The Crested Butte News Serving the Gunnison Valley since 1999
Huck is back from Boston
By Mark Reaman
Crested Butte mayor Aaron Huckstep got out of school this weekend and is back in town, armed with knowledge and stories.
Huckstep took part in an executive education class at Harvard University’s Kennedy School of Government, “Senior Executives in State and Local Government,” June 1-19.
The three-week class included 46 people, including six international students. It was a heavy-duty classroom structure with all-day classes taught by Harvard professors. Saturdays were spent out in the field. Huckstep said there was lots of assigned reading, a couple of simulated negotiation exercises and a group project at the end of the three weeks.
Just like the first year in college, Huckstep was assigned a roommate, the Stockton, Calif. police chief, Eric Jones. Stockton serves as the “inspiration” for the television show Sons of Anarchy, so it is a tad different than Crested Butte.
“That made it great,” Huckstep said. “I think I had the best set-up in the whole class. It was simply a great experience.”
As for the actual learning, Huckstep said the students spent a lot of time dealing with the “gray” areas of government. “We focused on how you make decisions when there is no clear wrong way or right way, or where the final decision requires honoring one value/principle/policy at the expense of another. Being able to handle the gray areas effectively is absolutely critical. I see this situation arise in almost every council meeting,” Huckstep said.
He said the lessons could be applied in many Crested Butte situations. “The proposed annexation is a good example,” he explained. “How do we deal with a wholly unique situation such as the existence of the old dump in the face of existing municipal law? Obviously the code never contemplated how to handle this situation, so we have to adopt a process to accommodate the unique circumstances.”
And the flow of information wasn’t just one-way. When asked if he left anything with his fellow students that they could learn from Crested Butte, he noted, “Other than everyone wanting to come visit? Honestly, people were pretty amazed at the complexity of issues we handle here—affordable housing, the proposed annexation, and even Mt. Emmons.”
There were a variety of professors but like any student, Huckstep found his favorites. “Among my favorites were Marty Linsky, Dan Fenn, Julie Wilson and David King, our main guy. Fenn was certainly one of my favorites. He is one of the only living people who served in the Kennedy administration and he had the ability to gently and humorously tell people they were wrong—and he did it numerous times throughout the program. And hearing one Fenn-ism: ‘If I walked on water, that guy would mark me down for splashing!’ I love that kind of stuff.”
It wasn’t all books and lectures. As could be expected, Huckstep needed daily exercise and found a bar that offered a comfort level similar to the one below his office, the Brick Oven. “ I took my road bike and got up at 5 a.m. almost every day, and rode for an hour or so. That helped me a ton,” he said. “And I happened into a place called Shay’s just across from the school. I felt comfortable there.”
Comfortable enough to move to Boston? “Not a chance! I was excited to get back here. I spent Saturday riding mountain bikes and running Browns Canyon with friends, then the Taylor and the new Lupine 3 on Sunday! It’s wonderful to be home.”
A Gates Family Foundation Fellowship picked up most of the $11,200 tuition. The Town Council picked up the additional $900 from its discretionary fund.
