[This is a post about a historical public officeholder in Youngstown. Please don’t use this article for online debates about contemporary Youngstown or national politics.]

He was the only mayor of Youngstown I ever voted for, voting for him for his last two terms in office in 1973 and 1975. He is the only mayor in Youngstown history to complete four terms as of this date. And the mayor was a Republican in a city known at that time as a Democratic stronghold.

He was born March 13, 1930, growing up in Youngstown. A graduate of South High School, he served for four years with the Marine Corps, including a tour of duty during the Korean War as a sergeant. He graduated with a Bachelor’s degree in economics from the University of Denver and a Master’s degree in political science from Kent State University. He taught at Youngstown State University and served as a trust officer and then a vice president at Mahoning National Bank, a position he held prior to and after his years as mayor.

For many years, he lived with his mother on Youngstown’s Southside and in 1965 ran for councilman in Youngstown’s fifth ward where he served two terms. In 1969, he became the Republican candidate for mayor, running against incumbent, three-term mayor Anthony Flask. It was a hard fought campaign. At the time, most attributed his victory margin of 3368 votes to the recent riot and shooting at Stop 5 on Poland Avenue at the entrance to Republic Steel when two teamster factions clashed, with one man dying.

Hunter married Pauline Pieton while in office. When their first child was born at St. Elizabeth Hospital, she was greeted with a billboard at Rayen and Belmont Avenues as she drove to the hospital:

Dear Polly: If it's a girl,
think Jo-Lynn; a
good Irish-Polish name...
Jack

As it turned out, they had a boy, named Jonathan David.

While in office, he presided over the much ballyhooed Federal Plaza project, turning parts of Federal Street and Central Square into an outdoor pedestrian mall. After early enthusiasm, my sense is that it was unpopular with most Youngstown residents and Central Square was re-opened to traffic in 2004.

It seems that part of the secret of Hunter’s success was that he acted with integrity and refused to play politics. Councilman Jerome McNally, a Democrat, spoke at Hunter’s funeral of how Hunter encouraged him to enter politics and mentored him, even though they were in different parties. Former Democrat councilman Herman “Pete” Starks paid him this tribute at his funeral:

“I served under four mayors during my 22 years on council, and he was the best of them,” said Starks, who was a pallbearer for Hunter. “He was a man of his word. There was no such thing as Democrats or Republicans with Jack Hunter. He was about taking care of business.” (Source: Youngstown Vindicator)

When ground was broken for the Boardman Expressway in October of 1971, weeks before an election in which Frank R. Franko, a former Democrat mayor was running against Hunter, the two appeared together. Franko had been part of the planning of the freeway and Hunter was able to look past the rivalry in including him, along with former Democrat mayor Frank Kryzan.

Perhaps it was his good fortune to conclude his fourth term as mayor in 1977, a year before the devastating mill closures. He went on to serve ten years on the state board of education from 1982 to 1991, and then again from 1998 until the time of his death. At Hunter’s funeral, Susan Tave Zellman, Ohio superintendent of public instruction said of Hunter, “On any issue, he always asked, ‘Is it good for the children?’ ” (Youngstown Vindicator).

Throughout his life, he was a member of Pleasant Grove United Presbyterian Church as well as a number of business and civic organizations. He was known as a religious man and committed to community service, both in office and out. He died of cancer on June 9, 2001, having been diagnosed only the week before. He is buried at Forest Lawn Memorial Park.

Jack Hunter represented a rare tradition of seeing public office as public service. He described his victory in 1969 as “not a Republican victory but a people’s victory.” In A Heritage to Share: The Bicentennial History of Youngstown and Mahoning County, Ohio, he wrote in 1976:

“I dream of a day when we put behind us the pernicious doctrine of what’s in it for me, or something for nothing, and give wholly and unstintingly of ourselves to make our neighborhood, our church, our schools, our community, a better place for all persons.”

Drawing on his business background, he worked hard to practice economy in government, making the most of people’s tax dollars. Then, he went on to serve Ohio’s children. My son, who graduated from high school in 2003 was one of those who benefited from his educational leadership. Thank you, Jack Hunter, for showing us the best of what is possible for those in public office, and for your service to your country, your home town, and the people of Ohio.

To read other posts in the Growing Up in Working Class Youngstown series, just click “On Youngstown.” Enjoy!