Rocky Mountain Metropolitan Airport Director Paul Anslow has suddenly departed from his post, leaving behind mixed impressions about his management and handling of local issues. Anslow did not return calls seeking comment and airport and local officials are tight-lipped about his Nov. 29 departure, describing it only as a “personnel matter.”
Meanwhile, others who were heavily involved with the airport’s affairs said they’d experienced years of frustration with Anslow and are relieved he’s no longer in charge.
Anslow served as director for the last five years.
“I’ve been trying to tell people for as long as he’s been here what he’s about, what he was doing, how he was conducting business at the airport,” said Daril Cinquanta, president of the Jefferson County Aviation Association. “Maybe now we can get a good airport manager.”
The aviation association represents the airport’s tenants and users. RMMA, the third busiest airport in the state, has more than 400 based aircraft and 50 businesses.
Cinquanta sent several letters to county leaders expressing concerns about Anslow, the most recent on Nov. 9. In it, he objected to Anslow’s conduct and response to tenants’ concerns. Cinquanta said he does not know if his letters factored into Anslow’s departure.
“I can’t share the reasons behind his (Anslow’s) departure since it’s a personnel matter, and a matter of his own professional privacy,” said Cassie Pearce, Jefferson County public affairs director.
The regional public-use airport, founded in 1960, is owned and operated as an enterprise fund by the county. It is run by a staff of approximately 25 county employees, who oversee its administration, operation and maintenance.
Jefferson County issued a short press release on Nov. 29, saying county Chief Financial Officer Dr. Stephanie Corbo was announcing Anslow’s departure, effective immediately. Corbo, to whom the airport director reports, had not returned calls requesting comment.
“We are grateful for the work that Paul and his team have done to move the airport forward as a regional resource and are proud of the steps that RMMA has taken to expedite the airport’s transition to unleaded fuel,” Corbo said in the release.
Jefferson County Commissioner Tracy Kraft-Tharp, who sat on the airport’s Community Noise Roundtable and worked closely with Anslow on multiple issues, said she had no details about the exit and did not respond to additional questions from Colorado Community Media. Commissioners Andy Kerry and Lesley Dahlkemper also did not return calls requesting comment.
Assistant Airport Directors Brandon Burns and Brian Bishop will continue to serve in their current capacity, reporting to Corbo.
“As we work to fill this vital role, we will continue to collaborate with the community and our regional partners,” Corbo stated.
In October, Anslow headed a press conference during which he announced RMMA expected to be the first airport in the state to fully transition to unleaded fuel. Airport officials had purchased a fuel truck and storage tank to transport unleaded fuel, and aims to serve two-thirds of its fleet with unleaded fuel by late 2024.
With those changes, the airport is poised to beat a federal 2030 deadline to phase out leaded fuel, which has been linked to public health concerns.
Pearce said those efforts will continue.
“Paul really did a good job of leading that,” she said. “I think Jefferson County is really proud of that and proud our airport is moving to quickly to make those changes.”
Arvada City Councilor John Marriott, who serves as a neighboring jurisdiction representative on the airport’s advisory board, said he had no details about Anslow’s departure and no qualms about his performance.
“He was terrific to work with,” he said. “In my eyes, he was doing a fantastic job at the airport.”
But Cinquanta, a retired Denver police detective and pilot, saw Anslow very differently. Among many complaints, Cinquanta said the director did not keep a promise to let the aviation association review the airport’s rules and regulations and minimum standards — criteria established by the airport that must be met by individuals and businesses wanting to provide on-airport aeronautical activities or services.
“We had an agreement we would be able to look at them before they went to the county commissioners with our suggestions,” he said. “It never happened. He would never follow through. I never found him to be credible or honest.”
Cinquanta said he and Anslow repeatedly had heated exchanges about airport issues.
“I feel like we finally accomplished something,” he said of Anslow’s departure. “RMMA is a great airport. The pilots that fly out of it are great. Their hearts are truly in the right place. They just want to see it prosper. We don’t need this kind of crap on the airport.”
Westminster’s Charlene Willey, who lives in a neighborhood adjacent to the airport and is with the Save Our Skies Alliance, said she found Anslow difficult to work with. Willey has worked for years with the airport on issues including phasing out the use of leaded fuel and noise abatement.
“He did not engender goodwill,” she said. “He wasn’t good at PR. He said so many things that just plain weren’t factual at a variety of public forums and on a variety of topics.”
While Willey said she does not know the reasons for Anslow’s departure, she is not surprised.
“When he came in, that’s when the problems with the community began,” she said. “The pressure’s been building for a very long time.”
This story is from the Northglenn-Thornton Sentinel, one of two dozen Colorado Community Media newspapers covering communities that make up the Denver metro area.
