Milton Arceneaux

Why I'm running

I'm running to take care of Grand Coteau.

I'm a Louisiana native, born and raised in Lafayette. Grand Coteau is my wife's hometown, and for the last six years it's been mine — where we're raising our family. I'm running because Grand Coteau has so much going for it — history, culture, location, and people — and it's ready for leadership that turns all of that into real momentum. The town's books fell behind and landed it on the state's non-compliance list; that's fixable, and getting it done opens the door to everything else. I'm not looking to become a politician. This is the job I want.

It's also the work I've spent my career on. I run Encoded Noire, a creative agency that has worked with government officials, established companies, small businesses, and nonprofits across Acadiana. With a lot of other people, I've helped build Louisiana Creole Culture, Vues de Culture, Creole Culture Day, and the REFRAMING Cinema Film Festival — organizations that bring visitors and dollars into St. Landry Parish. We competed for public grants, won them, and answered for every dollar. I'm also building Cipher Group, a firm that gets small businesses certified — Hudson, LAMSDC, MBE, WOSB, HUBZone, 8(a) — and helps them win the government and corporate contracts those certifications open up. That kind of forward thinking — contracts, revenue, growth — is exactly what Grand Coteau's town hall needs now.