Political jabs turned personal, and comebacks hit hard during a fiery showdown last week between the top three Baton Rouge mayoral candidates.
Mayor-President Sharon Weston Broome, former State Rep. Edward “Ted” James and Istrouma High School Dean of Students and Head Football Coach Sid Edwards discussed many of the significant issues facing Baton Rouge, including widespread crime, underserved areas like North Baton Rouge and LSU’s proposed new arena.
Sparks flew early in the debate between James and Broome, with James going as far as saying he has “divorced” himself from his relationship with Broome.
“It’s still hard for me to be against someone who I still consider an ally, but this race is not about my relationship with Sharon Weston Broome. It’s about my relationship with each and every one of you, and I will make the decision to run every single time,” James said.
Broome responded, “While you say we are still allies … I might have to disagree with you on that because let me just share this. I believe that leadership is about character, and when you use someone to be your reference to get an SBA job, and then two years later, you run against them, I have a little problem with that.”
This interaction between Broome and James caused such uproar in the crowd that the moderator asked them to settle down.
Another fiery moment occurred when Edwards was asked about a report by The Advocate that he had not voted in the past 25 elections since March 2016.
“I had become very apolitical. I’m going to be honest; I got tired of the corruption and the bureaucracy and how government was going,” Edwards said. “But I made a new decision, and the new decision is, ‘Hey, I’m jumping in, and I’m going to vote this time.’”
The debate then shifted to two major topics: North Baton Rouge and crime.
Broome touted her vision to make Baton Rouge “the best midsized city in America.” She cited her work bringing an Amazon Fulfillment Center and a new Ochsner clinic to North Baton Rouge. She also discussed her efforts to curb crime through her Safe Hopeful Healthy Baton Rouge initiative and investments into police.
James rebutted by pointing out what he saw as the Broome administration’s neglect of North Baton Rouge and general mismanagement within her office. He cited the turnover rate of the chief administration office, which saw five different officers over seven years, as an example of this mismanagement.
“I think if you go to the people of 70805, they can’t tell you that their community looks better after eight or four years,” James said.
James also discussed some of his ideas for stopping crime in Baton Rouge, such as investing in early childhood development programs and Southern University to give young people a good career path. He also discussed creating more specialized police forces to fight specific crimes, increasing pay for officers and better funding for the district attorney and public defender offices.
“We know after eight years New Orleans is a lot safer than Baton Rouge. That’s a problem. No offense to my New Orleans people in here, but I don’t like being in a city that’s less safe than New Orleans,” James said.
Edwards pointed out that he is the best candidate to help revitalize North Baton Rouge as he is from the area. He called for unity among the city government as a way to achieve this and cited his coaching experience of bringing people together as the reason he could accomplish this.
“I am the 70805 candidate… my boots are on the ground. I’m there, and I live it,” Edwards said.
Edwards also laid out his crime-curbing plan by giving an anecdote from his time at Istrouma High School, where police came and allowed students to ask questions. He said outreach programs like this are key to bridging the gap between the community and the police. Edwards also cited a need for more police officers, saying, “There’s just not enough of them right now.”
One of the most important issues for LSU discussed during the debate was the university’s new planned arena, which has a controversial non-compete clause. This clause prevents the Raising Cane’s River Center from holding events for more than 3,500 people for the next 30 years. Broome defended the non-compete clause, saying the people will ultimately decide on its fate, while James called it “a horrible idea.” Edwards was also against the non-compete agreement, saying, “I don’t like the word non-compete. I think we should be competing.”
A candidate forum was held on Tuesday, Sept. 24 at Southern University, with candidates Broome, James and Edwards making a reappearance. Independents Ryan Carter and William Roundtree were also present.
The candidates discussed issues like economic development, business growth and infrastructure, each emphasizing the issues they view as top priority. Broome discussed revitalizing the city through business growth, highlighting the impacts of the new Amazon Fulfillment Center she worked to bring to Baton Rouge. James focused on investing in small businesses to encourage economic growth.
Edwards focused on blighted properties and road issues, Carter on dealing with homelessness and its effects and Roundtree on connecting the community with organizations, like churches.
The most recent polls from three weeks ago have Broome as the leading candidate at 29%, while James and Edwards are tied at 23%. A forum will be held on Oct. 2 at the Center for Planning Excellence but will only feature Broome and James.
The last day to register to vote in person is Oct. 7, and the last day to register electronically is Oct. 15. The last day to request a mail-in ballot is Nov. 1. Early voting begins Oct. 18 and runs through Oct. 28. Election Day is Tuesday, Nov. 5.
