Clifton A. Moore: a steady hand on the stick at LAX.

Clifton A. Moore: A steady hand on the stick at LAX

For a guy who never went to college, Clifton A. Moore has come a long way. The easy-going 66-year-old now commands the world's third busiest airport and takes home a $143,000 paycheck, one third more than Los Angeles Mayor Tom Bradley.

Moore rose from chief electrician at Los Angeles City Hall in the 1950s to his current position as head of one of the city's three independent departments. The airport department, like the harbor department and the water and power department, can issue revenue bonds and set budgets. They are not funded by taxpayer monies. Last year the agency netted roughly $15 million.

His relaxed demeanor might not show it, but Moore, a Massachusettes native, has weathered 20 years of turbulence as executive director of Los Angeles City's Department of Airports, which oversees the Los Angeles International Airport and the Ontario, Van Nuys and Burbank airports.

Furor over aircraft noise, traffic congestion in the LAX area and airport security problems make immediate headlines and long-term headaches for Moore's department. Hammering out compromises has become Moore's specialty.

"He always manages to keep opposing sides talking," says Jerry Epstein, a member of the powerful Los Angeles Airport Commission, which serves as Moore's boss. "He is often in a very hostile situation, but he is always respected."

One of Moore's ongoing juggling acts is handling demands from the 80 airlines that lease LAX facilities. "Sometimes the airlines get upset because our position on an issue isn't exactly what they want." says Moore, who keeps model of the airlines' planes in his office "because they like to see them there when they come in."

Gate allocations, he says, can become a heated topic. Airlines need gate space to park their airplanes, and Moore's department is the gatekeeper. To gain his favor the airlines send their top executives to woo Moore. "They certainly want to see a smile on my face, I guess," says Moore of the airlines' attentions.

Moore's problems do not all stem from agitated airline executives. Trying to please eight bosses at a time -- the members of the airport commission -- is not always easy, either, he says. "The tough part about any job like mine," says Moore, "is it's not always what one wants, it's what can be achieved with a consensus." Diplomacy, he says, becomes second nature.

Moore's familiarity with LAX goes beyond its operational ins and outs. He literally helped build the airport. Moore Moore first joined the department as construction manager in the late 50s, and oversaw the building of Los Angeles' modern international jetport.

The city's original airport was built in 1928 on a leased portion of the 3,000-acre Bennett Rancho. Nine years later, Los Angeles bought the title to the land. Thirty years after that, Vice President Lyndon B. Johnson broke ground on what would become Moore's handiwork: the new jet age terminal at LAX.

When Moore arrived in 1959, he says, "We were working out of a couple of wooden shacks west of Sepulveda Boulevard." Eventually, he moved into the corner office in the airport control tower as general manager of the growing facility.

Now, 20 years later, it looks much the same, he says. "I think they did change this once, though," he says, dolefully, poking his black shoe at the institutional orange-colored carpet. Amid his dozens of shiny miniature airplanes on the windowsills balance scores of congratulatory plaques, awards and trophies.

In spite of this accumulation of approval, Moore still likens his job to a balancing act on a tightrope. "I have no contract. I have no agreement. I have no civil service protection," says Moore. "I work from day to day serving at the pleasure of the board." So far, it seems, the board is pleased. By his own count, Moore has outlasted 50 commissioners of other city departments and four Los Angeles mayors. The things he has not been able to outsurvive are chronic airport problems.

Take noise. From the days when LAX was still being referred to as a jetport," it has engendered virulent community opposition because of the din. In fact, in the early 1970s, damage claims in lawsuits filed by local residents against the city-owned facility topped $4 billion, and the city attorney threatened to close it down. The city eventually spent $100 million to purchase adjacent property and create a buffer zone. That, and the development of quieter jet engines helped relieve the noise.

But progress did not stand still. By the late 70s, when LAX passenger traffic had reached 30 million annually, Moore was once again wrangling with community leaders over the need for future expansion at the airport. The environmental impact statement his department prepared at the time suggested capping the airport's growth at about 40 million passengers annually and paved the way for the construction of more terminals and a second-level roadway.

Last year, 44 million passengers flew into or out of LAX. "How did we get to 44 million?" Moore asks rhetorically. "We couldn't stop it. We don't even know if we can stop it."

Another environmental impact report he ordered, the draft of which was approved last month, will be the subject of public hearings this summer. The draft addresses changes needed to accommodate passenger levels of 50 to 65 million annually.

"We're not saying what the passenger level should be," says Moore. "Besides, what are you supposed to do, lie down on the runway to stop the planes?" Moore's department, he says, does not decide how many planes may use LAX or the flight paths they take into or out of the airport. That is controlled by the Federal Aviation Administration.

Even so, Moore is held accountable by LAX neighbors for the noise generated by those planes. One man, in particular, might agree to lie down on the runway to stop the planes. Jay Hefner, who lives near the airport, has been involved in the LAX noise issue since 1965.

He has been on the other side of the negotiating table from Moore for decades. "He's a brilliant man," says Hefner. "The worst thing I could say about Mr. Moore is that he simply does not tell the whole truth. He does not lie to you, but, you have to learn to ask the right questions because he doesn't necessarily volunteer information."

Moore, who says he has whittled his work week down to 46 hours when he's in town, has also co-authored an airport management text entitled "Airport Operations." He also authored a short story called "A View with a Room." That's one title, though, that won't be making the rounds of the international aviation community. It's an account of his hospital stay in Hawaii earlier this month which interrupted his first vacation in several years. It was written for his family, which includes his six grandchildren. He spends much of his spare time writing stories for his grandchildren on a computer at his long-time Culver City residence or his week-end retreat in Antelope Valley. "I don't think I'll retire anytime soon," says Moore, "I'll just keep puttering along down the road."