New York City College of Technology alum Timothy Hunter is running for the New York State Assembly seat for District 43, which includes Crown Heights, Prospect Lefferts Gardens and East Flatbush.

He is also a Master of Public Administration candidate at Baruch College’s Marxe School of Public and International Affairs.

Born and raised in Brooklyn in a Jamaican household, Hunter told The Ticker that he was inspired by his mother, who is a public school teacher, to become an educator. After graduating from high school, Hunter taught in the New York City Department of Education while completing his degree in education at City Tech by taking night classes.

Hunter decided to get involved in student government after seeing how underfunded City Tech and other CUNY colleges were.

He served as a representative senator and the president of City Tech’s Student Government Association. Hunter then became the University Student Senate Chairperson.

“We were able to then go on to advocate for more pressing issues at the CUNY-wide level such as advocating for free menstrual products in CUNY campuses and tuition freezes in community colleges and senior colleges,” Hunter told The Ticker.

During the CUNY Board of Trustees meeting in December 2019, where student and faculty protesters stopped the meeting due to the board’s plans for a tuition hike, Hunter was the only student representative on the board. He was also the only one who voted against the hike, as The Ticker previously reported.

“A lot of people saw the tuition protest, but they also didn’t see the meetings that we had with legislators to advocate for a tuition freeze in the budget,” Hunter said. “Everyone’s talking about the new deal for CUNY, but not a lot of people understand that it was CUNY Rising Alliance during our administration that worked to get that bill introduced so that now we can all advocate for it.”

Hunter said that his experience with student government experience was a valuable for him.

“I think it’s important I had that experience because it shaped my worldview on education as a whole,” he said. “Those experiences showed me that when we organize, we win.”

Hunter’s experiences as a student representative and advocate inspired him to pursue a career in government.

At the age of 23, Hunter is the youngest candidate in the district to run for the seat, but he already has experience working in local government.

Hunter’s first government job was working for Assemblymember Diana Richardson, who was the most recent representative of the 43rd District. She was selected as the deputy Brooklyn borough president, which is why her seat has become vacant.

After working with Richardson for over a year, Hunter worked as a communications director for New York State Senator Julia Salazar.

“I’m the only candidate who has actually worked in the state legislature within the past five years even though I’m on the younger side,” Hunter said. “I think especially with some of the classes that I’ve been taking at Baruch, I’ve been able to understand the state budget process a little bit more, and I’m just excited to be on this journey.”

Hunter highlighted that he is determined to tackle issues like Black maternal morbidity rates and work toward affordable and accessible healthcare and childcare, higher funding for schools, affordable education, alternatives to over policing, prison reform and local legislation, to help renters buy their homes and fight with evictions.

Hunter recalled the memory of seeing Assemblymember Yuh-Line Niou, who is also a Baruch alumna, speak at the rally at Baruch.

“Just seeing the hard work of those that have gone before us continue to inspire me,” he said.

Hunter is currently petitioning to get on the ballot with the help of a volunteer team mostly made of CUNY students.

“We’re trying to uphold the legacy of having real CUNY representation in Albany.”

The New York State Assembly election will be held on Nov. 8.