You can tell what Gary Eckenberg's personal politics are by the poster just outside his office door - or at least what his politics were in 1972. The poster is of that year's Democratic presidential nominee, George McGovern. But that's about the only clue you'll get about where Eckenberg is on the political spectrum, even after his decades amid the sometimes rancorous politics of the St. Louis County Board. "I'd guess you'd say I'm left of center. But that really had nothing to do with my job," said Eckenberg, who is retiring Friday after 39 years with St. Louis County, the last 24 years working with the county board as what's now called "deputy administrator for governance and policy." That may sound like a high-minded job title, but it fits Eckenberg to a T. He's not only fastidious about following protocol and rules, he's also the unofficial county board historian. And he's the go-to person for county commissioners who have an idea they want to see enacted but aren't quite sure how to form it as an official resolution. "They are the ones who were elected. They have the mandate. Whether I personally agree with something or not, it's my job to take their idea and help them put it into words, craft it into something they can get four votes for and have it become a reality," Eckenberg said. "They (commissioners) need to know they have support, that they have someone to go to."
He's also often the go-between for the seven elected commissioners and some 20 department heads and his boss, County Administrator Kevin Gray. In the private sector, with nearly 1,800 employees and a budget of $358 million, Eckenberg might be called an executive vice president. "I've relied on Gary to handle our policy issues. He's a big part of why we have such well-prepared board members and well-prepared department heads so we can get our work done. How we make our decisions is important, sometimes just as important as getting to the end result," Gray said. "You want resolutions that are easy to understand and do what you want them to do. That's never been a problem with Gary." Gray said Eckenberg has a calm, unflappable demeanor that helps smooth over the sometimes rough edges of county board politics. "It's not a political position, but it's surrounded by politics of sort," Gray said. "But Gary stresses objectivity in everything he does... and that carries over. Everyone he deals with knows he's going to be fair with them." Eckenberg said that, unlike some politicians over the years who have tried to squash, shrink or stifle government, he appreciates and respects government and the inner workings of the democratic system. If the decision-making sometimes seems muddled and slow, Eckenberg said, that's the way it's supposed to be. "Government, the process, is intended to slow things down, work out the issues, let everyone get involved who wants to have input. Then those who are elected make a decision, hopefully the right decision," Eckenberg said. "You can't do government in secret. It just doesn't work." His appreciation of the duties of government bodies and elected officials was refined after he served two stints on the Duluth City Council in the 2000s, seeking out and receiving temporary appointments to fill the terms of councilors who left their post early. He enjoyed the experience but has no desire to run for office. "That has sort of passed now," he said. "I gained an appreciation for how that decision-making process works," Eckenberg added. "I have nothing but respect for people who have to make those choices when people are pulling you in so many directions." Eckenberg could easily have taken a different career path. He was a crackerjack cartoonist in the 1960s, including some biting editorial cartoons for the University of Minnesota Duluth Statesman. But, even though he still dabbles in colored pencil today (his caricatures of some past county administrators and city councilors are spot-on), he said he was drawn not to draw for a living. "I kind of resisted having a career based on art. I don't know why, but that's the way I felt," Eckenberg said. His office walls are a museum of sorts, covered with graphic or industrial art such as comic book covers and old advertising posters, including a few of his own works. Colored pencils are his favored medium; he says it takes too long to be a painter. A lot of his collection, such as Howdy Doody and Hopalong Cassidy posters, hark back to his childhood in the '50s and '60s growing up in the first TV advertising-inundated generation. "Things just take you on a winding path in life, and here I am in county administration," he said with a smile. Eckenberg started with the county in 1977, after leaving a school district job, and used his communications, graphic arts and audio-visual background to help the county's health department sell things such as anti-smoking campaigns. Even after he moved to county administration in 1992 he remained keenly focused on health issues. On his own time, he helped push the city of Duluth's groundbreaking smoking ban in restaurants and bars that passed in 2001. Duluth was the first big city in Minnesota to make it illegal to smoke in bars and restaurants. "We led the way for Minnesota to pass the smoking ban in 2007 when Gov. Pawlenty signed the law," Eckenberg said. [[{"type":"media","view_mode":"media_large","fid":"2914384","attributes":{"alt":" Gary Eckenberg keeps a Swiss flag in his office as a reminder to stay neutral. Steve Kuchera / skuchera@duluthnews.com","class":"media-image","height":"480","title":"","typeof":"foaf:Image","width":"313"}}]]All the while, Eckenberg had to stay out of the debate on whether the county should pass a smoking ban for rural bars and restaurants, a hugely controversial idea at the time that widened the historical split between Duluth and Iron Range commissioners. (The county never did pass a separate smoking ban, waiting for the state to take action.) Eckenberg has served under several administrators and a score of county commissioners. He won't pick any favorites on the record and says he genuinely enjoyed working with all of them. "His constant leadership and administrative skills helped us through a lot of transitions, between administrators, with new board members, over the years," said Steve Raukar, who also is retiring this year after serving 26 years on the county board. Raukar also noted Eckenberg's calm, cool demeanor and said his "awareness of the rules was just invaluable... He's a left-brain, right-brain person all rolled into one. He's got the memory and the historical knowledge but he's also very creative. That's a rare find. We were lucky to have him so long." Eckenberg said the most important change in county government during his tenure was the 1987 board decision to hire a full-time county administrator to run the day-to-day operations of county government. Until then, the seven commissioners acted like a sort of seven-headed oligarch, doling out orders to department heads based often on what district they represented. "The Rangers were called road and bridge commissioners; in Duluth they were called welfare commissioners," Eckenberg recalled. Trying to do business with seven heads of state proved tedious and often resulted in less-than-stellar budgeting, he said. "It was grueling. It was a much more political process then. Departments worked against each other and tried to find commissioners who would would back them up," Eckenberg said. The centralized power and professionalism of a county administrator (Gray is the longest-serving at seven-and-a-half years and counting) has helped professionalize the system, Eckenberg said. Still, Eckenberg can often come close to being dragged into the quagmire that local politics can be. But whenever he is asked to take sides or play favorites among the county's elected officials, he points to a shelf above his desk where a small Swiss flag sits in a conspicuous location. "I remained neutral," he said. "That's how I survived so long." The Gary Eckenberg file Job: Deputy St. Louis County administrator for governance and policy. Years with St. Louis County: 39 Age: 66 Grew up: Piedmont Heights Lives: Lincoln Park Family: Wife, Barbara (41 years); three grown daughters. Graduated: Denfeld High School; UMD, degree in political science. Appointed to Duluth City Council: Twice, in 2000 and again in 2009, to fill terms of councilors who left early. Hobbies/passions: Graphic artist, cartoonist; antique collector; the 1937 Dodge touring sedan he's owned since he was 14. Last day on the job: Friday Replacement: The county has advertised for the post and interviewed candidates and is now vetting those candidates. Retirement party: Tuesday from 2-4 p.m. in the county board conference room, second floor, St. Louis County Courthouse in Duluth. Open to the public. You can tell what Gary Eckenberg's personal politics are by the poster just outside his office door - or at least what his politics were in 1972. The poster is of that year's Democratic presidential nominee, George McGovern. But that's about the only clue you'll get about where Eckenberg is on the political spectrum, even after his decades amid the sometimes rancorous politics of the St. Louis County Board. "I'd guess you'd say I'm left of center. But that really had nothing to do with my job," said Eckenberg, who is retiring Friday after 39 years with St. Louis County, the last 24 years working with the county board as what's now called "deputy administrator for governance and policy." That may sound like a high-minded job title, but it fits Eckenberg to a T. He's not only fastidious about following protocol and rules, he's also the unofficial county board historian. And he's the go-to person for county commissioners who have an idea they want to see enacted but aren't quite sure how to form it as an official resolution. "They are the ones who were elected. They have the mandate. Whether I personally agree with something or not, it's my job to take their idea and help them put it into words, craft it into something they can get four votes for and have it become a reality," Eckenberg said. "They (commissioners) need to know they have support, that they have someone to go to." [[{"type":"media","view_mode":"media_large","fid":"2914382","attributes":{"alt":"Items hanging on Gary Eckenberg’s office walls. Photo by Steve Kuchera / skuchera@duluthnews.com","class":"media-image","height":"480","title":"","typeof":"foaf:Image","width":"314"}}]]He's also often the go-between for the seven elected commissioners and some 20 department heads and his boss, County Administrator Kevin Gray. In the private sector, with nearly 1,800 employees and a budget of $358 million, Eckenberg might be called an executive vice president. "I've relied on Gary to handle our policy issues. He's a big part of why we have such well-prepared board members and well-prepared department heads so we can get our work done. How we make our decisions is important, sometimes just as important as getting to the end result," Gray said. "You want resolutions that are easy to understand and do what you want them to do. That's never been a problem with Gary." Gray said Eckenberg has a calm, unflappable demeanor that helps smooth over the sometimes rough edges of county board politics. "It's not a political position, but it's surrounded by politics of sort," Gray said. "But Gary stresses objectivity in everything he does... and that carries over. Everyone he deals with knows he's going to be fair with them." Eckenberg said that, unlike some politicians over the years who have tried to squash, shrink or stifle government, he appreciates and respects government and the inner workings of the democratic system. If the decision-making sometimes seems muddled and slow, Eckenberg said, that's the way it's supposed to be. "Government, the process, is intended to slow things down, work out the issues, let everyone get involved who wants to have input. Then those who are elected make a decision, hopefully the right decision," Eckenberg said. "You can't do government in secret. It just doesn't work." His appreciation of the duties of government bodies and elected officials was refined after he served two stints on the Duluth City Council in the 2000s, seeking out and receiving temporary appointments to fill the terms of councilors who left their post early. He enjoyed the experience but has no desire to run for office. "That has sort of passed now," he said. "I gained an appreciation for how that decision-making process works," Eckenberg added. "I have nothing but respect for people who have to make those choices when people are pulling you in so many directions." Eckenberg could easily have taken a different career path. He was a crackerjack cartoonist in the 1960s, including some biting editorial cartoons for the University of Minnesota Duluth Statesman. But, even though he still dabbles in colored pencil today (his caricatures of some past county administrators and city councilors are spot-on), he said he was drawn not to draw for a living. "I kind of resisted having a career based on art. I don't know why, but that's the way I felt," Eckenberg said. His office walls are a museum of sorts, covered with graphic or industrial art such as comic book covers and old advertising posters, including a few of his own works. Colored pencils are his favored medium; he says it takes too long to be a painter. A lot of his collection, such as Howdy Doody and Hopalong Cassidy posters, hark back to his childhood in the '50s and '60s growing up in the first TV advertising-inundated generation. "Things just take you on a winding path in life, and here I am in county administration," he said with a smile. Eckenberg started with the county in 1977, after leaving a school district job, and used his communications, graphic arts and audio-visual background to help the county's health department sell things such as anti-smoking campaigns. Even after he moved to county administration in 1992 he remained keenly focused on health issues. On his own time, he helped push the city of Duluth's groundbreaking smoking ban in restaurants and bars that passed in 2001. Duluth was the first big city in Minnesota to make it illegal to smoke in bars and restaurants. "We led the way for Minnesota to pass the smoking ban in 2007 when Gov. Pawlenty signed the law," Eckenberg said.
All the while, Eckenberg had to stay out of the debate on whether the county should pass a smoking ban for rural bars and restaurants, a hugely controversial idea at the time that widened the historical split between Duluth and Iron Range commissioners. (The county never did pass a separate smoking ban, waiting for the state to take action.) Eckenberg has served under several administrators and a score of county commissioners. He won't pick any favorites on the record and says he genuinely enjoyed working with all of them. "His constant leadership and administrative skills helped us through a lot of transitions, between administrators, with new board members, over the years," said Steve Raukar, who also is retiring this year after serving 26 years on the county board. Raukar also noted Eckenberg's calm, cool demeanor and said his "awareness of the rules was just invaluable... He's a left-brain, right-brain person all rolled into one. He's got the memory and the historical knowledge but he's also very creative. That's a rare find. We were lucky to have him so long." Eckenberg said the most important change in county government during his tenure was the 1987 board decision to hire a full-time county administrator to run the day-to-day operations of county government. Until then, the seven commissioners acted like a sort of seven-headed oligarch, doling out orders to department heads based often on what district they represented. "The Rangers were called road and bridge commissioners; in Duluth they were called welfare commissioners," Eckenberg recalled. Trying to do business with seven heads of state proved tedious and often resulted in less-than-stellar budgeting, he said. "It was grueling. It was a much more political process then. Departments worked against each other and tried to find commissioners who would would back them up," Eckenberg said. The centralized power and professionalism of a county administrator (Gray is the longest-serving at seven-and-a-half years and counting) has helped professionalize the system, Eckenberg said. Still, Eckenberg can often come close to being dragged into the quagmire that local politics can be. But whenever he is asked to take sides or play favorites among the county's elected officials, he points to a shelf above his desk where a small Swiss flag sits in a conspicuous location. "I remained neutral," he said. "That's how I survived so long." The Gary Eckenberg file Job: Deputy St. Louis County administrator for governance and policy. Years with St. Louis County: 39 Age: 66 Grew up: Piedmont Heights Lives: Lincoln Park Family: Wife, Barbara (41 years); three grown daughters. Graduated: Denfeld High School; UMD, degree in political science. Appointed to Duluth City Council: Twice, in 2000 and again in 2009, to fill terms of councilors who left early. Hobbies/passions: Graphic artist, cartoonist; antique collector; the 1937 Dodge touring sedan he's owned since he was 14. Last day on the job: Friday Replacement: The county has advertised for the post and interviewed candidates and is now vetting those candidates. Retirement party: Tuesday from 2-4 p.m. in the county board conference room, second floor, St. Louis County Courthouse in Duluth. Open to the public. You can tell what Gary Eckenberg's personal politics are by the poster just outside his office door - or at least what his politics were in 1972.The poster is of that year's Democratic presidential nominee, George McGovern.But that's about the only clue you'll get about where Eckenberg is on the political spectrum, even after his decades amid the sometimes rancorous politics of the St. Louis County Board."I'd guess you'd say I'm left of center. But that really had nothing to do with my job," said Eckenberg, who is retiring Friday after 39 years with St. Louis County, the last 24 years working with the county board as what's now called "deputy administrator for governance and policy."That may sound like a high-minded job title, but it fits Eckenberg to a T. He's not only fastidious about following protocol and rules, he's also the unofficial county board historian. And he's the go-to person for county commissioners who have an idea they want to see enacted but aren't quite sure how to form it as an official resolution."They are the ones who were elected. They have the mandate. Whether I personally agree with something or not, it's my job to take their idea and help them put it into words, craft it into something they can get four votes for and have it become a reality," Eckenberg said. "They (commissioners) need to know they have support, that they have someone to go to."
He's also often the go-between for the seven elected commissioners and some 20 department heads and his boss, County Administrator Kevin Gray. In the private sector, with nearly 1,800 employees and a budget of $358 million, Eckenberg might be called an executive vice president."I've relied on Gary to handle our policy issues. He's a big part of why we have such well-prepared board members and well-prepared department heads so we can get our work done. How we make our decisions is important, sometimes just as important as getting to the end result," Gray said. "You want resolutions that are easy to understand and do what you want them to do. That's never been a problem with Gary."Gray said Eckenberg has a calm, unflappable demeanor that helps smooth over the sometimes rough edges of county board politics."It's not a political position, but it's surrounded by politics of sort," Gray said. "But Gary stresses objectivity in everything he does... and that carries over. Everyone he deals with knows he's going to be fair with them."Eckenberg said that, unlike some politicians over the years who have tried to squash, shrink or stifle government, he appreciates and respects government and the inner workings of the democratic system. If the decision-making sometimes seems muddled and slow, Eckenberg said, that's the way it's supposed to be."Government, the process, is intended to slow things down, work out the issues, let everyone get involved who wants to have input. Then those who are elected make a decision, hopefully the right decision," Eckenberg said. "You can't do government in secret. It just doesn't work."His appreciation of the duties of government bodies and elected officials was refined after he served two stints on the Duluth City Council in the 2000s, seeking out and receiving temporary appointments to fill the terms of councilors who left their post early.He enjoyed the experience but has no desire to run for office. "That has sort of passed now," he said."I gained an appreciation for how that decision-making process works," Eckenberg added. "I have nothing but respect for people who have to make those choices when people are pulling you in so many directions."Eckenberg could easily have taken a different career path. He was a crackerjack cartoonist in the 1960s, including some biting editorial cartoons for the University of Minnesota Duluth Statesman. But, even though he still dabbles in colored pencil today (his caricatures of some past county administrators and city councilors are spot-on), he said he was drawn not to draw for a living."I kind of resisted having a career based on art. I don't know why, but that's the way I felt," Eckenberg said.His office walls are a museum of sorts, covered with graphic or industrial art such as comic book covers and old advertising posters, including a few of his own works. Colored pencils are his favored medium; he says it takes too long to be a painter. A lot of his collection, such as Howdy Doody and Hopalong Cassidy posters, hark back to his childhood in the '50s and '60s growing up in the first TV advertising-inundated generation."Things just take you on a winding path in life, and here I am in county administration," he said with a smile.Eckenberg started with the county in 1977, after leaving a school district job, and used his communications, graphic arts and audio-visual background to help the county's health department sell things such as anti-smoking campaigns. Even after he moved to county administration in 1992 he remained keenly focused on health issues. On his own time, he helped push the city of Duluth's groundbreaking smoking ban in restaurants and bars that passed in 2001.Duluth was the first big city in Minnesota to make it illegal to smoke in bars and restaurants."We led the way for Minnesota to pass the smoking ban in 2007 when Gov. Pawlenty signed the law," Eckenberg said.[[{"type":"media","view_mode":"media_large","fid":"2914384","attributes":{"alt":" Gary Eckenberg keeps a Swiss flag in his office as a reminder to stay neutral. Steve Kuchera / skuchera@duluthnews.com","class":"media-image","height":"480","title":"","typeof":"foaf:Image","width":"313"}}]]All the while, Eckenberg had to stay out of the debate on whether the county should pass a smoking ban for rural bars and restaurants, a hugely controversial idea at the time that widened the historical split between Duluth and Iron Range commissioners. (The county never did pass a separate smoking ban, waiting for the state to take action.)Eckenberg has served under several administrators and a score of county commissioners. He won't pick any favorites on the record and says he genuinely enjoyed working with all of them."His constant leadership and administrative skills helped us through a lot of transitions, between administrators, with new board members, over the years," said Steve Raukar, who also is retiring this year after serving 26 years on the county board.Raukar also noted Eckenberg's calm, cool demeanor and said his "awareness of the rules was just invaluable... He's a left-brain, right-brain person all rolled into one. He's got the memory and the historical knowledge but he's also very creative. That's a rare find. We were lucky to have him so long."Eckenberg said the most important change in county government during his tenure was the 1987 board decision to hire a full-time county administrator to run the day-to-day operations of county government. Until then, the seven commissioners acted like a sort of seven-headed oligarch, doling out orders to department heads based often on what district they represented."The Rangers were called road and bridge commissioners; in Duluth they were called welfare commissioners," Eckenberg recalled.Trying to do business with seven heads of state proved tedious and often resulted in less-than-stellar budgeting, he said."It was grueling. It was a much more political process then. Departments worked against each other and tried to find commissioners who would would back them up," Eckenberg said.The centralized power and professionalism of a county administrator (Gray is the longest-serving at seven-and-a-half years and counting) has helped professionalize the system, Eckenberg said.Still, Eckenberg can often come close to being dragged into the quagmire that local politics can be. But whenever he is asked to take sides or play favorites among the county's elected officials, he points to a shelf above his desk where a small Swiss flag sits in a conspicuous location."I remained neutral," he said. "That's how I survived so long."The Gary Eckenberg fileJob: Deputy St. Louis County administrator for governance and policy.Years with St. Louis County: 39Age: 66Grew up: Piedmont HeightsLives: Lincoln ParkFamily: Wife, Barbara (41 years); three grown daughters.Graduated: Denfeld High School; UMD, degree in political science.Appointed to Duluth City Council: Twice, in 2000 and again in 2009, to fill terms of councilors who left early.Hobbies/passions: Graphic artist, cartoonist; antique collector; the 1937 Dodge touring sedan he's owned since he was 14.Last day on the job: FridayReplacement: The county has advertised for the post and interviewed candidates and is now vetting those candidates.Retirement party: Tuesday from 2-4 p.m. in the county board conference room, second floor, St. Louis County Courthouse in Duluth. Open to the public. You can tell what Gary Eckenberg's personal politics are by the poster just outside his office door - or at least what his politics were in 1972.The poster is of that year's Democratic presidential nominee, George McGovern.But that's about the only clue you'll get about where Eckenberg is on the political spectrum, even after his decades amid the sometimes rancorous politics of the St. Louis County Board."I'd guess you'd say I'm left of center. But that really had nothing to do with my job," said Eckenberg, who is retiring Friday after 39 years with St. Louis County, the last 24 years working with the county board as what's now called "deputy administrator for governance and policy."That may sound like a high-minded job title, but it fits Eckenberg to a T. He's not only fastidious about following protocol and rules, he's also the unofficial county board historian. And he's the go-to person for county commissioners who have an idea they want to see enacted but aren't quite sure how to form it as an official resolution."They are the ones who were elected. They have the mandate. Whether I personally agree with something or not, it's my job to take their idea and help them put it into words, craft it into something they can get four votes for and have it become a reality," Eckenberg said. "They (commissioners) need to know they have support, that they have someone to go to."[[{"type":"media","view_mode":"media_large","fid":"2914382","attributes":{"alt":"Items hanging on Gary Eckenberg’s office walls. Photo by Steve Kuchera / skuchera@duluthnews.com","class":"media-image","height":"480","title":"","typeof":"foaf:Image","width":"314"}}]]He's also often the go-between for the seven elected commissioners and some 20 department heads and his boss, County Administrator Kevin Gray. In the private sector, with nearly 1,800 employees and a budget of $358 million, Eckenberg might be called an executive vice president."I've relied on Gary to handle our policy issues. He's a big part of why we have such well-prepared board members and well-prepared department heads so we can get our work done. How we make our decisions is important, sometimes just as important as getting to the end result," Gray said. "You want resolutions that are easy to understand and do what you want them to do. That's never been a problem with Gary."Gray said Eckenberg has a calm, unflappable demeanor that helps smooth over the sometimes rough edges of county board politics."It's not a political position, but it's surrounded by politics of sort," Gray said. "But Gary stresses objectivity in everything he does... and that carries over. Everyone he deals with knows he's going to be fair with them."Eckenberg said that, unlike some politicians over the years who have tried to squash, shrink or stifle government, he appreciates and respects government and the inner workings of the democratic system. If the decision-making sometimes seems muddled and slow, Eckenberg said, that's the way it's supposed to be."Government, the process, is intended to slow things down, work out the issues, let everyone get involved who wants to have input. Then those who are elected make a decision, hopefully the right decision," Eckenberg said. "You can't do government in secret. It just doesn't work."His appreciation of the duties of government bodies and elected officials was refined after he served two stints on the Duluth City Council in the 2000s, seeking out and receiving temporary appointments to fill the terms of councilors who left their post early.He enjoyed the experience but has no desire to run for office. "That has sort of passed now," he said."I gained an appreciation for how that decision-making process works," Eckenberg added. "I have nothing but respect for people who have to make those choices when people are pulling you in so many directions."Eckenberg could easily have taken a different career path. He was a crackerjack cartoonist in the 1960s, including some biting editorial cartoons for the University of Minnesota Duluth Statesman. But, even though he still dabbles in colored pencil today (his caricatures of some past county administrators and city councilors are spot-on), he said he was drawn not to draw for a living."I kind of resisted having a career based on art. I don't know why, but that's the way I felt," Eckenberg said.His office walls are a museum of sorts, covered with graphic or industrial art such as comic book covers and old advertising posters, including a few of his own works. Colored pencils are his favored medium; he says it takes too long to be a painter. A lot of his collection, such as Howdy Doody and Hopalong Cassidy posters, hark back to his childhood in the '50s and '60s growing up in the first TV advertising-inundated generation."Things just take you on a winding path in life, and here I am in county administration," he said with a smile.Eckenberg started with the county in 1977, after leaving a school district job, and used his communications, graphic arts and audio-visual background to help the county's health department sell things such as anti-smoking campaigns. Even after he moved to county administration in 1992 he remained keenly focused on health issues. On his own time, he helped push the city of Duluth's groundbreaking smoking ban in restaurants and bars that passed in 2001.Duluth was the first big city in Minnesota to make it illegal to smoke in bars and restaurants."We led the way for Minnesota to pass the smoking ban in 2007 when Gov. Pawlenty signed the law," Eckenberg said.
All the while, Eckenberg had to stay out of the debate on whether the county should pass a smoking ban for rural bars and restaurants, a hugely controversial idea at the time that widened the historical split between Duluth and Iron Range commissioners. (The county never did pass a separate smoking ban, waiting for the state to take action.)Eckenberg has served under several administrators and a score of county commissioners. He won't pick any favorites on the record and says he genuinely enjoyed working with all of them."His constant leadership and administrative skills helped us through a lot of transitions, between administrators, with new board members, over the years," said Steve Raukar, who also is retiring this year after serving 26 years on the county board.Raukar also noted Eckenberg's calm, cool demeanor and said his "awareness of the rules was just invaluable... He's a left-brain, right-brain person all rolled into one. He's got the memory and the historical knowledge but he's also very creative. That's a rare find. We were lucky to have him so long."Eckenberg said the most important change in county government during his tenure was the 1987 board decision to hire a full-time county administrator to run the day-to-day operations of county government. Until then, the seven commissioners acted like a sort of seven-headed oligarch, doling out orders to department heads based often on what district they represented."The Rangers were called road and bridge commissioners; in Duluth they were called welfare commissioners," Eckenberg recalled.Trying to do business with seven heads of state proved tedious and often resulted in less-than-stellar budgeting, he said."It was grueling. It was a much more political process then. Departments worked against each other and tried to find commissioners who would would back them up," Eckenberg said.The centralized power and professionalism of a county administrator (Gray is the longest-serving at seven-and-a-half years and counting) has helped professionalize the system, Eckenberg said.Still, Eckenberg can often come close to being dragged into the quagmire that local politics can be. But whenever he is asked to take sides or play favorites among the county's elected officials, he points to a shelf above his desk where a small Swiss flag sits in a conspicuous location."I remained neutral," he said. "That's how I survived so long."The Gary Eckenberg fileJob: Deputy St. Louis County administrator for governance and policy.Years with St. Louis County: 39Age: 66Grew up: Piedmont HeightsLives: Lincoln ParkFamily: Wife, Barbara (41 years); three grown daughters.Graduated: Denfeld High School; UMD, degree in political science.Appointed to Duluth City Council: Twice, in 2000 and again in 2009, to fill terms of councilors who left early.Hobbies/passions: Graphic artist, cartoonist; antique collector; the 1937 Dodge touring sedan he's owned since he was 14.Last day on the job: FridayReplacement: The county has advertised for the post and interviewed candidates and is now vetting those candidates.Retirement party: Tuesday from 2-4 p.m. in the county board conference room, second floor, St. Louis County Courthouse in Duluth. Open to the public.
