowledgeable and he commands respect. We believe that he eventually will be the CPA executive director,” said press secretary Charles P. Reyes Jr.
He said that the governor is still counting on getting the cooperation of the CPA board with regards to Norita’s candidacy for the position.
“[Norita] is the governor’s choice. If the board does not respect that, maybe another board will—down the line. At some point, this may be feasible,” he said.
CPA is an autonomous agency, but its board members are appointed by the governor. They serve a term of four years.
The CPA board has only recently closed the submission of applications for the highest management position in the authority.
The minimum qualifications included a bachelor’s degree, seven years of experience in the aviation and or maritime industry, and five years of high-level managerial experience in operating a U.S. international airport and or seaport.
It is not known if Norita submitted an application.
Currently, Norita serves as the governor’s special adviser for the Department of Public Safety. His tasks include assisting acting DPS Commissioner Ray Mafnas in finding a replacement for former commissioner Ernest Williams, who was terminated recently.
Fitial, in announcing Norita’s appointment, said that Norita would serve at DPS only temporarily, “until such time that he is able to serve as the executive director of the Commonwealth Ports Authority or serve in other roles assigned to him by our administration.”
Norita, a former police official and one-time member of the House of Representatives, lost his senatorial bid in the November 2005 general elections. He ran under the governor’s party, the Covenant Party, and helped lead Fitial’s Transition Committee.
