On Monday, May 15, Mayor-Elect Nic Hunter held a press conference at Lake Charles City Hall to announce the details of his Transition team as well as discuss a newly formed Community Advisement and Assessment Board. He made public two other administrative appointments at that time.  

Hunter’s Transition team, which will help him with his move into office on July 1, 2017 and will evaluate employee and department functions, consists of five people: Rev. Edward Alexander Jr., Dennis Stine, Gary Gobert, Willie Mount and Harold Winey. He said he chose members from various socioeconomic and racial backgrounds to help break down long-standing walls between sections of the city.

Hunter appointed nine people to a newly-formed entity, the Community Advisement and Assessment Board. The board is charged with identifying ways to unify the community: Junaid Abbasi, Dr. Robert Arango, Rev. Joseph Banks, Courtnee Brown, Sean Corcoran, Randy Fuerst, Rev. Steve James, Catherine Riggins and Sylvia Stelly. 

Hunter announced his selection for City Attorney, which must be confirmed by the City Council. David Morgan, a partner at Stockwell Sievert law firm, joined the firm in 2000 after graduating from Louisiana State University Law School. His bachelor’s degree is from Tulane University. 

City Administrator John Cardone will continue to function in his current administrative capacity. He has served as administrator since 2008. Over the past two weeks, Hunter said, he has met with department heads, and he thanked Mayor Randy Roach for his help and for leaving the city in good shape. He closed his first press conference with a pledge to be available to the public.