While most state employees in California are staying home every other Friday to comply with a mandated furlough you can still find Gary Cathey, newly appointed Aeronautics Chief at his desk in his Sacramento office. “This is my passion in life,” said Cathey. “That’s why I’m in my office on a day off!”
The budget is the biggest challenge facing Cathey, “It’s been decimated!” The Bureau gets around $7.5 million each year, of that, 3 million goes into the Bureau’s operating budget with the remainder being used for airport grants and loans. The California Legislature swept $7 million that had been set aside for airport loans. “Aviation contributes a lot of revenue to the state, Cathey commented, with only a small percentage going back into aviation.” As Chief, one of his goals is to see more of that revenue coming back to aviation. Other goals Cathey hopes to reach during his tenure as Chief include tightening up the loop holes in land-use laws and to foster a climate that encourages the use of new technology at California airports.
Cathey, a California Department of Transportation employee since 1985 has 23 years of state service beginning as a civil engineer in Highways. Gary has an extensive technical knowledge of aviation, possesses a commercial pilot certificate with an instrument rating in single and multi-engine aircraft, as well as having a broad range of experience working with departmental policies and procedures and state and federal aviation laws.
