Washington—A source closely familiar with the selection process tells CATALOG AGE that U.S. Postal Service chief operating officer John Potter will be named the next postmaster general, perhaps as soon as Thursday. He would replace William Henderson, who leaves office at the end of this month. “My instincts tell me he will be confirmed within 48 hours,” the source said on May 15. “He impressed at least a majority of the postal Board of Governors with respect to the Postal Service refocusing on its core business.”
The source added, however, that despite recent outcries, “Potter hasn’t been out front on reforming the USPS. He’s been more focused on running the day-to-day postal operations. But I’m sure he has a point of view on reform, and we’ll hear about it soon.”
In recent months, deputy PMG John Nolan and former Indianapolis mayor Stephen Goldsmith have been named as front runners for the post. Potter’s name had come up here and there, but not nearly as often as Nolan’s and Goldsmith’s. “He hung in there, interviewed well,” the source says.