Dean Hunter

Dean Hunter earned a high school diploma from Madison County High School and additional education from the University of Georgia, College of Veterinary Medicine, in 1987. His career experience includes working as a veterinarian.[1]

Who are you? Tell us about yourself.

The current US trajectory is degrading and on a clear path for collapse. We must make a change. Money in politics has created unprecedented corruption. The political pendulum continues to swing from one extreme to the other and it is time to narrow the extremes. Although I am running as a Democrat, my more liberal positions tend to be rooted in conservative values. We should be feeding children at school because it pays dividends in their performance. Universal Medicare not only improves everyone's access to health care, it is fiscally responsible and will save us money. Investment in early education improves our economic development. Firearms is the number one cause of death in our children - the NRA started as a gun SAFETY organization, let's fertilize those roots! We can support women's reproductive health AND reduce abortion by supporting pregnancy and early child development, not by trying to legislate health care. EVERY country has immigration laws and VISA management, we can too - but with well developed, sensible and consistent (not changing with each administration) policy that supports our economic growth as well as world humanitarian needs. We can still have the world's strongest military, but our "soft defense" investments yield greater returns in reducing the need to flex our strength. True Faith is not something forced on others. Our founding fathers understood that, and true conservatives do as well.

Please list below 3 key messages of your campaign. What are the main points you want voters to remember about your goals for your time in office?

I haven't taken any money from anybody during this campaign. Individuals have offered to donate, but I know how much groceries and gas cost, they need that money at home. Organizations have offered to donate, but that always leaves an implied reciprocity. It should be obvious to every American that we are overdue for campaign finance reform. True concern about election integrity should start there. Voter ID is not a bad thing as long as it is sensibly done. But we miss the real opportunities at corruption by failing to control who bought the candidate on the ballot. This is not an effort to make implications of my opponent, but of a much bigger problem, our system as a whole needs change.Our political weather seems to sway from one extreme to the other. We won't be able to enjoy balmy days until we find a way to accept some common ground. I believe more common ground exists than we realize. But the gods of politics keep us saturated with the deluge of lighting and thunder, chasing us with so much noise that we fail to identify the fertile soil beneath our feet. It's time to put political power in the hands of people who will use it to cultivate unity, which is how as a society we can progressively move forward. Our constant division is like two mules tied together, each pulling to reach opposing hay bales, failing to understand that if they walk together, they can collectively eat all the hay.A healthy democracy relies on engagement. Arkansas struggles with some of the lowest voter turnout numbers in the US. Addressing this requires we start by asking the question: "Why are people not engaged?" No doubt many people feel their voices aren't being heard, their participation doesn't impact change. In a Representative Democracy like ours, the qualities of great leadership include the ability to make people feel a valuable part of the process. Great leadership recognizes that while your job is to represent the people, it is also to lead them to becoming their best selves. When we see our collective direction empowering our lowest values, it is time for a comprehensive reboot. We can be better.

What areas of public policy are you personally passionate about?

Our Children. We are forced to witness our children struggle with the world we created and are now handing them. This impacts most every aspect of our society beyond just public schools and food access, (both of which Arkansas desperately needs to prioritize). It impacts our environment and energy consumption; what we identify as "progress" and our investments towards those ends; health care access; home ownership access; international relations; and most of all, the ability to see the humanity of others and our ability to accept people who we perceive to be in some way different from ourselves. If it takes a village to raise a child, we need to be a great village.

Who do you look up to? Whose example would you like to follow, and why?

Abraham Lincoln faced a country during its greatest division and managed to lead us back to common ground. Despite his reported dalliances, John F. Kennedy seamed to serve with political integrity. (But both these men were assassinated, I'd rather not follow that example).

What characteristics or principles are most important for an elected official?

Regnant Populus - remembering the people rule. The most important trait is the ability to recognize when to follow (the will of the people) and when to lead (the collective to our better selves).

What do you believe are the core responsibilities for someone elected to this office?

Making those you represent feel they have been heard and that they are a valuable integral part of the political democratic process.

What legacy would you like to leave?

I'd rather my legacy be more about the accomplishments of the term rather than myself. Whatever we achieve collectively will be greater than what I could achieve independently.

What was your very first job? How long did you have it?

I started work in the third grade, delivering newspapers. I held that responsibility for several years till moving up to farm gig work in hayfields and cleaning chicken houses. Then I was ultimately promoted to milking cows on a dairy farm.

What is something that has been a struggle in your life?

Probably my longest, greatest, continued struggle is distinguishing between what I have been indoctrinated to believe and what my personal faith is, and how that couples my relationship with my creator and my fellow man.

What do you believe is the ideal relationship between the governor and state legislature?

The governor should play a leadership role and collecting point of diverse interest across state government. This requires working with, but not for the state legislature and serving as a bulwark for the public.

What do you perceive to be your state's greatest challenges over the next decade?

Our greatest challenges will no doubt be from technological "progress". The continued demand for unbridled AI development coupled with quantum leaps in demand for Data Center storage will create a cascade of issues including energy management; unemployment; market control/collapse; and most worriedly, independent moral integrity of the systems.

Do you believe that compromise is necessary or desirable for policymaking?

Compromise is the very essence of social policy making. We seem to have reached a place where the mistaken belief is that the objective is to generate enough independent political power to bully your position over the concerns of others. This only creates an environment where everyone is striving for power rather than progress.

What was the first historical event that happened in your lifetime that you remember?

I still remember when we landed on the moon. The country was electric with communal elation. We established a goal, outpaced our competition, identified heroism in the astronauts and were unified in our prayers for their safe return.