In 1985, Louisiana journalist John Maginnis awarded Gunter the designation "Best Bill Killer": Gunter "knows more ways to kill a bill than the lobbyists know how to introduce them. The rhetorical leader to Earl Long, Gunter has the plain talk and pea-patchisms to puncture opponents' slick and sloppy arguments. He may not know all of Robert's Rules, but he has a flair for the dramatic, as when he preserved a quorum on an important vote by calling for the state police to round up ducking legislators. A labor representative, Gunter is totally unintimidated by any form of arm-twisting, from gubernatorial on down. When not disposing of legislative garbage, he takes care of mundane local bills for his police jury and school board—unglamorous chores that he takes very seriously."