Rector Samuel Hunt III (born September 1, 1941) is an American businessman and retired politician. A Democrat, he served in the North Carolina House of Representatives from 1985 to 1992, representing the 25th district. He served as Secretary of the

North Carolina Department of Transportation The North Carolina Department of Transportation (NCDOT) is responsible for building, repairing, and operating highways, bridges, and other modes of transportation, including ferries in the U.S. state of North Carolina. History The North Carolina ...

from 1993 to 1995.

Early life

Rector Samuel Hunt III was born on September 1, 1941, in

Burlington, North Carolina Burlington is a city in Alamance County, North Carolina, Alamance and Guilford County, North Carolina, Guilford counties in the U.S. state of North Carolina. It is the principal city of the Burlington, NC Metropolitan Statistical Area, which en ...

, United States to Rector S. Hunt Jr. and Mildred Rachel Hunt. He attended Williams High School from 1955 to 1959 and graduated from Eastern Carolina University in 1965. He served in the

United States Army The United States Army (USA) is the primary Land warfare, land service branch of the United States Department of Defense. It is designated as the Army of the United States in the United States Constitution.Article II, section 2, clause 1 of th ...

from 1966 to 1969 and in the

Army Reserves A military reserve force is a military organization whose members (reservists) have military and civilian occupations. They are not normally kept under arms, and their main role is to be available when their military requires additional ma ...

in 1970 at the rank of

first lieutenant First lieutenant is a commissioned officer military rank in many armed forces; in some forces, it is an appointment. The rank of lieutenant has different meanings in different military formations, but in most forces it is sub-divided into a se ...

. The following year he and his father opened Hunt Electrical Supply, a business which was eventually expanded to encompass nine stores. He married Vicky Silek and had a son with her.

Political career

Hunt is a member of the Democratic Party. He was appointed to the North Carolina House of Representatives seat for the 25th district, representing Alamance, Rockingham, and a portion of Stokes counties, on November 7, 1985, to replace Tim McDowell. He served until 1992. During his tenure he sponsored bills to raise the highway speed limit 65 miles per hour and create the North Carolina Highway Trust Fund. In 1987 he helped block efforts to create a hazardous waste facility in Alamance County. In January 1989 he joined with Republicans and dissident Democrats to unseat

House Speaker The speaker of a deliberative assembly, especially a legislative body, is its presiding officer, or the chair. The title was first used in 1377 in England. Usage The title was first recorded in 1377 to describe the role of Thomas de Hung ...

Liston B. Ramsey and replace him with Josephus L. Mavretic. On January 23, Mavretic appointed him chairman of the new House Infrastructure Committee. He supported Dan Blue's bid for the speakership in 1990. Hunt retired from the legislature in 1992 to attend to his businesses due to an economic recession. He raised money for Democratic gubernatorial candidate

Jim Hunt James Baxter Hunt Jr. (born May 16, 1937) is an American politician and retired attorney who was the List of governors of North Carolina, 69th and 71st governor of North Carolina (1977–1985, and 1993–2001). He is the longest-serving governo ...

(of no relation) that year. Jim Hunt won, and upon taking office in January appointed him Secretary of the

. During his tenure the department launched the Piedmont Service, a passenger rail connection between Raleigh and Charlotte. He left the department in 1995 to serve as the chairman of the governor's reelection committee.

Later life

In 1997 a section of

Interstate 40 Interstate 40 (I-40) is a major east–west transcontinental Interstate Highway System, Interstate Highway in the Southeastern United States, southeastern and Southwestern United States, southwestern portions of the United States. At a leng ...

was named the Sam Hunt Freeway. In 2002 he and his wife raised private donations to build an animal shelter in Burlington and he lobbied the Burlington City Council to appropriate additional funds for the purpose. In his later years Hunt purchased a home in

Palm Beach, Florida Palm Beach is an incorporated town in Palm Beach County, Florida, United States. Located on a barrier island in east-central Palm Beach County, the town is separated from West Palm Beach, Florida, West Palm Beach and Lake Worth Beach, Florida, ...

and split his time between there and Burlington.

References

Works cited

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Hunt, R. Samuel 1941 births People from Burlington, North Carolina 20th-century members of the North Carolina General Assembly Democratic Party members of the North Carolina House of Representatives State cabinet secretaries of North Carolina Living people