Chuck Huckelberry, the longtime Pima County executive who resigned in April after losing much of his authority during reorganization, was hired yesterday to manage the Metropolitan Domestic Water District.
The surprise move ends Huckelberry's two-month hiatus from the public sector. He resigned as director of capital planning on April 9 and joined the consulting firm of David Evans & Associates on April 12.
Huckelberry will be paid $80,000 a year at Metropolitan Water, which serves 38,500 customers on the northwest side and Oro Valley.
Huckelberry, who was with the county 19 years, was paid $101,000 a year as assistant county manager until he was demoted by County Administrator Manoj Vyas, who also cut his salary to $85,000.
"We are extremely pleased to have him. He has the ability to work with diverse groups," said Alex Jacome, a member of the Metropolitan Water District board.
The appointment is politically odd. Huckelberry fell out of favor with Ed Moore, the Republican chairman of the Board of Supervisors and a key figure last year in the creation of the Metropolitan Water District.
And Kate O'Rielly, Moore's former executive aide and now head of county Community Resources, is a founding director of Metropolitan Water.
