Marcus Lamar Hunter (born January 3, 1979) is an American
politician
A politician is a person active in party politics, or a person holding or seeking an elected office in government. Politicians propose, support, reject and create laws that govern the land and by an extension of its people. Broadly speaking ...
and second generation
attorney from
Monroe,
Louisiana
Louisiana , group=pronunciation (French: ''La Louisiane'') is a state in the Deep South and South Central regions of the United States. It is the 20th-smallest by area and the 25th most populous of the 50 U.S. states. Louisiana is borde ...
. A
Democrat
Democrat, Democrats, or Democratic may refer to:
Politics
*A proponent of democracy, or democratic government; a form of government involving rule by the people.
*A member of a Democratic Party:
**Democratic Party (United States) (D)
**Democratic ...
, Hunter is
judge of the Louisiana 4th Judicial District Court, ES 1, Div. G. He won the position, 53-47 percent), in the
primary election held on November 6, 2018, in conjunction with
congressional general elections in the other forty-nine states.
From 2011 to 2018, he was a member of the
Louisiana House of Representatives for District 17, which encompasses parts of the cities of Monroe and
West Monroe and the towns of
Richwood and
Bawcomville. He served on the Civil Law, Insurance, and Labor committees. In his second year, he was named to the Commerce Committee and later sat on the House Ways & Means Committee.
Background
A lifelong resident of Monroe, Hunter attended
public schools there. A graduate of the Julia C. Wossman High School in Monroe, Hunter received in 2002 a
Bachelor of Arts
Bachelor of arts (BA or AB; from the Latin ', ', or ') is a bachelor's degree awarded for an undergraduate program in the arts, or, in some cases, other disciplines. A Bachelor of Arts degree course is generally completed in three or four year ...
degree in
Sociology
Sociology is a social science that focuses on society, human social behavior, patterns of social relationships, social interaction, and aspects of culture associated with everyday life. It uses various methods of empirical investigation an ...
from
Southern University and a
Juris Doctor in 2005 from the
Southern University Law Center
Southern University Law Center is a public law school in Baton Rouge, Louisiana. It is part of the historically black Southern University System and was opened for instruction in September 1947. It was authorized by the Louisiana State Board ...
, both in the capital city of
Baton Rouge. After being admitted to the Louisiana Bar Association, Hunter opened a small business, United Title of Northeast Louisiana, and is an attorney in Willie Hunter Jr., and Associates, at which he practiced alongside his father and brother. He is married to Dr. Tonya H. Hunter, an OB/GYN and owner/managing member of The Well Woman Center in Monroe. The couple has two children.
Political life
Hunter successfully ran for the Louisiana House of Representatives District 17 seat in the
general election held on November 16, 2011. He defeated a large field of candidates including seasoned politicians and businesspersons to become the first representative of the newly-drawn District 17, which includes twenty-seven precincts in
Ouachita Parish
Ouachita Parish (French: ''Paroisse d'Ouachita'') is located in the northern part of the U.S. state of Louisiana. As of the 2020 census, the population was 160,368. The parish seat is Monroe. The parish was formed in 1807.
Ouachita Parish i ...
. This diverse district is composed largely of shopping malls, restaurants, hotel districts, three hospitals – Glenwood, St. Francis, and E. A. Conway, as well as other major corporations within the Monroe/ West Monroe area. Additionally, Hunter has been instrumental in many important issues in the legislature. With his support of the Rainy Day Fund, fight to keep taxes down, and eliminate unpredictable contingencies and the reliance on non-recurring revenue for ongoing expenses, his focus has been on making responsible decisions to address the state’s $165 million deficit from fiscal year 2012–13 and $1.2 billion shortfall for 2013–14. As a result, Hunter has worked steadfastly to decrease total spending by $1.3 billion and matched nearly all of the non-recurring revenue originally placed in the budget with one-time expenses.
Hunter was ranked 21 percent cumulatively by the
interest group
Advocacy groups, also known as interest groups, special interest groups, lobbying groups or pressure groups use various forms of advocacy in order to influence public opinion and ultimately policy. They play an important role in the developm ...
, the
Louisiana Association of Business and Industry, but he garnered a 67 percent rating in the 2013 legislative session.
Representative Hunter also has an A+ rating with the teachers unions in Louisiana (LAE/LFT). Hunter has worked to lobby the U.S. Congress to modify the Biggert-Waters Act and the
Voting Rights Act of 1965 to benefit the constituents of his district.
Hunter was a member of the Louisiana Legislative Black Caucus (previously serving as treasurer), Democratic Caucus and the Rural Caucus. Hunter previously served as the 5th Congressional District representative on the state Democratic Party executive committee, under the chair,
State Senator Karen Carter Peterson. In December 2013, the Louisiana Bar Association appointed Hunter to the House of Delegates for the 4th Judicial District Court.
Hunter handily defeated two opponents, Republican Heath Albritton and Democrat Billye Burns, both of West Monroe, in the primary election held on October 24, 2015. He received 4,337 votes (62 percent) to Albritton's 1,496 (21.4 percent) and Burns' 1,166 (16.7 percent).
References
, -
{{DEFAULTSORT:Hunter, Marcus
1979 births
Living people
Louisiana state court judges
Democratic Party members of the Louisiana House of Representatives
Louisiana lawyers
Politicians from Monroe, Louisiana
Southern University alumni
Southern University Law Center alumni
African-American state legislators in Louisiana
Activists for African-American civil rights
Baptists from Louisiana
21st-century American politicians
21st-century African-American politicians
20th-century African-American people