Hatfield on board at TSA Miami
Mark Hatfield Jr. has officially started his duties as the Transportation Security Administration's federal security director for Miami International Airport.
Hatfield, who has been with the TSA since its formative days in 2002, was officially named as the new director Aug. 10 and started work in Miami on Monday.
He was most recently federal security director at Newark Liberty International Airport. Much of his professional life, however, has been in communications and public affairs. He joined the TSA as assistant administrator for communications, serving as the primary spokesman for the overall agency.
He was director of communications for the Port Authority of New York and New Jersey before joining the TSA, and has served in communications posts at the White House during the administrations of President George H.W. Bush and President Ronald Reagan. He has also worked in the departments of Commerce and Energy.
Hatfield, son of former Sen. Mark Hatfield, R-Ore., who retired in 1996 after serving in the U.S. Senate for 30 years, spoke briefly at a meeting of the Florida Customs Brokers & Forwarders Association this week in Miami. Stealing a joke he said he often heard when he used to travel with President Reagan, Hatfield told the FCBF members he was aware of the most feared words a private-sector business owner can hear: 'I'm from the federal government, and I'm here to help you.'
