Former legislative colleague Ron Gomez described Gunter as having what urban people call "street smarts, that innate ability, also common to many rural folk, to smell a phony an acre away, to be suspicious of everyone who didn't dress or talk like him and to cut to the heart of a matter with cold precision. His politics were populist in nature. He was regularly graded high by organized labor and low by business and professional associations", such as the Louisiana Association of Business and Industry. Gomez said that he and Gunter did not become friends but "shared a mutual respect. Whether I shared Carl's beliefs or he disliked the way I talked, we realized that we both got to the House the same way and for the same reason: we were there to represent the people of our respective districts. I hoped that all the other members of the House practiced that philosophy."