By Kevin Lavery, KWMU
St. Louis, MO – Hunter spent part of his 33 years in St. Louis television as host of a local CrimeStoppers show.
He also served on the board of Backstoppers, a charity supporting families of police and firefighters killed in the line of duty.
Hunter says as a reporter, he always tried to recognize how citizens, the police and commissioners could work in harmony.
"Unfortunately, I've had to report discord, conflict and strife...but this is not a perfect world, not a perfect community," Hunter said. "That means we all have to redouble our efforts to walk and work in unity.
As a commissioner, Hunter will likely help decide whether the board should create a civilian oversight panel to check police behavior. He says he wants to study the issue in-depth.
"Sure, I know that citizens have cried out for that...but then I think of the fact that each one of those four board members and including the mayor as ex-officio is a citizen, but we also have the interest of the police department involved," Hunter said. "And I'll have to investigate whether a citizen review board would be redundant.
Hunter replaces outgoing commissioner Bart Saracino. Pending confirmation by the Missouri Senate, he'll serve until January 2010.