I waited with bated breath Tuesday night as the election results came in. It wasn’t until nearly midnight that the results came in and my choice was vindicated.
After months of debate over issues spanning from economic development to infrastructure, the incumbent black Democrat defeated his white Republican challenger.
Of course, I’m talking about the Baton Rouge mayoral race, where Kip Holden beat out Mike Walker and two no-party candidates to win a third term. It was even a bit of a landslide, with Holden winning 60 percent of the votes.
But you could be forgiven for thinking I was referring to that other election that happened on Tuesday. There were more than just superficial similarities between the presidential election and the race to lead our little old town.
President Obama has spent the last four years balancing trying to help a slow-to-recover economy with some of his own pet causes, like healthcare reform. In much the same way, Mayor-President Holden has attempted to address the city’s economic woes while trying to address his own long-term projects, such as revamping the road and sewer systems.
Obama’s and Holden’s wins are both positives for their constituents. They faced opponents who would have rolled back the – admittedly slow – progress they have made in favor of reactionary policies that would satisfy their more conservative voters.
Walker’s main campaign issue was crime in Baton Rouge. It certainly is a problem that must be addressed, but Walker’s solutions of increasing police presence and activity were ultimately backward and contrary to the progress Holden has made in office so far.
Project BRAVE, a crime prevention program instituted this year, looks to form community bonds in neighborhoods where crime and gang membership is highest. Though just in the beginning stages, the project has been praised by politicians and community leaders alike for its peaceful and forward-thinking ideas.
Walker’s nine-point plan to stop crime was in direct opposition to the ideals of Project BRAVE. Walker wanted to increase police presence, including building drug and gang task forces. This would only have broken the foundations of trust and understanding that Project BRAVE has laid so far.
Ultimately, Walker failed because he ran essentially as a single-issue candidate, but his approach to his single issue was flawed. Though the campaign got nasty at times — with Walker saying things like “everything Kip Holden does is wrong” — his heart was in the right place.
This is where the difference lies between the mayoral and presidential race. While partisan gridlock will inevitably keep a hold on national politics, Holden has a chance to learn from and incorporate the ideas of his rivals.
Clearly, based on the 34 percent of votes Walker won, crime is an important issue to the people of Baton Rouge. Hopefully, in the coming years, Holden will recognize this and institute more policies in the mold of Project BRAVE, combatting crime not through violent crackdowns but by bringing the community closer together.
Even the two non-party candidates, despite winning a total of less than five percent of the vote, had important contributions to make to the city dialogue.
Businessman Gordon Mese ran primarily to raise awareness of the city’s Unified Development Code, the outdated system of zoning regulations.
Mese said he was satisfied that he had raised awareness of the issue, and though Holden has not yet spoken of plans for the UDC, I’m confident it will be in his plans the next four years.
One thing Holden shares with Obama is his feel-good factor – his optimism and ability to bring people together.
Though I doubt that, as he said in his acceptance speech, Baton Rouge will become the “greatest place not only in America, but in the world,” With Kip in charge, we’ll have four more years of building a stronger community and looking toward a brighter future.
