Mesa Police Department 2001 Annual Report
News Article

Bush plans to visit Mesa on Monday

by Scott C. Seckel
The Mesa Tribune
May 23, 2001

     President Bush will be making history on Memorial Day. Although Bush probably won't know it, Mesa officials will.
     Six years after the Air Force abandoned what is now Williams Gateway Airport, Air Force One will provide the struggling facility its first passenger flight on Monday.
     "Outstanding," Mesa Mayor Keno Hawker said Tuesday about the visit. 
     It'll be a first for Bush, too. The visit will be his first to Arizona since taking office.
     The nation's leader plans to attend a Memorial Day observance at Champlin Fighter Museum at Mesa's Falcon Field airport. Although an exact schedule has yet to be approved, the observance will take place in the mid-afternoon. Gov. Jane Hull will host the event, and Republican Sen. Jon Kyl also will attend.
     Specifics about public access to the event as well as schedule details will be available soon, city officials said. 
     Mesa officials were elated about the president's visit and the spotlight that will shine on the struggling airport.
     "When we go back to Congress to request additional funds to be international and expand our cargo operations, they'll know exactly what we're talking about," Hawker said.
     Since Williams was converted from an Air Force base to a civilian airport in 1993, Mesa has pitched the airport to airlines and related industries in hopes of turning it into a major job center for the East Valley. So far, however, the millions of dollars pumped in by Mesa, Gilbert, Queen Creek and the Gila River Indian Community has yielded little success.
     Williams Gateway's executive director, Lynn Kusy, was in New Orleans on a business trip when he heard the news.
     "We're excited to have the president land at the airport," Kusy said. "It's certainly capable of handling the 747 Air Force One. It'll be great to see that airplane sitting on the ramp at Williams Gateway."
     Kusy will return to Mesa on Thursday, giving him three days to prepare for a visit from the leader of the free world.
     Hawker said he doesn't know yet what the city will need to get ready for Bush.
     "If I knew, I probably couldn't tell," he said. 
     Mesa Police will assist the Secret Service, Sgt. Tim Gaffney said.
     The East Valley stop will be part of a swing through the West that will include appearances in electricity-strapped California on Saturday and Sunday.

-- Tribune writer Scott C. Seckel can be reached by e-mail at sseckel@aztrib.com or by calling (480) 970-2340.

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