Marshall Simien Jr. has spent years away from Lake Charles. He said the community’s desire to make the city a better place is one reason why he returned and has stayed here for more than 20 years.

A native of north Lake Charles, Simien earned his bachelor’s degree in government from McNeese State University and attended law school at Louisiana State University, finishing in 1991. His first job out of law school was a year-long clerkship with Bernette Johnson, who was a trial judge and later became the first black chief justice of the Louisiana Supreme Court.

Simien then spent several years working for the New Orleans law firm Middleberg, Riddle and Gianna, eventually becoming a partner. He practiced corporate and business law.

In 2000, Simien, his wife, Paula, and their two young children dropped everything and moved to Lake Charles to be with his father, Marshall Simien Sr., who was ill. Simien eventually opened Simien Law Firm.

Simien’s foray into politics happened almost by chance. In 2003, management issues forced Gov. Mike Foster to dissolve the Lake Charles Port Board. A new board was brought in, with a focus on those who understood business. Simien fit the bill and was asked to serve.

“At the time I didn’t know anything about ports, but they told me, ‘You know business,’ ” he said.

Simien served on the board for a couple of years, giving the port enough time to have clean accounting. He committed for two years because of how busy his law practice had become, but the world of politics wasn’t done with Simien.

When former District A Lake Charles City Councilman Sam Tolbert decided to not seek re-election, he asked Simien if he would consider running. At the time, Simient wasn’t interested. However, a ride around the district changed his mind.

“I saw we had the lakefront, Calcasieu River, English Bayou and Kayouche Coulee,” he said. “God put me in places to learn things. Being on the port board, I understood the value of water and what waterfront property could do.”

Simien was elected to the District A seat in 2005 and was sworn in that July. All of his plans for the district went out the window after the landfall of Hurricane Rita that September.

“The whole first term was focused on getting people back home and recovering,” he said.

A $90 million bond issue was approved during his first term that helped jumpstart several recovery efforts within the city, including the transit center, Riverside Park, City Court and lakefront promenade.

Simien served a second term on the City Council before losing a re-election bid to Mary Morris in 2013. One of the biggest lessons he learned while on the council was how valuable Southwest Louisiana was to the state and the nation. He saw that up close during a trip to Washington D.C. to meet with then Sen. Joe Biden, who was the head of the Senate Appropriations Committee.

“I saw that Southwest Louisiana was really important to the nation’s interests, strategically and economically,” he said.

Simien has also filled in following the deaths of two local elected officials. He served the rest of District 2 Calcasieu Parish Police Juror James Mayo’s term after his death in late 2014. Simien also was brought in to serve as interim councilman for District A last August, following Morris’ death earlier that month. Simien said his job was simple: keep things moving along and provide stability until a permanent replacement is elected.

“When you go into those things, it gives you an unfair advantage if you decide to run for election,” he said. “I just served until the community could elect their own representative.”

Simien has also been a board member for the Community Foundation of Southwest Louisiana for the last six years. He was named executive board chairman in March.

Simien said his role on the foundation has been to get it more ingrained in the fabric of the community. One example is the 2019 Better Block demonstration along Enterprise Boulevard and the Nellie Lutcher Memorial Cultural District. Simien said he is excited about the Just Imagine SWLA 50-year master resilience plan for Calcasieu and Cameron parishes, as well as the Bayou Greenbelt, a 23-mile water loop around Lake Charles.

Simien said he is the most proud of his three children. Marshall III, 26, is a computer engineer in Indianapolis. August, 22, is starting law school at Tulane University this fall. Grace, 15, is a sophomore at St. Louis Catholic High School.