I have witnessed several staffer meltdowns in my eight years covering the Legislature in Juneau. Some are stress induced and some are alcohol or drug induced. Juneau is a weird place.

But the one that just occurred may have set a record for the quickest and loosest. Truth be told, what I witnessed last night was so deranged I actually thought I was on candid camera. And is it turns out, I only caught the tail end. 

After finishing work around 10 pm last night, I left my office and headed downtown for a beer after a long day. It was a typical Tuesday night in Juneau – most the bars were empty. 

I walked into the Triangle and saw six or seven people in a group. A younger staffer quickly approached me. I had never met him but had seen him around the Capitol a few times and recognized him from a recent photo the Alaska Young Republicans posted.

It was immediately apparent he was extremely inebriated. The first thing he said to me was that he knew about the collapse of the Doyon 26 drilling rig on the North Slope five minutes after it happened, and added he has photos and a video. I joked that he should have sent them to me. He responded, “I have to protect my source.” Not ten seconds went by before he gave up the name of his so-called source. 

I had zero desire to interact with this guy. So I walked away and sat at the bar and ordered a beer. He quickly sat down in the chair next to me. He immediately leaned in close to me and said, “Have you been watching these n***as in Minnesota?” I was sure what he said but I still could not believe it. I responded, “Excuse me,” and told him he should not talk like that. 

Then things really started to go off the rails.

He attempted to order another drink. He was holding a glass of water and said, “I will take another one of these.” The bartender replied, “Another water?” He said, “Give me a fucking Vodka Red Bull!”

She explained to him that he had ordered one earlier and that it was sitting on a table at the other end of the bar. He attempted to claim that he never ordered a drink. Annoyed, she then rightfully told him he was cut off from ordering more drinks. 

At this point I tried to make it clear to the bartender that I was not with this guy. 

He started to argue with her, insisting the drink at the end of the bar was a beer. It was clearly a Vodka Red Bull. He then aggressively called her a “fucking bitch.” I immediately told him to calm down and said you can’t treat people that way. He acted like he was my buddy and said more horrible things about the bartender and told me that he has “secret info” on the Doyon 26 rig collapse. 

I told him to stop acting like an idiot and that he needs to act like he’s been here before. 

Right around this point a former staffer who now works for a labor union walked in. He saw me and took a seat next me and the drunken staffer. This guy did not know what he was in for. 

The drunken staffer started loudly declaring, “I run Juneau!” and “I run this town!” It was wild. 

He then exclaimed that he was presenting a “big bill” the next day, House Bill 249, and kept saying he was going to “kill it.”

Trying to distract him from insulting the bartender and diffuse his drunken anger, I asked him what HB 249 does. In what can only be described as an incoherent drunken rant, he started talking about cars, rural Alaska, notaries, and “signing shit online.” I told him he needed to work on his pitch and joked about a 30-second elevator pitch. 

This further angered him. He kept going on and on about this stupid HB 249. I was nearly done with my beer and wanted to get out of there. The bartender told him he owed her $12 for his tab. He responded, “I am not fucking paying that!” I told her to put in on my tab and I would take care of it. There were a few other people in the bar and he was young enough and drunk enough to where it was clear he did not pose a threat to the bartender. Plus the labor guy was still there and he is not someone you want to mess with.

As I was leaving, he made further derogatory comments about the bartender, again referring to her as a “fucking bitch.” The labor guy made it clear to him that what he was saying was not cool and would not be tolerated.

I was happy to get out of there. 

As I was walking home I looked up HB 249. It’s a bill from Representative Elexie Moore (R – Wasilla), who he worked for, that aims to use electronic signatures in place of the notary requirement for vehicle title transfers. And indeed, it was scheduled for a House Labor & Commerce hearing on Wednesday afternoon. I put that on my calendar as it was a hearing I was not going to miss. I really wanted to see him “kill it.” As it turns out, that hearing was not to be. 

The next day a staffer friend texted me this post from a closed Facebook group “Juneau Bartenders.” I explained to her I had a front row seat the the madness. The post is 100% accurate.

I was not planning on writing about this idiot. But then someone sent me the below Facebook post he made today. The self-righteousness is on another level. You need to read the whole thing to understand Hunter’s level of delusion.

In addition to blaming Juneau party culture on his meltdown and horrible behavior, he also said he is refusing to step down as vice-chair of the Alaska Young Republicans. Their next meeting should be fun.

The end of his Facebook post is important, “As I fly home to the valley, this bible verse speaks volumes to me – and I accept the weight of these challenges with a smile on my face.”

It turns out young Hunter did not make it into work this morning. Representative Moore informed me that he did not show up to work and did not tell her he was quitting. Instead, he fled town. Part of me kind of respects his self-awareness.

I also learned from others that I only witnessed the final act of his meltdown. 

Hunter had been at the Triangle for a while before I got there. Multiple people who were there described similar behavior that I witnessed, including anti-LGBT comments. One lobbyist told me he advised Hunter to go home. Hunter clearly did not listen.

Moore told me that he had repeatedly texted her late at night, claiming he was with Representative Zack Fields (D – Anchorage) and “needed to talk.” 

Moore told me that she was going to fire him if he had not fled town. Hunter’s employment in the Alaska Legislature did not even last two weeks.  

Hunter’s future status as vice-chair of the Alaska Young Republicans is unknown. But more importantly, the fate of HB 249 may be in jeopardy. The bill hearing today was canceled. 

Update: Hunter has doubled down!