By Thom Little, Ph.D.
“He devoted his life to serving the people of North Carolina, guided by a belief that public service should expand opportunity, strengthen communities, and always put people first.”
NC Lt. Governor Rachel Hunt, daughter of Governor James B. Hunt, Jr
A word of warning – this is not a typical blog from someone who has spent his entire professional career studying, working with and encouraging state legislators and state legislative leaders. I am going to write a positive article about a governor (gasp)!
James B. Hunt, Jr. former Governor (1977-1985; 1993-2001) and Lt. Governor (1973-1977) of North Carolina passed away at 88 years of age last month. A giant in Tarheel politics for more than five decades, Jim Hunt was the ultimate public servant– he loved politics, he loved policy and he combined those two passions to improve the quality of life for all North Carolinians.
Over the years, I had the opportunity to work with Governor Hunt on several occasions. More than forty years ago, I was a college intern in the 1985 NC General Assembly and Hunt was a private citizen for the first time in twelve years. While he was no longer in office, evidence of his work, especially in higher education was evident. The efforts of public service and good policies last long after someone leaves office. Two decades later, in 2006, I called on him to give a keynote address at SLLF’s program with Columbia University’s National Center for Children and Families on Smart Start, an innovative and comprehensive initiative supporting early childhood education in the state that he had championed at the beginning of his third term (1993). The program became a model for other states across the nation. I also was privileged to work with Governor Hunt and his team at the James B. Hunt Jr. Institute for Educational Leadership and Policy on two educational programs in 2008 and 2011.
I have several distinct memories of Governor Hunt that I think perfectly exemplify the man and the public servant. First, at the Columbia Program, he spoke enthusiastically about Smart Start acknowledging that it was inspired by his wife Carolyn. During Hunt’s first term as governor, he had focused on the state’s university system, but as he approached his second tenure as the state’s chief executive, his wife (who had a degree in education) convinced him of the significance of early childhood in preparing students for success. He did not mind sharing credit for achievements, whether it was with his wife or with legislators from the other party.
My second memory is also policy related. At the opening reception for our 2008 program, following a day of visiting childcare programs, he shook my right hand and characteristically grabbed my left elbow (his signature move) and said “We got so much good stuff going on in this state, we just got to tell everybody!” Governor Hunt never lost his enthusiasm for good public policy that could improve the lives of the people he was elected to serve. According to Hunt biographer Gary Pearce, this enthusiasm was contagious, “He made you feel like you were genuinely making the world a better place.”
Governor Hunt’s focus on policy does not mean he ignored politics. Those who knew him as a two-time President of the NC State Student Government said he had his eye on the state’s highest office even then. He volunteered in his first campaign at the age of 11, and while in college and law school, he volunteered for two gubernatorial campaigns. Hunt’s political activities and ambition bring to mind two more stories. During our 2011 program, as we walked into the reception together, he turned to me and remarked, “Okay, who is paying for this thing and who do I need to thank!” He never forgot that good politics is necessary for good policy. Finally, a few years earlier, in 2008, when a former student of mine was running a US Senate campaign, the campaign seemed to be stuck, so she called on Governor Hunt. She said he got all the operatives in the room, assigned each of them specific tasks, encouraged them and got the campaign back on track. The candidate won. He knew that you can’t do good things if you can’t win elections.
Governor Hunt dominated Tarheel politics for more than four decades. When he began his political rise in the late 1960s, North Carolina was, like the rest of the American South, a one party (Democratic) state. By the time he left the governor’s office in 2001, the two parties were near parity, with Republican Jim Martin serving as governor from 1985-1993 and electing a majority in the NC House in 1994 and 1996. A pragmatic leader, Governor Hunt worked with Democrats and Republicans to pass policies that benefitted all North Carolinians. In his 1997 inaugural address, that pragmatism was evident as he reached out to the Democratic Senate and the Republican House, “I look forward to joining with you as this legislature meets the challenge, makes history and leads North Carolina into the 21st Century.”
As I conclude, I will do something I will likely never do again. I ask legislative leaders across the nation, regardless of party, to emulate a governor: The Honorable James B. Hunt, Jr., a true public servant.
