Department of Community and Cultural Affairs Secretary Robert H. Hunter will be assuming a new role as senior policy adviser to the governor. <\/p>\n
At the press briefing Wednesday, Gov. Ralph DLG Torres announced that Hunter will be his senior policy adviser, as well as be his \u201cright hand\u201d in addressing policies in the CNMI. The governor also said that Hunter will continue helping out on all the concerns and activities of the DCCA.<\/p>\n
\u201cObviously, he\u2019s going to be in a more personal matter with me on activities surrounding the CNMI, all the issues. \u2026But I do know that when I spoke to him, his heart has always been with DCCA and that\u2019s not going anywhere. He\u2019ll still be with DCCA,\u201d Torres added.<\/p>\n
The governor said that there are a lot of projects that Hunter has worked on and continues to work on, including the Economic Development Administration funding and grants, and that Hunter will still work on those, as well as on other issues in other departments.<\/p>\n
Hunter, who said he is looking at his new role as \u201can opportunity to move on to tackle other problems,\u201d thanked Torres for the \u201cnew opportunity\u201d and cited the strides that have already been made. \u201cWe bring in about four times more in grant funding than we did four years ago. I think we\u2019re hovering around $15 million this year,\u201d Hunter said. <\/p>\n
\u201cI\u2019ve spent 18 years now working in various capacities of the DCCA. It is an important department, in many ways, and one that\u2019s really close to my heart. I think we really turned the DCCA around in a big way, for both the employees there and where our services are concerned.\u201d <\/p>\n
As for funding, the governor said that Hunter\u2019s new role will be covered with federal funding and won\u2019t cost the CNMI government. \u201cI will not spend more than what my appropriation is to the governor\u2019s account,\u201d Torres stressed. <\/p>\n
Aside from being the DCCA chief since 2016, Hunter also served as director of the NMI Museum of History and Culture, executive director of the Commonwealth Council for Arts and Culture, and as an Arts Program manager for the CNMI Public School System.<\/p>\n
\u201cSecretary Hunter has made DCCA a more efficient and responsive agency that has improved its resource management and streamlined better social services for our people. He will continue to assist DCCA in his new role as senior policy [adviser], but he will also work on addressing our other policy priorities around the government. Lt. Gov. [Arnold I.] Palacios and I are confident that he will serve our Commonwealth well moving forward,\u201d Torres added.<\/p>\n
Hunter will continue overseeing DCCA until an acting secretary is designated.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
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