Former Livingston Parish President Mike Grimmer, whose tenure came during the parish’s population boom to begin the 21st century, has died.
A native of Livingston Parish and a graduate of Walker High, Grimmer served as a city councilman in Walker from 1980 to 1986, when he was elected the city’s first full-time mayor. He held this seat for four consecutive terms, unopposed.
Grimmer moved into the main parish office in October 2003, becoming the second livingston parish president following the 1995 enactment of the self-governing charter. Grimmer defeated then-President Dewey Ratcliff and two others in a four-person race, garnering nearly 54 percent of the vote.
Grimmer won a second term when he ran unopposed in 2007, but his bid for a third term in 2011 ended unsuccessfully when he lost to challenger and current Parish President Layton Ricks in a runoff.
Grimmer’s two terms as parish president coincided with the early stages of the parish’s explosion of new residents. Since 2000, the parish has grown by more than 50,000 inhabitants.
Details about Grimmer’s death were not immediately available.
News of his death was first reported by Action News 17 and confirmed by The News.
