| Episode four of Biographical Conversations with James B. Hunt, Jr. focuses on Hunt’s final two terms as governor of North Carolina. Hunt begins by noting how he had changed in the eight years since he left office. He ran unsuccessfully for Jesse Helms’ U.S. Senate seat in 1984; returned to practicing law in 1985; and became a grandfather.
It was his Hunt's new grandchildren, as well as his knowledge of education, that inspired him to concentrate his energies on an early childhood development program--one that would be state funded, but would run more like a non-profit business rather than a government bureaucracy. This was to be Smart Start--a program the governor created and expanded throughout his third and fourth gubernatorial terms. When Smart Start was first launched in July 1993, it had 12 “pioneer partnerships” in 18 counties. By the time Hunt left office in January 2001, Smart Start was available in all 100 of North Carolina counties and had won several national awards. Today, more than a dozen states have modeled early childhood development programs using the Smart Start model.
In 1994, the Republicans gained majorities in both houses of the U.S. Congress. In North Carolina, Republicans took control in the North Carolina House of Representatives, and a share of control within the state Senate. Hunt now had to work with members of the opposing party to gain approval of his budgets, which made for long legislative sessions in 1995 and 1996. Despite these challenges, Hunt passed measures that appeased both parties, focusing on tax cuts and a new crime bill. In 1996, Hunt contended with hog farm pollution and the immense damage wrought by Hurricanes Fran and Bertha, while also beating Republican candidate Robin Hayes to win a fourth gubernatorial term in November.
A few days after his inauguration ceremony at Broughton High School in January 1997, Hunt proposed the Excellent Schools Act, a measure that would raise performance standards for public school teachers while also raising teacher salaries to the national average. Later that year, he oversaw settlement talks between U.S. government officials and North Carolina tobacco companies.
The environment was another final-term focus for Hunt. The Clean Air Act, ratified in 1998, established monitors to measure and analyze air pollution. The following year Hurricane Floyd hit North Carolina, and Hunt rolled up his sleeves to rebuild from the worst natural disaster in state history.
During his final year in office, Hunt began First in America, a campaign aimed at elevating the state's public education system to the top of the national rankings.
Since leaving office in 2001, Hunt has founded the James B. Hunt Institute for Educational Leadership and Policy at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, as well as the Emerging Issues Institute, a think tank based in Raleigh, N.C. The former governor is also a partner at Womble, Carlyle, Sandridge & Rice, and remains, as ever, a doting husband, father, and grandfather.
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