Breck Craig selected as Village of Taos Ski Valley administrator
The Village of Taos Ski Valley Council voted unanimously last week to hire Breck Craig as the municipality’s new administrator.
Not much was revealed about Craig’s background during last Friday’s (Sept. 13) special council meeting, excepting he will — assuming he accepts the position — arrive in New Mexico from Alaska, “where he is currently a senior project manager [and] has considerable experience running large projects in Alaska [and] also internationally,” according to Mayor Chris Stanek, who added Craig “is a certified project management professional.”
“I found Mr. Craig to be highly organized, [a] very good communicator, very level headed — I think he will be an exceptionally good fit,” Stanek said. “I also note he is a veteran of the Marine Corps.”
Reached by phone Tuesday (Sept. 17), Craig told the Taos News he’s from Colorado originally and is familiar with the Taos area because his sister has lived here for 25 years.
“I’m honored and humbled and excited with the opportunity,” he said, indicating he looks forward to working in a community that’s highly engaged with its local government and politics.
“It’s nice to have a wellinformed and involved constituency,” he said. “It could be challenging, but it makes sure you’re doing what the people want you to do instead of following another agenda.”
Craig was among three finalists competing for the position. Drew Nelson, who has worked in several small governments in Colorado, made it to the last round, as did Rick Bellis, who served as manager for the Town of Taos for over 8 years, among other roles in various local governments.
“There were less than 10, let’s say, serious applications,” Stanek said.
Councilor Doug Turner served on the search committee that evaluated candidates for the administrator position along with Police Chief and interim Administrator Virgil Vigil, Finance Officer Carroll Griesedieck, Parks and Recreation Committee Chair Joan Woodard, Wilson Scandalon, and Bob Corroon.
“I felt he differentiated himself quite a bit because he has a lot of independent private sector experience, versus some of the other candidates, which quite frankly were all government most of their careers,” Turner said. “I think we as a village can benefit from some of the entrepreneurial creativity that comes from the private sector and coming up with outof-the-box solutions to solving some of the challenges we face — which was really refreshing for me to see over the course of this process.”
Craig may not have held office or worked inside government before, but he ran a campaign as an Independent candidate against Sen. Lisa Murkowski in the 2016 general election, and ran for mayor of Anchorage, Alaska, earlier this year, according to Ballotpedia, where he lists Winston Churchill as his top example of an admirable character because Churchill fought the Third Reich. He lists Churchill’s “The Darkest Hour” as the book that most represents his political philosophy, and notes he is a great fan of Neal Stephenson, who wrote “Cryptonomicon,” an epic science fiction novel about fighting digital tyranny and Nazis.
Taos Ski Valley was founded by Ernie Blake, who fought Nazis during World War II, and went on to name several ski runs after Hitler’s attempted assassins.
Vigil has filled in as interim administrator for the village since John Avila, the village’s previous administrator, departed suddenly in April, just before Stanek, who took office in January, fired the village’s planning and community development director, Patrick Nicholson.
“During his interview, it seemed he was willing to fit in pretty good, be a team player,” Vigil said. “And I did harp a lot on him with chain of command, and he was real good about that, especially with his previous military [experience]. That’s what I think would work up here, the chain of command that really we need.”
Avila was the ski valley’s administrator for over four years, starting at a salary in the $80,000 range and departing at around $120,000. He oversaw several major projects for the small municipality, including negotiations that rectified issues with the village’s problematic new wastewater treatment plant.
Stanek told the Taos News he expects to hear back from Craig within the week.
“We are now in the process of extending a formal job offer and are confident he will accept,” Stanek said in an email. “But I expect this will take a few more days — although I hope to announce during our regular council meeting this week that Mr. Craig has accepted.”
Craig, an avid skier, said he expects to take the reins in midOctober.