Albany International Airport CEO Phil Calderone has been fired effective immediately, the board announced Wednesday, after weeks of controversy over news that his contract would not be renewed.

“My reaction was absolute astonishment and despair. all at the same time,” said Paul Burgdorf, Deputy Minority Leader of the Albany County Legislature.

The board also sent out a long summary of the reasons behind its decision.

“I believe the county is a banana republic,” said Burgdorf. “This is a political coup.”

Calderone had been recently informed that his contract would not be renewed at the end of the year.

The talk was that he was being pushed out so Albany County Executive Dan McCoy could move into that position. Then McCoy put out a statement that he is not applying for or seeking that role.

All of this comes as the airport is in the middle of a $100 million renovation project.

The airport board outlined its reasons for firing Calderone in a long summary. In part it read, “Over the course of the last five years, it had become increasingly apparent that Mr. Calderone was not going to maintain a relationship with the Authority Board that is typically expected of a CEO that reports to a Board and its members. Over the course of that time, the Board as a whole, and each Board Member individually, experienced Mr. Calderone’s unwillingness to authentically collaborate and fully cooperate with the Board in what we viewed as our performance of our duties and responsibilities. “

The summary said the Authority Board is now specifically detailing instances that contributed to Calderone’s contract not being renewed. Another section read: “When normal disagreements happened with the Board, Mr. Calderone would be nonnegotiable, and easily become incensed in private, as well as in public, with an approach inappropriate for a CEO.”

Burgdorf is full of praise for the man he calls a great public servant.

“They want to shut down discussion, use the bully politics of Albany County. They conducted a coup and now they want to say, nothing to see here. Nothing to see. It’s all done. It’s all fine!” he said. “Not the case. There are many of us with long memories.”

He also objected to the board’s summary.

“To lay it out there without Mr. Calderone having to have an opportunity to rebut it point by point amounts to character assassination and that’s what they’re trying to do,” said Burgdorf. “That’s why they shut down all discussion relative to Mr. Calderone. They wanted to have the last word. They wanted to fire him. And they wanted to move on.”

John O’Donnell, who served as CEO from 2003 to 2019, will serve as chief operating officer and will oversee all construction process, including the $100 million construction project. 

Former Airport Authority General Counsel Peter Stuto will serve as acting CEO while the board conducts what it calls a national search for a new leader.