Jim Hunt

Infobox Officeholder
name = James Baxter "Jim" Hunt Jr.


imagesize =
small

caption =
order = 72nd Governor of North Carolina
term_start = January 1, 1993
term_end = January 1, 2001
lieutenant = Dennis A. Wicker
predecessor = James G. Martin
successor = Mike Easley
order2 = 70th Governor of North Carolina
term_start2 = January 1, 1977
term_end2 = January 1, 1985
lieutenant2 = James C. Green
predecessor2 = James Holshouser
successor2 = James G. Martin
order3 = 27th Lieutenant Governor of North Carolina
term_start3 = January 1, 1973
term_end3 = January 1, 1977
governor3 = James Holshouser
predecessor3 = Hoyt Patrick Taylor, Jr.
successor3 = James C. Green
birth_date = birth date and age|1937|05|16
birth_place = Wilson, North Carolina
death_date =
death_place =
constituency =
party = Democratic
spouse = Carolyn Hunt
children = 4
profession = Farmer, lawyer, politician
education = North Carolina State University
University of North Carolina
religion = Presbyterian


footnotes =

James Baxter Hunt Jr. (born May 16, 1937 in Wilson, NC) is a former four-term Democratic governor of the U.S. state of North Carolina (1977–1985, and 1993–2001). He is the longest-serving governor in the state's history.

Hunt is a graduate of North Carolina State University, with a B.S. in agricultural education and a M.S. in agricultural economics. He also served as Student Body President. In 1964, he received a J.D. from the University of North Carolina School of Law.

Hunt is the only Governor of North Carolina to have been elected to four terms. He was first elected Governor in 1976 over Republican David Flaherty and was re-elected in 1980, defeating I. Beverly Lake. He previously served a term as Lieutenant Governor (1973–1977) under Republican Governor James Holshouser. Hunt supported a constitutional change during his first term that allowed him to be the first North Carolina governor to run for a second consecutive term.

In 1981 Hunt chaired a commission (named after him "Hunt Commission") which established a superdelegates to the Democratic National Convention [http://www.time.com/time/magazine/article/0,9171,949996-3,00.html] .

In 1984 he lost a bitterly contested race for the U.S. Senate seat held by Jesse Helms, and left elective politics for several years. He returned in 1992 and defeated Republican Lt. Governor and Hardees executive Jim Gardner to win the Governorship. Hunt was re-elected by a large margin over future US Congressman Robin Hayes in 1996. He left office in January 2001, and was replaced by fellow Democrat, Attorney General Mike Easley.

Hunt was an early proponent of teaching standards and early childhood education, gaining national recognition for the Smart Start program for pre-kindergarteners. In 2000 he was mentioned as possible Democratic nominee for Vice President of the United States [cite web |url=http://archives.cnn.com/2000/ALLPOLITICS/stories/07/13/gore.veep/index.html |title=Gore considering naming VP immediately after GOP convention |date=2000-07-14 |accessdate=2008-06-08] or Education Secretary for Al Gore had Gore been successful in the 2000 presidential race. 2004 Democratic nominee Sen. John Kerry was likewise considering Hunt for Secretary of Education had he won.

Hunt served on the Carnegie Task Force, which created the National Board for Professional Teaching Standards and more recently on the Spellings Commission on the Future of Higher Education.

While some have criticized Hunt for over-spending during the economic boom of the late 1990s, which contributed to severe budget shortfalls in the early 2000s, he had a long record of energetic leadership in the area of economic development, funding a variety of initiatives that helped transform North Carolina's economy.

Hunt was criticized for allowing Darryl Hunt (no close relation known) to remain in prison for twenty years after the wrongfully convicted Winston-Salem man was exonerated by exculpatory DNA evidence which pointed to another perpetrator. Darryl Hunt was pardoned by the succeeding Governor, Mike Easley. During his terms in office Hunt oversaw 13 executions (two during first period in office, 11 during second), including first post-Furman execution of female (Velma Barfield) and first post-Furman execution on North Carolina (James W. Hutchins).

Governor Hunt chairs the Board of Directors of two institutes which he founded, The James B. Hunt, Jr. Institute for Educational Leadership and Policy at UNC-Chapel Hill, and the [http://www.emergingissues.org Institute for Emerging Issues] at N.C. State University in Raleigh. He also serves on the North Carolina Advisory Board of DonorsChoose.

Governor Hunt currently is a member of the law firm of Womble Carlyle Sandridge & Rice PLLC, in its Raleigh office.

Hunt is Presbyterian and attends First Presbyterian Church of Wilson, NC. Fact|date=February 2007

James B. Hunt High School in Wilson County, North Carolina is named for him, as is a dormitory at the North Carolina School of Science and Mathematics.

Quotes by Jim Hunt

* "Education is our futurendash it’s everything. We must not settle for anything short of excellence in our schools."

References

External links

* [http://projects.newsobserver.com/under_the_dome/profiles/jim_hunt News & Observer profile]
* [http://www.wcsr.com/default.asp?id=86&objId=197 Womble Carlyle Sandridge & Rice, PLLC Biography]
* [http://www.unctv.org/biocon/jhunt/index.html UNC-TV: Biographical Conversations with James B. Hunt, Jr.]
* [http://docsouth.unc.edu/sohp/C-0331/menu.html Oral History Interview with James B. Hunt] from [http://docsouth.unc.edu/sohp/ Oral Histories of the American South]
* [http://www.lib.ncsu.edu/findingaids/mc00003/ James B. Hunt Political Campaign Audiovisual Material, 1980-1997]