Citizen Jim
Gov. Hunt says he will be `very active' 
in public affairs after his fourth term ends, 
especially in economic development

Editor's Note: James Baxter Hunt Jr., who will complete his fourth, and apparently final, term as governor next month, seemed relaxed and rested when we stopped by his office for this interview. As we were entering his Capitol office, four top executives of a German company were leaving, and it was apparent from their conversation that they had just received one of Gov. Hunt's famous pep talks on the benefits of expanding their business in North Carolina. Because he was so focused on that issue, it seemed appropriate to begin the interview on that topic. What follows is an edited transcript of that interview with Editor Steve Tuttle:

What have been your principles in economic development?
I want people to have good jobs. I want them to be able to provide well for their families, take care of their children. In a sense, all that I've been about as governor grows out of that. I grew up with a lot of poor people around me, and I really felt for them, and I still do. So in a sense you could look at my whole career and say, well, Jim Hunt is committed to getting good jobs for the people of North Carolina and has figured out what it takes to build the quality of life that will attract investment and good jobs.

The folks in economic development circles are wringing their hands about losing you as the state's best and most visible salesman. They're hoping you might continue in that role in some way.
Let me first say that I will be fully supportive of whoever is my successor here. He will be the governor of North Carolina and I will be a private citizen, but I will be a very active private citizen, willing to do anything I can to support economic development, and to continue to appropriately encourage companies that I've worked with over the years. You know, I recruited the first Japanese industries here. I've led more foreign missions, maybe more than all other governors put together. But the fact is I have put my heart and soul into this and I know the people involved; I know what their concerns are because we've worked with them. So in the private sector, whatever I'm doing, I will be there as an interested citizen, anxious to help in any way I can, and very careful not to get in the way of the new governor.

In your opinion, what type of governor do you think you've been? What adjectives would you use to describe yourself?
I believe I am a governor who cares very deeply about people. I hope people will say that I understood economic development and how people need good jobs; that I realized the importance of a smart start, good public education and higher education; that I worked wholeheartedly with the private sector to identify their needs and how we can work together as partners; and that I worked at this job with as much energy, drive and aggressiveness as I possibly could.

It's been remarked that you were among the first of the “New Democrats,” a consensus builder who could work equally as well with the business community as you could other opposing groups. Is this something that you strove consciously to create or did you just see the tools there and use them?
I did not consciously strive to create anything. I've always tried to do what works. I don't come from some ideological position. I want to treat people right and give them equal opportunities. I understand how the world works and I understand how the private sector works. The answer is not in narrow partisanship. I'm a Democrat, I believe in the precepts of Thomas Jefferson, Franklin D. Roosevelt, Harry Truman, John F. Kennedy. My goal has always been to help develop a state in which people have the good jobs, get the good start, have an excellent public education and live within an environment that is clean and makes for a good quality of life. I don't think about the party. I think about the common good and I see the party as serving that. So, yes, I'm delighted to be called a New Democrat or a modern Democrat or whatever the name is — if you let me define that, and to me that means identifying the things that help people, that enable people to be successful; being pro-business, supporting business and understanding what their needs are and supporting public policies that promote all these things. Frankly, I have found that there is a great community somewhere in the middle here between people who push hard for major public investments and those who insist on accountability in things like education and who are responsible for the success of business. That's why people like Phil Kirk and I have so much in common. That's why I have so much in common with the heads of major corporations in North Carolina. I'm going up to cut the ribbon on the new Nucor steel plant, a plant that really tested fully my ability to bring environmental concerns and economic needs together, as much as anything I've ever done. But that's the way I see the world. I don't see the world as political. I don't seen the world as partisan. I know you have to be political to work successfully in that environment. But my goal is to get things done.

You were the first governor to have the veto, but you never used it.
I haven't used it by vetoing a bill (laughs). The benefit of the veto is for the legislature to know and the people to know that the governor does have a voice. And you should use it not on the back end as much as on the front end so you're really a part of the conversations, you really get a chance to point out what's at stake. I think the governor's office has been greatly strengthened by the veto. It has been a real help and I have used it actively, regularly, in influencing what came out of the legislature.

How does it feel to hear you name mentioned in State of the Union speeches and in the presidential debates?
It makes me feel good for North Carolina. It's nice. It makes me very proud that people are aware of what we've been doing. It's a compliment to the state of North Carolina, not to me personally.

Looking back over your 20 years in public office, if you had one thing to do over, what would it be?
I would start earlier on some of the initiatives that have become full blown now. I helped put in kindergarten in this state; I wish we had put in Smart Start at the same time. I put in a minimum competency test in my first two terms; I wish we had put in a maximum competency test, as we now have. I started efforts to improve teacher training, to see that they were better prepared. I wish we had had a national board for professional teaching standards back then. But you need to learn about these things as you go along. You start off feeling you're pretty knowledgeable, but I've learned so many things over the years.

What areas do you think you have been most successful at?
Economic development and education.

What areas do you think you have been least successful at?
I don't think there are any areas where we've been unsuccessful. But trying to get the bureaucracy to renew itself and to focus on goals and customer service and quality work has been real tough. We have batted our heads in and we have tried and we have made improvements. But we haven't done as much as I would like.

What will be the first thing you do after you move out of the Governor's Mansion in January and your successor is sworn in?
(Laughs) You have to understand I have had some experience at that. I think the first thing I will do is we will go down to my farm in Wilson County, and I will check with my grandson to see if there is any chance we can go deer hunting. And then I will feed my cows. I'll visit my elderly father, who's pretty infirm. I'll love my wife and spend more time with her. And then I'll get about the next things I'll be doing in my life. There's some business possibilities. I may return to my law firm. I will continue to chair the National Commission on Teaching and America's Future, working on the Carnegie Corporation board. Jim Hunt's going to be real busy. And I will continue to be available to anybody in government, the legislature, if I can provide some advice, if I can help encourage some companies to invest here and bring jobs here — again, being very, very careful not to get in the way of the new governor and the new administration.

Are there any role models you've considered emulating as you take on this new role as, for lack of a better term, an elder statesman of North Carolina?
There are a lot of them. I have watched every governor in the last 50 years come in and go out. I got to know Luther Hodges after he was governor, and he encouraged me to run the first time. Terry Sanford was somebody I was very close to. What a marvelous example he set for continuing in public service after being governor. I watched Dan K. Moore, a great man who served on the state Supreme Court and had some of the most fruitful years of his life there. Bob Scott went on to be president of the community colleges and served as head of the Appalachian Regional Commission. Jim Holshouser, under whom I served as lieutenant governor and who has since become a real friend, he and I think a lot alike on education and we've worked closely on many things, much of it behind the scenes. Gov. Martin went to Charlotte and used his training in chemistry to build a great hospital system. I have watched all of these people. I admire them all and I will be inspired by them.

Not only is North Carolina losing a very experienced governor, but looking down the ballot, many others also are leaving office or retiring, including Jim Graham and Harlan Boyles. How do you think losing these leaders will affect not only our politics but also the effectiveness of state government?
You naturally lose a little bit without that experience. But the fact is I'm very excited about the new generation of leaders coming up. They're in politics for the right reasons. And they also bring a lot of energy and drive. I couldn't be more pleased with the new political leadership that's coming along.

If you received a call from the new president asking you to come to Washington, how do you think you would respond?
I would certainly listen, but I'm not eaten up with the idea of going to Washington. The fact is I love this state so much and I've been so involved in its development over the years, I think that as a private citizen I can do a lot to help keep North Carolina moving forward. I'm looking at a lot of things — the universities are talking to me about some involvement with them. There are a lot of things that people are coming to talk to me about. And I'm getting pretty excited about it. You can be assured, as you probably are, that whatever I'm doing, I will be enjoying it, I will be doing it with full vigor, and I will be looking ahead.

COPYRIGHTED MATERIAL. This article first appeared in the December 2000 issue of the North Carolina magazine

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In His Words

Let me first say that I will be fully supportive of (Gov.-elect Mike Easley). He will be the governor of North Carolina and I will be a private citizen, but I will be a very active private citizen, willing to do anything I can to support economic development, and to continue to appropriately encourage companies that I've worked with over the years.





I hope people will say that I understood economic development and how people need good jobs; that I realized the importance of a smart start, good public education and higher education; that I worked wholeheartedly with the private sector to identify their needs and how we can work together as partners; and that I worked at this job with as much energy, drive and aggressiveness as I possibly could.





I think the first thing I will do is we will go down to my farm in Wilson County, and I will check with my grandson to see if there is any chance we can go deer hunting. And then I will feed my cows. I'll visit my elderly father, who's pretty infirm. I'll love my wife and spend more time with her. And then I'll get about the next things I'll be doing in my life. 





I'm not eaten up with the idea of going to Washington. The fact is I love this state so much and I've been so involved in its development over the years, I think that as a private citizen I can do a lot to help keep North Carolina moving forward.





Jim Hunt's going to be real busy. And I will continue to be available to anybody in government, the legislature, if I can provide some advice, if I can help encourage some companies to invest here and bring jobs here — again, being very, very careful not to get in the way of the new governor and the new administration.