Gadsden community organizer Robert Hunter is campaigning for Alabama House District 28 with a focus on rent stabilization, Medicaid expansion and increasing the minimum wage.
Robert Hunter says affordability is at the center of his campaign for Alabama House District 28.
The 30-year-old Gadsden resident is running for the state House, focusing on policies he believes would help residents manage the rising costs of housing, utilities and health care.
Hunter’s campaign centers on three main issues: rent stabilization, Medicaid expansion and increasing the minimum wage. He said those policies would address financial pressures facing working families and residents who struggle to afford basic necessities.
“I’m running specifically on trying to make things more affordable, trying to give human beings decency of being able to live,” Hunter said during an interview.
Hunter points to his experience operating the Gadsden Free Store on Forrest Avenue for three years as part of the reason he is running. He said the store helped more than 20 people move out of homelessness, but four or five later experienced homelessness again.
Hunter said some people returned to homelessness after their rent increased, while others faced difficult decisions involving housing and medical expenses.
Those experiences, he said, shaped his views on housing and health care.
Housing and rent stabilization
Hunter supports a proposal to limit annual rent increases to 10% for landlords who own three or more properties. He said the proposal is intended to help renters avoid sharp increases that can make it difficult to remain housed. Hunter argues that rent increases can outpace the raises many workers receive.
His policies may seem radical, but they are only radical for those who own more than three houses, he said. His goal is to focus on the many rather than the top few. He believes housing costs are one of the biggest challenges facing residents who are trying to remain in their homes.
Medicaid expansion
Hunter also supports expanding Medicaid in Alabama. Expanding access to health care could help residents who struggle to afford coverage and support the region’s health care system, he said.
Since 2011, seven rural hospitals have closed across Alabama, and as of July 37% of the remaining rural hospitals are at “immediate risk” of closing, according to the Public Affairs Research Council of Alabama.
With two hospitals in the district, Hunter is concerned that one or both hospitals could close within the next decade, without a change. That is Hunter’s concern, not a confirmed forecast.
Hunter said Medicaid expansion is important not only for residents seeking health care but also for the economic stability of communities that depend on local hospitals.
Minimum wage
Hunter supports increasing the minimum wage to $10 an hour over the course four to five years. He also wants wage increases tied to changes in rent, according to his interview. Hunter said he believes workers should be able to earn enough to meet basic expenses.
The proposal also includes incarcerated workers, whom he said should be paid for their labor. He said workers should not be placed in situations where they have to make desperate decisions to survive.
“There are people that I’m going to be representing that work in prison getting paid $.10 an hour, on a good day $1,” Hunter said. “They are workers. They’re working. They have a right to be paid… It’s slavery wages, and I’m against that.”
Community involvement and campaign priorities
Hunter has emphasized the role of community organizing in his campaign. He serves as vice chair of minority affairs for Etowah County and has participated in community committees, including Stay Together Appalachian Youth.
Working with residents has influenced the policies he wants to pursue in Montgomery, Hunter said. His campaign is focused on addressing what he describes as the everyday financial pressures facing residents, particularly those struggling with housing, wages and access to health care.
