On Jan. 2, Baton Rouge Mayor-President Sid Edwards marked one year in office, becoming the second Republican administration elected in Baton Rouge since Reconstruction.
It was a year of ups and downs, to say the least.
The mayor-president certainly has a few accomplishments under his belt, but with the future of the city budget questionable and key services potentially on the chopping block, the current trajectory of his administration looks somewhat dubious.
During a recent speech, Edwards highlighted his administration’s success in lowering crime rates, reducing blight and making progress on homelessness.
Crime was the big-ticket item on the accomplishments list. Crime rates are down, with shootings decreasing by 20% and homicides by 15%. It’s not the most spectacular shift, but it is tangible progress in the right direction.
His efforts against blight and homelessness in the community have also had tangible impacts. The city has made real progress towards removing dilapidated properties and, while not particularly remarkable relative to efforts by previous administrations, continued collaboration with community organizations has proved moderately fruitful.
However, any discussion of the accomplishments of Mayor-President Edwards’ first year naturally dovetails with, and stands in contrast to, the failure of his signature policy, the Thrive plan.
Upon entering office, Edwards’ administration had two immediate budgetary goals: filling the void in the budget left by the loss of St. George and securing a pay raise for Baton Rouge Police officers, whose $40,900 salary placed them amongst the lowest-paid police forces in the state.
Edwards proposed a number of plans, resulting in a back and forth with the council, before finally settling on the Thrive plan. The plan consisted of three separate ballot measures regarding the renewal of dedicated taxes for the Council on Aging, Mosquito Control and, most controversially, the East Baton Rouge Public Library system, an institution which serves as one of the rare examples in the state of effective public administration delivering high-quality results.
The Thrive plan was deeply flawed. Pitched as a renewal of the millages for those city services, it also tacked on a provision allowing the city to pilfer those funds for general purposes. Dedicated funding exists for a very good reason in this state; it is one of our premiere safeguards against not only nakedly corrupt politicians but also to those who seek the most politically expedient solution to a given problem.
Thus, be it out of a belief in the integrity of dedicated funds or just a result of the general confusion the plan left many people in, the Baton Rouge voters struck it down. As a result, the 2026 budget was haphazardly slashed, leading to widespread layoffs.
The issue isn’t inherently with the budget cuts themselves. The city was always going to need to adapt to the new St. George-less reality. However, forcing voters to choose between protecting corruption safeguards and knifing city services is an unfair dilemma in service of a slapdash agenda.
Another area where Edwards has had questionable policy has been his varied response to Immigrations and Customs Enforcement activity. A text exchange revealed that Edwards was potentially open to heightened ICE action, but requested that ICE be delayed due to their presence potentially harming the success of the Thrive initiative. Edwards later clarified that he believed that voters may have been confused by ICE’s presence, and believed the city was funding the agents.
I personally find that excuse dubious. Edwards has been supportive of a potential National Guard deployment to Baton Rouge, and the National Guard has already engaged in efforts to support ICE operations. While he has insisted that he does not believe that ICE should be sent to Baton Rouge, it remains to be seen whether he would actually step up and resist ICE action if push came to shove.
The potential ramifications of heightened ICE activity in Baton Rouge would be devastating, as they have been in other communities with diverse populations.
Overall, year one of Mayor-President Sid Edwards’ term has been a significantly mixed bag. While statistics may show signs of positive change, the budget crisis remains an ongoing battle with the potential to do long-term damage to precious city institutions.
Gordon Crawford is a 19-year-old political science major from Gonzales, La.
