Mayor Hunter

A life-long resident of Lake Charles and small business owner, Nic Hunter was elected to the Calcasieu Parish Police Jury in 2011 and was in his second term when he was elected to the office of Mayor of Lake Charles in 2017. Mayor Hunter was elected to a second term in 2021.

Early in life Mayor Hunter acquired his work ethic by working at his grandparents’ restaurant, Harlequin Steaks & Seafood, which they opened in 1956. With his grandmother’s blessing, he began running the restaurant full time at the age of 17. Today he is a partner in The Villa Harlequin restaurant.

Mayor Hunter graduated from St. Louis Catholic High School in 2002. In 2007, he received a Bachelor of Arts in History from McNeese State University. Mayor Hunter credits his experience at McNeese for sparking an interest in public service. He is proud to have established an endowed scholarship through the McNeese State University Foundation, the Dr. Robert Forrest History Scholarship.

Mayor Hunter’s administration launched the Partners in Parks initiative in 2018, which has secured more than $1.6M in private donations and grants. Partners in Parks has transformed several City parks and brought events and programming to levels never seen before in City history. The Partners in Parks Initiative received a first place Community Achievement Award from the Louisiana Municipal Association in 2019.

Since taking office, Mayor Hunter has had a steady focus on infrastructure, including increasing funding for drainage improvements by 93 percent. The City’s Drainage Improvement Program is the first proactive, citywide drainage cleaning initiative in modern City history. The City has broken ground on dozens of road improvement projects, launched an automated water meter upgrade program, and broken ground on a brand new water plant. This new water plant will increase water capacity to the City of Lake Charles by 30%.

Under Mayor Hunter’s leadership, lakefront development has become a reality. A lakefront parking garage, which had sat damaged since 2015, was renovated and is now ready to service guests. Port Wonder, a science & nature center and state of the art children’s museum, will open in the first quarter of 2025. This historic project was made possible by securing dozens of public and private funding partners. Port Wonder has been a catalyst for additional lakefront development. Crying Eagle Lakefront broke ground on a full service restaurant and has an anticipated opening date set for the second quarter of 2025.

Economic development has been another major success, with a specific focus on diversity and areas that have seen disinvestment. Mayor Hunter created several Economic Development Districts which have helped support multiple projects. Today, areas of disinvestment are seeing more activity?? and announced economic development projects than ever before in City history.

With a deep love for the community and a passion to give back to the City, Mayor Hunter has always looked for ways to encourage philanthropy and the entrepreneurial spirit in others. Working with United Way, the Community Foundation and dozens of other non-profits, Mayor Hunter has rallied millions of private dollars for quality of life efforts during his tenure.

Mayor Hunter passionately led the community through a string of natural disasters, including Hurricane Harvey (August 2017), the COVID-19 Pandemic, Hurricane Laura (August 2020), Hurricane Delta (October 2020), Winter Storm Uri (February 2021) and a 1,000 Year Rain Event/Flash Flood (May 2021). His tireless efforts gave citizens a voice as he staunchly advocated for the needs of Southwest Louisiana at the local, state and federal levels.

Mayor Hunter was a key part of the team which secured the Louisiana Restore program, which opened up over $1B of federal aid to Southwest Louisiana after the 2020/2021 storms. Over 300 home owners in the City of Lake Charles have benefited from the Restore program. Currently, there is over $175M in resilient housing under construction in the City of Lake Charles, much of which is also supported by Restore.

In 2023, Mayor Hunter launched an effort to create a more resilient and sustainable future for Lake Charles. In November 2023, Lake Charles voters successfully passed “LC REBOUND,” a $190M tax neutral bond and tax restructuring proposal. LC REBOUND is paving the way to fast-track dozens of key infrastructure and quality of life projects. To learn more, click here.

Mayor Hunter has been married to his wife, Becky, an accomplished lawyer in Southwest Louisiana since 2015. They have a son, Harrison, and two daughters, Colette and Evangeline. They have three rescue dogs: Humphrey, Jolene, and Barnaby.

Awards and Appointments

2008: Times of Southwest Louisiana’s “Up & Coming Under 40” 

2011: Family & Youth Counseling Agency’s “Philanthropist of the Year Award”

2011: Mayor’s Armed Forces Commission’s “Patriot of the Year Award”

2011: Association of Fundraising Professionals Southwest Louisiana Chapter’s “Philanthropy Day 2011 Honoree” 

2013: “The Louisiana Distinguished Civilian Service Medal,” presented by the Louisiana National Guard

2017-2018: Diocese of Lake Charles Citizen of the Year, presented by Msgr. Cramer's Assembly, Fourth Degree Knights of Columbus

2018: Alliance for Positive Growth Annual Awards Public Servant Elected Category

2018: Humanitarian of the Year, presented by Most Worshipful Prince Hall Grand Lodge of Louisiana - 7th Masonic District PHA

2021: Shining Example Award for Governmental Tourism Leadership by the Southeast Tourism Society

2022: Named Small Business Administration 2022 Phoenix Award Champion

2022: Recognized by Louisiana Housing Corporation as V. Jean Butler Housing Hero

2022: Awarded Louisiana Community and Technical College System Joe D. May Excellence in Public Policy

2023: Louisiana Chamber of Commerce Foundation Louisiana Leads Award

2024: Liberty Bell Award for Outstanding Community Service from Southwest Louisiana Bar Association

2024: McNeese State University Distinguished Alumni Award

2025: National Tommy Longo Disaster Leadership Award

2025: Vice Chair National League of Cities Public Safety and Crime Prevention Committee