50 Years with Jim Hunt

Fifty years ago, in 1976, Jim Hunt won his first election for Governor.

That was my first time working in politics.

I came to his campaign straight from The News & Observer, where I had been a copyboy, copy editor, local government reporter, assistant city editor and night city editor.

Then I made the big time: I became a state government-political reporter!

As the third-string reporter on the beat, I didn’t cover the Governor; I was assigned to cover the Lieutenant Governor.

That was Hunt, and that turned out pretty good for me.

He was just 35 years old when he was elected lieutenant governor in 1972, but he presided over the state Senate with a firm gavel and self-assurance.

The lieutenant governor was a powerful position then. He appointed Senate committees, decided which bills went to which committees, set the floor calendar and controlled floor debates.

Some of the old Democratic bulls in the Senate tried to take those powers away from Hunt.

He had never served in elected office before, and he recalled later, “They didn’t really appreciate this young upstart coming in here.”

But he out-worked them, out-maneuvered then, and in the end out-voted them.

He kept the powers, and he never hesitated to use them.

I remember the contentious debate over the Coastal Area Management Act. One of the bill’s most vociferous opponents was Senator Julian Allsbrook of Halifax County, the senior member of the Senate.

Allsbrook offered amendment after amendment to gut the bill. Each one lost.

Finally, Hunt and CAMA’s supporters decided to end debate. The next time Allsbrook rose to offer an amendment, Hunt ignored him and called for the final vote.

Allsbrook angrily slammed down his microphone, and CAMA became law.

Those of us in the Capital press corps then were a cynical lot, and we routinely joked about Hunt’s serious manner and buttoned-up appearance. I perfected a pretty good imitation of him.

But I was increasingly impressed by him. He had a progressive philosophy. Unlike many politicians, he was open to and friendly with reporters.

As he prepared to run for lieutenant governor, he was looking for a campaign press secretary who could work with reporters, especially the capital correspondents.

One of his aides, Paul Essex, who had worked at the N&O, approached me in late 1975: Would I be interested in working with the campaign?

Yes, I would. I enjoyed politics, and I was curious about being on the inside, not on the outside looking in.

A few weeks later, I met with Hunt. We talked about the job, the campaign and working with the press.

I thought he would benefit from being accessible to the news media - and willing to field their toughest questions. He agreed with that. He offered me the job.

Being young, with no family, I decided to take a flyer in life.

At worst, I thought, I’d do politics for a year and, if it didn’t work out, find something else.

But it worked out.

I was lucky to land with Hunt, and we were lucky in 1976.

It was a good year to run as a Democrat.

Republicans were still reeling from Nixon and Watergate.

Democrats nominated a Southern governor, Jimmy Carter, who carried North Carolina by 55-44%.

Hunt won by 65-34%.

When he became Governor, I went to work in the Capitol as his press secretary.

My one-year flyer turned into 16 years in the Governor’s Office, four successful campaigns for Governor, an unsuccessful campaign for U.S Senate in 1984 and a lifetime working with Hunt.

In 2024, I helped raise money for his daughter Rachel when she won election as lieutenant governor.

Someone asked me then, “How long did you work for Governor Hunt?”

“Forty-eight years so far,” I said.

He died last December 18 - two weeks shy of 50 years after I joined the campaign.

Not long ago, his long-time aide Howie DeVane and I were talking about him.

We agreed that hardly a day goes by when we don’t remember something he did, something he said, something that inspired us or something that makes us want to do better, be better and live up to his example.

We still haven’t stopped working for Jim Hunt.

We never will.

This photo, from the late 1970s, sums up my working relationship with Jim Hunt. He’s got the ball, and I’m ready to react to whatever he does next.

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