Perched behind a podium at the Baton Rouge Press Club on Nov. 22, Sharon Weston-Broome made a familiar case to reporters who've spent the past eight months on the trail of her reelection campaign: “I want to finish the job I started,” she said.
Broome asserted that over her past two terms as mayor-president of East Baton Rouge Parish, she has brought steady leadership in the face of COVID-19 and natural disasters, reigned in billion-dollar infrastructure investments, and turned the city into the No.1 economy in the state.
Broome’s challenger, Republican Sid Edwards bucked Press Club tradition by declining the invitation. What was supposed to be one last debate before the Dec. 7 runoff election, turned into Broome outlining future plans for the city, and fielding tough questions from reporters.
A notion Broome has recently expounded on is East Baton Rouge’s “image problem,” which she has described as the parish’s most important issue. At the Press Club, she promoted BetterinBR, a $1 million marketing campaign she launched to help retain young professionals in the city.
“We have to accentuate our own unique image that we have here,” she said.
Edwards, a high school football coach, said in a text message he had an important fundraising meeting that could not be rescheduled. The decision came shortly before his team, Istrouma High, lost in the third round of the state playoffs.
“It was not out of disrespect or disinterest,” he said.
If he had been there, Edwards could have argued Baton Rouge has more important issues than a PR problem. Despite being dwarfed in campaign contributions and viewed by many as a political longshot, on the night of Nov. 5, Edwards upset both his opponents by receiving 34% of the vote. His platform of battling crime, blight, and homelessness seems to resonate with voters in a city ranked near the bottom for livability and on pace for its deadliest year for homicides.
Edward’s most notable proposal is to hire 100 police officers. Recently, he has also mentioned establishing community grocery stores in high schools to combat food deserts and widening I-10 to improve traffic flow. In other areas, such as his potential appointments if elected, Edwards has remained vague
“You can’t put that out ahead of time, it compromises people's jobs and their employers,” he said. “But I will tell you this, compassionate, bright, energetic hard-working people is what I’m looking for.”
One controversy Edwards has faced is his nonexistent voting record over the past eight years. In a recent debate hosted by WAFB, Edwards discussed how he became “apolitical” after seeing what he described as rampant corruption and sluggish bureaucracy at City Hall.
“My civil service was saving young men and women’s lives,” said Edwards, who also serves as the Dean of Students at Istrouma.
“In retrospect I was wrong.”
Broome’s endorsements
Between Oct. 17 and Nov. 17, Edwards raised $157,104 in political contributions. Meanwhile, Broome raked in more than $290,000 during the same period, a fundraising prowess that demonstrates experience in runoff elections. In 2016, she eked out a 4 percentage-point victory against Republican Bodie White in a second round of voting. Then in 2020, she garnered 57% of votes in another runoff against former State Representative Steve Carter.
This time around she’s advertising the support of two well-known faces in Baton Rouge. On Nov. 13, former Democratic Gov. John Bell Edwards announced his endorsement for Broome at a press conference where he praised her leadership during their overlapping eight-year tenures.
“Time and time again I’ve seen her on the frontlines. I’ve seen how effective she is,” said Edwards. “I’ve seen how much she loves the people of East Baton Rouge Parish.”
The following week, Broome’s former opponent Ted James also announced his support, despite a heated primary between the two Democrats. Like Edwards, James had campaigned on a promise of change for the city. He vowed to cut down on unnecessary costs in the city budget, spur economic development, and help reverse an outmigration of young people leaving the city.
James had shattered fundraising records during the primaries and touted broad bipartisan support, even gaining the parish’s Democratic party’s endorsement over Broome. But Broome’s campaign fought back hard, going as far as releasing secretly recorded audio of James appearing to make misogynistic comments about Black women in politics.
“That type of sexism and misogyny has no place in a better Baton Rouge,” said Broome after her campaign released the ads.
But on Nov. 21, the two had seemed to bury the hatchet when James asked his voters to support Broome.
“Of course, I ran and was excited to run but that election is over. We have a new election,” said James at the press conference. “I’m asking every single person that believed in me and supported me to trust me again and support Mayor Broome."
“We’re not gonna dwell on the campaign, who said what to whom,” Broome added.
St. George turnout and budget woes
Some pollsters expect St. George, a predominantly white and affluent suburb of Baton Rouge to play a significant role in determining the next Mayor.
The new city won a decades-long legal battle this year over its incorporation, largely driven by residents’ desire to create their own school district. Mayor Broome was a plaintiff in the original lawsuit against the city’s breakaway campaign, arguing East Baton Rouge couldn’t afford to lose the valuable tax base. Since then, she's been criticized by her opponents for failing to negotiate how to split funding with the new city. Over the past few months, leaders from both sides have sent letters outlining transition plans, but have squabbled over how much funding the new city deserves.
“How much money has been spent in the 12 years between every entity fighting it?” asked Edwards in a debate.
Broome has since confirmed that litigation against St. George was privately funded.
“We’re talking about a city of over 80,000-85,000 individuals. So we have to decide in the negotiation process who is going to be responsible for what kind of price tag is attached to that,” she said.
While both candidates say they want to reach an agreement with the new city, some view Edwards – who is white – as more favorable to St. George. Edwards has had to fend off accusations he is running on behalf of his friend Woody Jenkins, a prominent GOP activist, former state legislator, and staunch St. George supporter.
“He has helped me and has advised me,” said Edwards, before calling rumors that Jenkins asked him to run for mayor-president “completely false.”
Only two Republicans have been elected as mayor-president of East Baton Rouge since the Reconstruction era.
“They didn't pluck some old bald-headed football coach out of nowhere and say throw on a suit and run for Mayor,” Edwards added.
The significant voting bloc may come out in increased numbers due to another vital measure on their ballot. Residents in St. George will decide on rights to a 2% sales tax, which if approved, would transfer roughly $50 million East Baton Rouge currently receives annually to leaders in St. George, regardless of whether a new agreement is reached.
Paying for the new City of St. George would trim an already slim city budget. Broome recently asked departments to prepare for 10% to 20% budget cuts, despite reports of underpaid city employees and high turnover rates.
The district attorney’s office, for example, is proposing new property taxes to help bolster low starting salaries for assistant DAs after requests for additional funding from Mayor Broome’s administration went unheeded.
“To me, public safety is the number one obligation of the government and this should be in the forefront of everything,” said District Attorney Hillar Moore at a press conference. “[But] its obviously not. And that's why I’m in the position I'm in now.”
“These officers, our firemen, and our Department of Public Works people are working for embarrassing wages,” said Edwards. Like the Republicans he ran against in the general election, Edwards has proposed implementing zero-based budgeting across his administration to cut costs, a method that requires justifying every expense anew, rather than using the previous year's budget as a baseline
In preparation for a St. George exodus, Broome says her proposals are a product of requesting department heads “several years ago” to reduce budgets in a way that would maintain quality services to residents. Broome has also maintained she would not fire any city employees in the wake of upcoming budget shortfalls.
With early voting and debates finished, the showdown between the veteran and rookie has reached its 4th quarter. During Broome’s first reelection bid in 2020, voter turnout plummeted by 40% in the December runoff. On Saturday, residents who show up to the polls will be tasked with deciding whether it's time for a fresh face in City Hall, or if the job Mayor Broome started eight years ago is worth letting her finish.
“70% of the parish voted for change on Nov. 5,” said Edwards. “I am the change candidate.”
“Change does not always equate with success,” said Broome, “This is a time for stability in government like never before.”
