Gordy Hulten is the newest member of the Champaign City Council, recently appointed to represent District 5 covering south and southwest Champaign to complete the term of a former council member. The 35-year-old has been active on the local political scene for more than a decade, having managed campaigns for local Republicans among other pursuits. He was the founder of the recently shuttered Illinipundit.com website, the area’s most popular political blog over the course of its five-year run. Hulten works as Director of Sales and Marketing for Devonshire Group. He and his wife, Pam, are the parents of 2-year-old Will.
See why we think Gordy Hulten is a Chambana dad to know.
Q: You were recently appointed to the Champaign City Council. Are there any issues of particular interest to families that you want to see addressed by city government?
Generally, I think the City of Champaign has done an excellent job with “quality of life” issues that are so important to families, like police and fire protection, intelligent planning, and adequate park space. I think one of the issues on which I’d like to focus is on road infrastructure and improvements, particularly arterial roads like Kirby, Windsor, Duncan and Staley that support much of Champaign’s recent growth but haven’t been upgraded to handle current traffic capacities.
Q: Being on the council is a tremendous time commitment, and you have a demanding job. How do you maintain a good balance of having time with your family?
I just have to be diligent. I try to stay off the phone and email evenings when I’m home with Will, and my bride helps with hints when I’m not “being present.” It helps that I am fortunate enough to work for a company (Devonshire Group) that realizes the importance of employees being involved in the community, and is flexible enough to accommodate some of my Council activities. I try do my prep work – there’s a tremendous amount of reading – after Will’s bedtime.
Pam and I have always been involved in the community in various ways, and when schedules start to get crazy, it’s important to remember that we get involved to try and help improve our community because it’s so important to our family, but doing so at the expense of actually spending time with family is counterproductive.
Q: You’ve been blogging for many years and built a large following on Illinipundit.com, but recently closed the site. Why do you think it was such an active place for so long?
From the beginning, I worked very hard to promote an atmosphere of civility and respect. Several things made that easier. First, civility and respect are very much a part of our local culture, I think because we’re such a diverse, University-centered community. Second, the site focused on primarily on local and state politics, which is still somewhat sheltered from some of the poison of national politics these days. And third, as the site grew, I had a great team of administrators and authors who volunteered their time and energy to protect the culture of discussion that we’d established on there. It wouldn’t have been possible without all three of those factors.
Q: What is your favorite aspect of fatherhood?
Learning and teaching. I’ve learned a lot about myself, my spouse, our marriage and our son throughout pregnancy and parenthood. It’s a completely new perspective, and even though I grew up in a large family, I didn’t really know how I’d react or how we’d react to the responsibilities and challenges. Even the normal, everyday routines that all parents use to get through the days, weeks and months – creating those is a wonderful problem-solving exercise that we get to go through together. They don’t just happen, but are the product of discussions, negotiations, seeing things through our son’s perspective, discipline, etc. And every time we change the routines as he grows, we go through it all again! And that’s just one small piece, but it’s so much fun.
The teaching part is awesome, too. It’s so fulfilling to challenge Will and let him accomplish something on his own before he even realizes what he’s doing. The other day it was the water slide at the pool. We’ve been working on potty-training for a while. When he really starts to understand something and it “clicks,” it’s the best feeling in the world.
Q: In your opinion, what makes this community so family-friendly?
Almost everyone is focused to some degree on quality of life issues and how to improve them. Whether it’s the UI because they’re trying to attract and retain employees, or the city, the schools, the park district, or informal neighborhood groups, it just seems like nearly everyone is working together and doing the little things necessary to allow families to live the type of life they want to live. There are so many choices and opportunities here that if someone isn’t happy doing something, there is always something else.
Q: What would be an ideal Father’s Day for you?
Sleeping in. 🙂
Probably spending the day with our friends and neighbors and their kids. Grilling something and relaxing. Nothing too fancy.
Do you know of a Chambana mom or dad we should interview? We love nominations!