Mike Huggins spent 26 years serving the City of Eau Claire from a number of different posts, including the City Manager’s office from July 2006 to Dec. 2011.

After growing up in Independence, Kansas, then graduating from Kansas University, and getting his start working for cities in Kansas, Mike Huggins was poised to quite possibly spend his entire life in The Sunflower State. But an offer to be community development director brought him to Eau Claire in 1985. The husband and father of three would become the interim city manager for a brief period in 1991, then the assistant manager the following year. In July of 2006, Mike became Eau Claire’s city manager, a position he held until Dec. 16, when he voluntarily left the position. And though his interests may now lie with a new occupation, rest assured that his heart still very much lies in Eau Claire.

“After the first couple of years working here, I just had the feeling that this was the part of the world I was going to be responsible for,” he said. “You go into city government wanting to have an impact, and I felt my efforts to make a difference were going to be here.”

Without a doubt, Mike has made his mark in his 26 years with the city. And we wanted to honor that by sitting down with him and reflecting on his career, his future, and the future of the beloved place he calls home.

What’s the thing you’re most proud about accomplishing during your time here? There are a couple things that stand out, but I never see this as a first-person thing. I see it as things we’ve been able to accomplish. The North Barstow redevelopment is one. While that was approved before I became manager – in terms of the RCU building, farmers market, and park – I dealt with that a little as community development director, too. In terms of mixed use redevelopment I think we did some fairly unique things for us in terms of design and things. And it’s one that’ll have a lasting impact. The other was involvement in the Clear Vision process and helping get that going – it was very much a community collaboration – and the direction that has taken with community engagement.

How has the city changed since you started?  There’s a lot. I have to step back and think of when I first started. There was still smoking in city hall. There was still a few sand streets left within the city. The mall hadn’t been built yet. Those are some of the physical and land use changes that come to mind. … The other thing, as I’m looking around ... is what has happened downtown in terms of actual redevelopment and how it’s viewed now – much more optimistic than it used to be.

"The notion that government is bad is wrong. We have it for very  fundamental reasons. It’s just that, if you don’t have good government, you won’t have good communities. To me, it’s that simple.What advantages do you see in our city? One of the things I’ve noticed when I came here … I was struck by the tendency for people who have lived here a long time to downplay the community. Like, ‘Who would ever want to come to Eau Claire? The downtown’s dead, it always has been, it always will be.’ It was the people who moved in that said, ‘Whoa, wait. This is a pretty cool place.’ Now I think there’s a more accurate self-awareness of the community and that we are a unique place. It’s not a big money community. We’re a working class community. But you see more and more people finding they like living here. The Boomers, my generation, went where the job was. And one of the key differences of Millenials, Ys, and Xs is they figure out where they want to live and hope to find a job. And they’ve found there’s something about Eau Claire. It’s a good place. We’re close to the north, close to the Cities, clearly have something in our DNA with music and art, and a history of collaboration. 

How about disadvantages? Well of course right now everything is colored by economics and the recession. We struggle with job creation. When Uniroyal closed in 1991, that was the classic traditional manufacturing plant where you can graduate from high school, go to work there, and make good wages. The classic American dream thing. Well we don’t have those kinds of jobs to that extent anymore. So, like any community that is primarily working class, we’re made up of people trying to figure out how to put multiple incomes together and get by. 

I know a lot of city officials feel you brought a great community engagement presence. I feel the same, but was continually disappointed with how few people actually took advantage at meetings and discussions. Why do you think that is? That’s been a passion of mine the past 15 years. And whatever I decide to do after 5pm on Friday, a big piece will continue to be engagement. One thing is people learn. They learn through traditional K-12 means. They learn through what’s enforced in the media. They learn a role for themselves as citizens that is basically passive. They learn that politics are for elected politicians, and if you’re not running for office it doesn’t really affect you.  ... ‘What can I do?’ So I’ve always thought the fault of low attendance is not on the people, it’s what they’ve learned over time: ‘Why go?’ It’s also how we’re getting the word out – and we struggle with that with almost no budget. … I think it will grow, and I hope the city continues with this, by linking physical forums with online forums. 

How do you feel about our progress in recent years and what, if anything, has prevented even more progress?  Everything takes time. The more important quality than money is persistence. I think you just stay with it. That said, one of the things I feel good about over the last five years is that we moved into the direction of having a fairly specific strategic planning process, a clear vision and mission statement … that lays out fairly specific priorities. And, for those priorities, measurable things to be done by a certain time. And frankly, it’s a fairly aggressive program. It lays out goals that we may not totally be able to complete in the next few years. But it’s a solid plan, and the things we’ve done internally with improvements are great. A major challenge coming up is turnover of older staff. 

Does that make the visions and planning that much more important right now? Very important. It’s just like I say with the budget. If all we have to do is cut it, that’s easy. You can cut from anywhere. The problem is, what are your priorities? Well now we have a much clearer set of priorities – what we should be doing as an organization. And that will assist with future decisions. It goes right into succession planning.

For years we’ve been trying to attract economic development and jobs. Now that it seems like Eau Claire is on board with the idea of redeveloping business sectors as a way too attract that, how do you think the chips will fall? You can get into the endless debate about who creates jobs. The trend in what’s being written right now is that the rich really don’t create jobs and government doesn’t create jobs, jobs are created in the context of communities. Employers look for a place, not so much a state, but a place. So much development is community focused, and the public side provides the organizational systems, the physical spaces, and the health systems that are essential for where people want to live. … What worries me is this idea is under attack, and communities have to deal with less resources. It’s absolutely essential that we have these public things. If we have schools, streets, and a downtown that are falling apart, then people go, ‘It’s not safe.’ Once you lose that sense, it’s a struggle for communities to come back. … We’re at this moment nationally of sorting out the value in providing public funds to infrastructure. The reality is that we really have to. … The notion that government is bad is wrong. We have it for very fundamental reasons. It’s just that, if you don’t have good government, you won’t have good communities. To me, it’s that simple.

Are there initiatives that you hoped to get off the ground, but just have yet to fly? I think a lot of the things I wanted to have an impact on I did. The downtown was one. I think we have some really good things going. Getting in the direction of organizational strategic plan is another. That was an important thing to me, coming in. The idea of shared services … and due process improvement were others. Moving toward more e-Government stuff, certainly. I was glad I got to be here when we launched our social media presence and I hope we do more in that – like going paperless. Those were things I wanted to be involved in and, to some extent, I did.

What frustrates you about the city or job? I always felt I never had enough time. I tried to capitalize on as many opportunities that came along, whether it was economic development or a collaboration with another organization, and when you get down to it, our lives are made up of all these opportunities. The window is there, or the door is there, and you have the chance, but if you don’t take it, it closes. Maybe it opens again, but not always. And I think much of the role of the manager is relationships and building connections, because many opportunities can’t be done by government alone. 

So are there regrets of things you didn’t open? You never know. You’re always guessing and making decisions based on incomplete information. Maybe that was a small opportunity, maybe it wasn’t, you just don’t know. Sometimes a serious issue is actually a wicked problem, and we don’t know all the information yet – let alone the answer. That’s what we have to deal with. … There’s also my role with the elected leadership. And I’ve been blessed with great councils. They all have personalities, issues, concerns, and passions that everybody brings with them. And I’ve always let those play out. I’ve never wanted the role to be managing the council. I’m reluctant to intervene in discussions. They have to work it out and sort through it – whether it’s chickens or electric vehicles or what to do about the courthouse. Those aren’t technical issues, those are value issues, and the council needs to sort those out. And I’ve been fortunate in having a council willing to confront tough issues. 

We’ve heard some vague notions of what’s next for you, but we need to hear it straight from the source. What are you gonna do? I honestly don’t know. I’m not leaving the community. I’ve been doing local government for 33-34 years, and I think I’ve still got one good career left in me. I’m not sure what it is. Engagement is a passion of mine. I hope to do some writing about those topics. Maybe some training or consulting. Inside the community I hope to continue to work with Alliance for Strong Communities, Clear Vision, or JONAH – any groups that focus on engaging ordinary people to do the extraordinary. Community building stuff. I like that stuff, I’m excited by it. 

What qualities do you hope your successor, and anyone in the future, would have? I would expect the council will select someone with experience in the public sector and has strengths in three areas. One is not only a good working relationship with the council, but helps the council (in their meetings and work sessions) do what they need to do. Another is looking at concepts of leadership that move away from the traditional structure and more toward the employee workgroups concept. I think we’ll see more government that’s less focused on a mechanical model in a pyramid shape and more fluidity playing to strengths and working together. The other piece will continue to be the community role. And that’s a role that’s more and more facilitated than ‘So let it be written, so let it be done.’ ... So how do you bring people together and engage them in a discussion that leads to some kind of action?

What do you feel is the next big thing for our area? I’m a little caught up in downtown, but I really think what’s happening with South Barstow in the next 10 years will be big. And the performance arts center being discussed near the university. And lots of other development opportunities. But those are physical things. I think redefining how communities govern themselves will be figured out in coming years. … I really am concerned about the future of democracy. I think the battle for democracy is won or lost in local communities, so what we do educates people on the importance of democratic values. That’s one of the reasons I’m leaving early. I’m not just talking about the state stuff. I really think with all the gigantic pressures of organizations and power and wealth, we could lose it in a generation. … I will say that when I’m done at 5pm on Dec. 16, hopefully by 5:15 I’ll be signing a certain piece of paper somewhere. I think that’s important. I’m strongly against getting rid of collective bargaining. I think that’s detrimental. It’s not about politics, for me. It’s about the day-to-day operations of our city. When I say, ‘I think we need to do this,’ I need my people to say, ‘That’s not gonna work.’ Having employees not feeling like isolated individuals, but part of the whole, is essential. We’re gonna disempower our employees at a time when we need them most in helping us get things done.