Politics

Mayor releases names of airport contract panel members

ATLANTA,None — The Atlanta mayor released the list of people who selected the recipients of lucrative airport contracts on Thursday.

Mayor Kasim Reed released the names of 15 Department of Aviation employees who served on three panels of five to evaluate bids for contracts at Hartsfield-Jackson International Airport.

The contracts will generate billions of dollars in revenue.

Reed, the first mayor to provide such a list, applauded his actions on Thursday.

"No man has ever done what I'm getting ready to do in the history of the city of Atlanta," Reed said.

Government watchdog group Common Cause Georgia said it will continue to dig into the matter of airport contracts and government transparency.

Common Cause Executive Director William Perry noted that Reed promised to release the names seven months ago, but he is glad the list has finally come out.

Click here to read the press release, which includes the names of the panel members.