The Ambassador for Civics and Civility Serving as 2022 CSG national chair, Washington state Sen. Sam Hunt champions democracy. by Joel Sams As a seventh-grader, Washington state Sen. Sam Hunt placed yard signs for a candidate for governor. In college, he served as president of the residence hall council. He’s been a city commissioner, a mayor pro tem, a public educator and worked for the U.S. Senate Appropriations Committee. Serving as CSG national chair for 2022, Hunt says these experiences share a common thread — the ability to make a difference. “In the legislature, I call it being inside the door rather than outside the door,” Hunt said. “The lobbyists and the other folks who want to influence legislation are all outside the door trying to get their views known. But inside, you’ve got that unique ability — the honor — of being able to cast a vote.” This year, Hunt is excited to lead CSG in conversations around civil discourse, strengthening democracy and building bipartisan, collaborative relationships among state leaders.
ISSUE 1 2022 | CSG CAPITOL IDEAS
Hunt was introduced to CSG through former Washington state Rep. Jeff Morris, who was serving as chair of CSG West at the time. Morris talked to Hunt and other freshman legislators about the Western Legislative Academy — one of four regional leadership development opportunities offered by CSG. Morris encouraged Hunt to apply and offered to write a letter of recommendation.
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One of the best-known landmarks in Hunt’s home state, Mt. Rainier National Park drew nearly 2.5 million visitors in 2021.
“The rest is history,” Hunt said. “I liked the way CSG was organized — the regions, where you can concentrate on issues that affect or impact the Western region or the [Midwest] region or the Southern region. It’s a very effective group, and it allows us, as legislators and elected officials, to sit down and discuss issues.” Hunt says the value of CSG for state leaders is the opportunity to learn from experts on a range of issues, as well as to meet leaders from other states and share ideas, discuss state issues and seek solutions. “I’ve made some very good friends in CSG, especially CSG West,” Hunt said. “We socialize together. We work on issues together. I can pick up the phone and call Sen. Gary Stevens in Alaska and say, ‘What’s going on up there? What have you done on this?’” Hunt deeply values collaboration, listening and learning from other perspectives. Given his professional background, that should be no surprise. His long career includes experience at the local, state and federal levels of government, but it may be another professional role — 10 years in public education — that best exemplifies his approach to leadership. As a teacher, Hunt saw about 150 students in his classes on a given day, each of whom brought their own personalities, experiences and challenges. In the classroom and in government, Hunt says, it’s crucial to learn how to negotiate, conciliate and work together. That’s one reason he volunteers with the National Institute for Civil Discourse, and why civil discourse will be one of the areas he focuses on during his time as CSG national chair.
