COEUR d'ALENE - Kootenai County Commissioner Jai Nelson plans to call for the reinstatement of the Coeur d'Alene Airport manager who was fired last month.

"That's one of the things I am going to bring up," Nelson said in an interview Monday.

Commissioners plan to meet this afternoon to discuss how to replace Greg Delavan, who was unexpectedly terminated on Oct. 24.

"Over the weekend I had an overwhelming amount of emails, phone calls and letters all in support of Greg Delavan," Nelson said, adding she has heard from pilots, vendors, airport employees and other elected officials.

If the two commissioners who decided to fire Delavan - Todd Tondee and Dan Green - decline to reinstate him, Nelson plans to also call for a review of the unusual method used to terminate the longtime airport manager. She will also call for the Airport Advisory Board and the two commissioners who will be elected today to have part in hiring the new airport manager.

Nelson and Tondee are completing their terms as commissioners and are not in the race for re-election.

"If they say no, I will look at the way we will do the hiring," Nelson said, adding that maybe Delavan will throw his hat into the ring again.

Delavan said Monday that he is considering it.

"A lot of people have asked me if I would and that is why I am considering it," he said. "There are a lot of good airport managers out there, but there are no airport managers more invested in this community than I am."

It will be the first time Commissioner Dan Green has discussed the issue in public since Delavan was terminated. Green left for vacation the day Delavan was let go, but he said it was unintentional.

"I don't want people to think I was hiding from it, or anything like that," Green said in an interview Monday. "I supported the decision to change the management at the airport and was aware the change would take place during my absence."

Green said he had planned the trip months in advance of the decision to terminate the airport manager.

While Green said he cannot discuss the reasons for termination, he has at least four "best practices" he applies to managing all departments under his jurisdiction at the county.

The first, he said, is customer service.

"This is what the county has to offer. We do not produce a product but rather we provide services to our citizens," he wrote in an email, adding the second is cooperation. "The County must be respectful of other jurisdictions. We must be willing to collaborate, cooperate, and share our resources with each jurisdiction within the County, when possible."

The third is maintaining a management style which promotes good stewardship and fiscal responsibility, and lastly he said a professional attitude makes a difference.

"Management sets the tone for staff," Green wrote. "I believe a manager who has a great attitude and a strong work ethic positively impacts individuals, both internally and externally."

Green said he doesn't want to take the airport in a "new direction," but he would like to change the management style at the airport.

"I favor changing the way we treat customers in other jurisdictions," he said, adding that goes for all county departments - not just the airport.

Since Nelson took office she said she has never received a complaint about Delavan. In fact, she said, everything she has ever heard has supported him.

Commissioner Todd Tondee told The Press last week that the board of county commissioners used administrative discretion to terminate Delavan without taking a public vote on the matter.

Green said the same thing on Monday.

"I don't think we have to come out to an open meeting after making a decision to terminate someone in an executive session," he said.

Green said it doesn't make sense to publicly vote on the record to terminate someone before the commissioners even contact the employee who is going to be terminated.

He said administrative decisions are frequently used to deal with employees who work for the commissioners.

Tondee also said last week that commissioners were going to select the new airport manager and bypass the traditional method of having the Airport Advisory Board vet the candidates first.

Nelson said she opposes the hiring process her colleagues want to use. She favors using the traditional method of having advisory board members interview the applicants and having them recommend who they feel would be the best fit for the airport.

Both Nelson and Tondee will complete their terms in December and two new commissioners will be elected today. Nelson believes they should be part of the hiring process.

She has publicly called on the advisory board to attend the commissioners meeting today to support her position on that matter, and she expects many more supporters to attend.

The meeting will be held at 4 p.m. in the commissioners' board room on the third floor of the county administration building.

"I have reserved the large meeting room just in case we need more room for this," Nelson said.

The meeting is open to the public.