Matthew Hunter is one of four candidates running for two open seats on the Assembly. The municipal election is Tuesday, October 6, 2015.
Matthew Hunter is a lifelong Sitkan. He went to Sitka High, got his masters in teaching at the University of Alaska Southeast, and now teaches math and physics at Mt. Edgecumbe High School. Three years ago, he was elected to a seat on the seven member assembly. And this year, he’s hoping to win it again.
By day, Matthew Hunter is a teacher. But in his off hours, he’s a full-time member of the Assembly. He said, “I’ve been on the assembly just long enough that I don’t quite remember what my life was like before the assembly.”
And he holds himself accountable to the goals he set down in the beginning.
“One of my goals was to make sure I read everything I got, I respond to everyone who e-mailed or contacted me, and I always did what I thought was right,” said Hunter. “And so far, I’ve done everything I thought was right. Read everything. I missed one scheduled meeting out of those three years. I’m proud of that. I’ve almost e-mailed and called everyone back. There’s been a couple of people that have slipped through the cracks.”
Like a true math teacher, he said he likes to research before responding, which can take half an hour to an hour per e-mail. When asked why he’s running for another three-year term, Hunter said he agonized over the decision all summer, but couldn’t let himself walk away. “It’s been very difficult to even consider leaving right now because we’re at a critical time for our city,” he said.
And if re-elected, Hunter said he had one priority in mind: “To set Sitka up for success for the next 50 years. 100 years. Indefinitely. I want Sitka to be successful indefinitely. Because I love this town. This is home. In order to become sustainable we need to look very carefully at our entire tax structure. All of our rates. We need to look at all of the services we provide and decide what we can afford to provide and what we should be providing.”
Hunter said that sometimes means putting forth controversial topics. Earlier this summer, he sponsored a proposal to repeal a sales tax exemption for senior citizens and was met with criticism. But Hunter stands by his actions for the sake of opening up the conversation.
“I expected [the criticism] and I understand it. However, the only way that we can act as a body and talk about any issue is to actually bring it to the table, whether it’s popular or not,” said Hunter. That’s in part because of Alaska’s Open Meetings Act, which requires all debate in the Assembly to take place in front of the public. In Hunter’s opinion, “There’s no better way to learn about something than to try to change it, because as soon as you try to change something, anybody with any information is going to be clamoring for their side. I’ve learned more from discussions at the Assembly table about issues that people feel passionate than I could learn from doing research on the issues.”
And for Hunter, he said one of the most valuable lessons has been in listening to discontented Sitkans when on the threshold of a hard decision. “Anytime you deal with any service that affect people’s day to day lives, it becomes a very personal, emotional issue for people. That’s a challenging thing to work through in a way that people feel respected and heard,” said Hunter. “When we go through that process of auditing our services and fees and taxes, nothing is more important than making people feel respected and heard.”
And Hunter has been persuaded by Sitkans to change his mind. He recounts a time last Christmas when the American Legion Hall wanted to host a party for children, though the hall was a smoking establishment. The hall planned to fumigate the building before the party and the general code was vague as to whether or not that was okay. Hunter decided it was not. But then, he thought it about it some more.
“It really came down to parent rights and our fundamental right to liberty,” he said.
Hunter reversed his vote so the hall could have it’s Christmas party. But he is adamant about some things. Moving forward, he said he’ll make all his decisions based on what’s best for Sitka in the long term, even if it’s painful in the short term.
“We have nothing saved to replace infrastructure that’s now failing. We have fifty year old sewer lines that are wood and have rotted through and there is no pipe,” said Hunter. “We have to pay what it costs to live here. It costs a lot to live here. We all make sacrifices to live here. I don’t want to pay more than I have to do, but the last thing I want to do is to borrow from future Sitkans. I don’t want us to live an unsustainably subsidized life so that if 50 years, no one can afford to live here. We have to have families and we have to have children in this town if we’re going to have a healthy community.”
In addition to teaching, Hunter is an EMS lieutenant for the fire department and volunteer with search and rescue. But he said that being on the assembly has been one of the most rewarding jobs of his career.
Hunter said, “It’s amazing to be trusted to get all the information and have the debates and listen to people and then to ultimately make a decision on behalf of the community. That is an amazing and very satisfying position to be in. I’m very thankful people elected me three years ago.”
There are a total of nine candidates for municipal office this year — four running for two seats on the assembly, and five running for two seats on the school board. All are three-year terms. Raven News will feature a different candidate each day between now and the election on Tuesday, October 6.
