howard j. hunter

From the NC Democratic Party:

District Committees Fill House and Senate Vacancies in Northeastern NC
Raleigh --Democratic First Congressional District Chair Don Davis announced today that 7th District Rep. Ed Jones has been appointed by the 4th Senate District Committee of the First District to fill the vacancy in the State Senate created by the death of Sen. Robert Holloman.

The Committee also nominated Annie Mobley of Ahoskie to fill the vacancy created by the death of 5th District Rep. Howard Hunter.

Chairman Davis announced that an executive committee meeting has been set to fill the vacancy in North Carolina House District 7 vacated with the resignation of Rep. Ed Jones. The executive committee will meet Tuesday, January 23, 2007 at 7:00 a.m. to decide his replacement.

Back in August I did a profile on Representative Howard J. Hunter, who has served the state in the North Carolina House representing District 5. The AP reported on Sunday that Howard Hunter has died. He has had health problems for several years. I would like to extend my thanks to Representative Hunter for his service to our state and to his family for the sacrifices they made which allowed him to serve. Our thoughts are with you.

Democratic officials in Hertford, Bertie, Gates and Perquimans Counties will meet to select a recommendation for Governor Easley's consideration. Hunter's replacement will be appointed by the governor to fulfill the remaining two years of the term. Hunter had just been re-elected to a 10th term.

Please follow below the fold...

Representative Howard Hunter died yesterday. He had just been re-elected to his 10th term representing Hertford, Gates, Bertie and Perquimans County. Governor Easley will appoint a successor to fill the seat. His will be difficult shoes to fill.

Quoting from an earlier BlueNC post:

Hunter's tenure in the House has earned him some choice leadership assignments. He serves as the Chairman of the Appropriation Subcommittee on Natural and Economic Resources, Vice Chairman on the Appropriations Subcommittee on Capital and Vice Chairman on the actual Appropriations committee. He sits on several other commitees. You will find the complete listing here.

I admit it. I'm starting to feel sorry for Puppetmaster Pope. Things have gotten so bad that he's had to write a whole durn column in the News and Observer to explain why the mean old faculty at NCSU should want this "dirty money" and stop saying he's profoundly anti-democratic. His self defense is robust:

There is no factual basis for this. The hard-earned funds the Pope Foundation has received from my family and our company represent earnings from decades of general merchandise retailing in North Carolina and beyond that have provided thousands of jobs and served millions of satisfied customers. Rather than being "anti-democratic," I have served the state as an elected public official. As a legislator I have voted for billions of dollars in education funding, including for scarce public dollars for repairing or replacing outdated and often-hazardous engineering facilities at N.C. State. I have voted against state budgets that did not fund the state's priorities and in fact led to shortfalls and forced reversions of university funds in the middle of the academic year.

Democrat Howard J. Hunter has served 9 terms in the NC House. He is running against Republican Kyle Jones. Hunter serves Hertford, Bertie, Gates and Perquimans Counties. His district falls in NC Senate District 4 and the 1st Congressional District. Go here for a colorful map of the district as it relates to the rest of the state.

Hunter's tenure in the House has earned him some choice leadership assignments. He serves as the Chairman of the Appropriation Subcommittee on Natural and Economic Resources, Vice Chairman on the Appropriations Subcommittee on Capital and Vice Chairman on the actual Appropriations committee. He sits on several other commitees. You will find the complete listing here.