Since 2004, Baton Rouge Mayor-President Melvin “Kip” Holden has enjoyed city-wide popularity and a landslide 2008 election. But as he begins another bid for a final term in November, the path to victory might not be an easy one.
Holden currently faces two opponents who hope to uproot him and take the reins of East Baton Rouge Parish. Mike Walker, current mayor pro tempore and head of the Metro Council, poses the greatest threat.
Second-in-command Walker has received the endorsement of the GOP.
Holden has not yet received any official endorsements, unlike past elections, when Jim Bernhard, the CEO of the Shaw Group, helped to secure support from suburban voters.
The other contender is businessman Gordon Mese, who comes from Baton Rouge with business experience as opposed to a political background. Mese is using only social media outlets to spread the word about his campaign.
Mese’s campaign slogan, as it reads on the banner of his Facebook page, is “Against the machine.”
The mayor-president’s job consists of duties taken on by the traditional mayor of a city and president of a parish. Citizens of Baton Rouge voted to combine the two positions in 1947, as East Baton Rouge Parish began to fill up and consolidation made more sense.
Holden will run on a platform similar to his other elections, pulling from his success over the past eight years and focusing on downtown revitalization and his success in creating jobs.
Republican Walker has told local news outlets he wants to focus on cleaning up Baton Rouge crime. He plans to budget for a new police academy.
Mese, with his background in urban planning, said he wants to overhaul the Unified Development Code to build a city that will attract graduates of the three local higher education institutions. The Unified Development Code dictates the basics of the city; permits, utilities, and street planning are included, among others.
“This race really should be important to students, especially if they want to stay here after they graduate,” Mese said.
Not all students are informed about the election. Child and family studies senior Faith Vincent said she doesn’t know who any of the candidates are.
Sociology senior Tyler Lathrop said he is undecided about whether he will vote.
Voting for the mayoral race will occur on Nov. 6, the same day as the presidential election.
