Community Government Transportation

Plaque honors former mayor Chuck Hunter for work on Donkey Creek ‘daylighting’

The city of Gig Harbor last week honored former mayor Chuck Hunter with a plaque recognizing what may be his most visible contribution to the city.

The plaque on the Donkey Creek Bridge honors his leadership in “daylighting” the stream, which previously ran through a pipe under North Harborview Drive between the late 1940s and 2013.

Hunter was the mayor of Gig Harbor from 2006 to 2014. He died at age 82 on Jan. 15, 2023, almost exactly three years before the city unveiled the plaque in his honor.

“He took on one of Gig Harbor’s most complex challenges,” current Mayor Mary Barber said during an unveiling ceremony on Jan. 23. “That is restoring the Donkey Creek that we all enjoy today. What had been buried for decades was brought back to life through his vision, his persistence and collaboration.”

Chuck Hunter’s children, David Hunter and Julie Becker, next to the newly-unveiled plaque honoring their father. Photo by Vince Dice

Momentous tenure

Hunter’s tenure in office included some of the most important moments of the century for Gig Harbor. During his term, the Tom Taylor Family YMCA (2007), the Uptown Gig Harbor shopping complex (2008) and St. Anthony Hospital (2009) all opened. The city acquired the Eddon BoatShop and Skansie Net Shed. The Maritime Pier and Ancich Park opened.

But for the thousands of people who drive on North Harborview Drive — and for the salmon who swim under it — the bridge is as big as project as any.

According to the plaque, an old wooden bridge over the creek was removed in 1946. The creek was routed through 350 feet of underground pipe, covered by fill and asphalt.

The culvert was declared a fish-passage barrier in 2001, but plans to fix it stalled until Hunter took office. His background was in construction.

Gig Harbor City Council member Ben Coronado takes a photo of the new plaque honoring former mayor Chuck Hunter at the Donkey Creek Bridge on Friday, Jan. 23, 2026. Photo by Vince Dice

‘A bulldog’

“He was a bulldog and hence projects like this got done,” his son, David Hunter, said Friday.

Work on the new bridge wrapped up in 2013.

“The Donkey Creek daylighting project stands today as a testament to Chuck’s commitment to environmental stewardship, historic preservation and future generations,” Barber said.

Unfortunately, it does not stand as a testament to perfect spelling. The third paragraph of the plaque includes a typo, with “meant” misspelled as “ment.” (Full disclosure: This writer has made many typos during his career.)

A new plaque on the Donkey Creek Bridge recognizes former mayor Chuck Hunter’s role in restoring the salmon-supporting stream. Photo by Vince Dice

Lori Maricle, the city’s communications manager, said in an email that the city is aware of the error and is “in the process of getting it fixed.” That means replacing the plaque.

City Administrator Katrina Knutson said the text was correct when it was sent to the vendor. Correcting the error will take “a few weeks.”

Greg Spadoni, Gig Harbor Now’s local history columnist, said the plaque also contains a factual error. Spadoni says the original bridge was removed in 1949, not 1946, as the plaque asserts.

Spadoni covered the old bridge in two previous Gig Harbor Now and Then columns. He also provided a link to a Harbor History Museum photo gallery, dated 1949, showing the bridge still standing. Maricle said the city will consider that information when it replaces the plaque.