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Mayor's race headed to runoff between Broome and Edwards; BREC tax renewals approved
BATON ROUGE — East Baton Rouge Parish's race for mayor-president not only includes a football coach, it's now headed to overtime.
Istrouma High's Sid Edwards led all candidates in voting Tuesday and will face incumbent Sharon Weston Broome on Dec. 7.
"I think it's a lot like a playoff game, you know. We just got to get back out there and let me know the message, that I felt the whole time during the campaign, ... that I was the only candidate for real change," Edwards said at a party where he watched results.
Broome, who finished second, said at her watch party that she is confident of victory next month.
"Now it is about finishing the job we started together. We never backed down from a challenge and I'm not about to start now," she said.
Former Biden Administration official Ted James finished a disappointing third and offered congratulations to Edwards, a former state champion football coach, and Broome, a two-term incumbent.
"Congratulations to Coach and Sharon," James said at his somber party Tuesday night.
Much of the talk during the mayor-president's race was the city's violent crime rate, which rose sharply during the pandemic.
"Public safety remains at the forefront of our priorities. Baton Rouge families deserve to feel safe, and I'm remaining committed to making the city a place where everyone can live without fear," Broome said.
Edwards said that while he has name recognition in sports circles, he needs to reach a wider range of people.
"There are a ton of people who still don't know who I am. I didn't have the money or the resources to push that out, so I got to find a way to get in front of those people to show them who Sid the man is. That's going to be the challenge and the goal," he said.
Parish voters also approved a pair of tax renewals funding the local park system, amid questions about the agency's financing. A proposal to change the way city-parish government operates was defeated soundly, and voters within the Baton Rouge city limits approved a 6-mill property tax to support firefighter pay.
Data from the Secretary of State's office showed Edwards with more than a third of the votes cast, with Broome at 31 percent. James was at 28 percent after leaving his post at the U.S. Small Business Administration last winter to challenge Broome.
BREC sought renewal of property taxes that, among them, would bring in $50 million annually. The taxes allow for acquisition and operation of public parks and their various programs. The local park system in 2022 was recognized as the best large-city park system by the American Academy for Park and Recreation Administration.
Questions were raised on whether East Baton Rouge's proposed change to its plan of government could face a legal challenge if it had passed. Ballot issues are restricted to single items to make questions easier for voters, but the proposal included changes throughout the community's home rule charter.
It lost by a 3-2 margin.
The proposal would have changed the city-parish's chief administrative officer to city-parish manager who would run the government. The mayor-president would appoint the manager, with Metro Council approval, and could remove the manager at any time.
Laurie Adams (R), Carolyn Coleman (D) and Darryl Hurst (D) won re-election to the Metro Council and will be joined by Twahna Harris (D), who had been an administrator for former Council member Lamont Cole. Cole is now the East Baton Rouge schools superintendent.
Two Metro Council races are headed to runoffs: incumbent Brandon Noel (R) will face Eric Smith Sr. (D) in District 1 and Eugene Collins will face Anthony Kenney. Both are Democrats.
Suspended 19th Judicial District Judge Eboni Johnson Rose (D) lost her bid for a post on the 1st Circuit Court of Appeal. Judge Kelly Balfour (R) won the seat by a 57-42 margin. The state Supreme Court suspended Rose this year after a number of decisions ran contrary of judicial canons.
Brittany Bryant Jorden won a city judge post over fellow Democrat Niles Haymer, and Terrica Williams was re-elected as city constable over C. Denise Marcelle.
A handful of fire department tax renewals won approval easily, as did a crime prevention fee in Woodlawn Estates.
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