Ex-Detroit biz editor now running Colorado paper

Randy Essex, the former deputy managing editor of business and civic affairs at the Detroit Free Press, is now the editor of the Post Independent in Glenwood Springs, Colo.

Essex writes, “After that, I worked six years at the Detroit Free Press — I moved from a post-World War II idyllic neighborhood in Des Moines to post-industrial downtown Detroit. I’m not a guy who’s afraid of change.

“In Detroit, part of my job was overseeing business coverage, including the bankruptcies of General Motors and Chrysler — but I left before the whole city went bankrupt. I developed a lot of affection for Detroit, and I and cheer for its recovery. Detroit’s history shows a lot of what is both right and wrong with America, from the rise of the middle class to the danger of counting too much on any one industry.

“While there, I created a program called Michigan Green Leaders, seeking to identify best practices and potential for the green economy. It was a nonpartisan, business-oriented program that drew Bill Ford Jr. as its first keynote speaker and brought together activists, conservationists, entrepreneurs, politicians and industrialists. I reveled in making those connections and hope we can bring people together on issues here.

“Green Leaders also led me to a brief stint with Rocky Mountain Institute, the energy think tank based in Old Snowmass, and falling in love with this area before I was lured back to news. I spent the last two years as senior editor/news at the Cincinnati Enquirer, where I got to watch the 2012 presidential race up close in always-critical Ohio.”

Read more here.