Mayor Reed discusses replacements of top city officials

ATLANTA - Atlanta Mayor Kasim Reed was expected to explain his sudden dismissal of two top city officials, but said Monday morning he's not discussing specifics surrounding the terminations. 

On Friday, Mayor Reed fired Miguel Southwell, the general aviation manager at Hartsfield-Jackson Atlanta International Airport, and Jo Ann Macrina, the head of Atlanta's Department of Watershed Management.

"Today really is not about the circumstances regarding their terminations or their exits," Mayor Reed said at the start of a news conference Monday. "The bottom line is, is that we chose to go our separate ways."

Reed went on to say he was only going to talk about the city's future.

"I'm not going to address the circumstances around Miguel's departure or Ms. Macrina's departure, but the people of Atlanta deserve an explanation of who will run two of the city's most important operating units and why I have chosen those people to do so." 

App users: Watch Reed's news conference here

Reed said Roosevelt Council, who has served as Deputy General Manager and Chief Financial Officer since April 2012, will serve as the Interim Aviation General Manager. 

William Johnson, the City’s Deputy Chief Operating Officer, will serve as interim Commissioner, replacing Macrina.

"I'm confident that folks will make the judgment that we made the right call," Reed said on Monday. 

In written statements last week, Mayor Reed thanked both Southwell and Macrina for their service to the city and wished them well in their careers.