“I like to think I’m looking to the center,” he said, with an earnest smile.

Hunt, 71, grew up in El Paso, where he found his footing in finance about a quarter into life. He packed his bags for Pennsylvania and attended the Wharton School for a master’s in business, followed by almost 15 years working for Citibank in Chicago, New York, Los Angeles, San Francisco and Jakarta, Indonesia.

He landed an investment management position with Eli Broad’s SunAmerica, which poised Hunt to launch his own private equity firm in 2001. In 1999 Maggie Hunt purchased property in Jackson Hole, and in 2014, the couple moved to town for full-time residency.

Months after sinking new roots in the Hole, Hunt’s friend invited him to join the Jackson Hole Historical Society and Museum board, which would usher his engagement with nonprofits and entities across Jackson, like START Bus and Friends of Pathways.

While Hunt has avoided politics in the last near-decade by supporting nonpartisan nonprofits in the transportation and arts arenas — his wife had her hand in blue paint since 1999.

After spending years in big cities, Maggie Hunt felt her political footprint was nearly unnoticeable. Teton County, home to roughly 23,000 residents, versus 3.8 million in Los Angeles, compelled her to raise her voice.

Even as a part-time resident, she would attend meetings, table and help fundraise for the Teton County Dems. In 2014, when she moved to Jackson year-round and started to notice the “inexorable move to the right” in politics on a national scale, she amped up her Democratic activism.

She became a board member of Planned Parenthood of the Rockies in 2017, when reproductive rights bills started to hit the floor in Wyoming legislature, and became the chair of the Teton County Democratic Party about five years later. Maggie Hunt still holds both positions.

While her husband said he’s socially liberal but fiscally conservative, when he gets “new info,” he “sometimes like[s] to change his mind.”

“The parties have really flip-flopped,” Jim Hunt said. “If you look at history, Democrats have done a great job of balancing the budget.”

Business executives have historically swung red, as 58% of big company chief executive officers contributed to the GOP, compared with 19% of Democrats, according to the National Bureau of Economic Research. Limited taxes and governmental regulation, traditionally “business friendly” values, fell into the GOP’s branding for decades.

However, over the years, money-minded folks have started to pivot politically.

In June 2022, for example, the Republican party saw 7% fewer executives than in 2016. A handful of C-level execs with investment banking companies and private equity firms — like Jon Gray of Blackstone Inc., Mellody Hobson of Ariel Investments, LLC and Jim Coulter of TPG Capital — contributed to Joe Biden’s 2020 presidential campaign, instead of business mogul and former president Donald Trump.

“History would suggest that the Dems might have had a little more success in financial conservatism,” Hunt said. “Ask Chat GPT.”

He cited Bill Clinton’s presidency, noteworthy for Clinton’s commitment to free trade and financial deregulation — demonstrated in his signing of the North Atlantic Free Trade Agreement and repeal of the Glass-Steagall. While businesspeople shuddered at President Ronald Reagan’s deficit management, Clinton balanced the national budget and ran a surplus for four consecutive years.

Hunt also commented on how the Republican Party has “done a better job at identifying themselves with patriotism,” messaging more with the American flag, which he thinks has lost the Democratic Party allies: “Why wouldn’t you want to grab that space? Nobody has a monopoly on patriotism.”

When asked about taxes, he said his perception is “the biggest frustration my peers have is government inefficiency.” He noted how “waste drives [his peers] to distraction,” and that places like California, which have so many demands on businesses, have become less desirable for business deals.

But while Wyoming is known as a “tax refuge,” Hunt said he loves Jackson Hole for the “open spaces” and “recreational opportunities,” not for the tax deals in particular. Since Wyoming has fewer public services than other states, Hunt said that “here, volunteerism replaces taxes.”

In January, Hunt applied for an unpaid, open position on St. John’s board of trustees.

While he wasn’t appointed to fill the shoes of Dr. Lou Hochheiser — who died in November nearly two weeks after his election to the hospital board — the board appointed him to take over Trustee Scott Gibson’s position, on Feb. 28. Gibson submitted a resignation letter in January, about two years before his four-year term finished.

After assisting with the Nomination and Governance Committee and Finance, IT and Strategy Committee for close to a year, Hunt felt confident in his understanding of the hospital admin system and in the hiring of the hospital’s new CEO, Jeff Sollis.

The main reason Hunt applied for the role is because he believes that “having a capable hospital is really important, not just for fancy people, but for Jackson more broadly,” since “a lot of people here can’t afford to go elsewhere” for care.

About one week after his appointment, Hunt was voted in as board treasurer and chair of the Finance Committee, filling both of Gibson’s old roles. Hunt will serve the board as a trustee for nearly four years, until the next general election in November 2024. Perhaps only then will Hunt get a little more political.

“Here, volunteerism replaces taxes.” — Jim Hunt new member of st. john’s health board

This version of the article has been edited to correct the year Hunt's term will end. — Ed.