Mayor Sharon Weston Broome says hopefuls from all over the country have submitted applications to be Baton Rouge’s next chief administrative officer. But Broome isn’t giving any hints as to when she might name someone to the city’s number two post.
“I would like to think I’m getting closer to naming a CAO,” Broome says. “I’ve been going through tons of resumes. My goal is to get the best person who can add value to the future of this city and parish and be in sync with the direction I want to go in so experience is important, vision is important and looking at their track record in terms of what they’ve done in other areas is very significant.”
Broome says she’s had applicants from both in state and out of state as well as from the Baton Rouge area.
“I want to be as close as possible to naming that person because that will help me as I move the city forward,” she says.
Broome’s comments came following her first state of the city address to the Rotary Club of Baton Rouge. During her address, Broome said the city-parish will launch a new initiative to help small and minority-owned businesses access city-parish contracts.
Called the Equity in Business Development Initiative, Broome says the program will be an education and outreach effort to make potentially disadvantaged businesses aware of city-parish work for which they might be eligible.
“Throughout my tenure on the campaign trail, one of the common themes I heard was that individuals felt like they didn’t know how to participate in business in city-parish government,” Broome said. “So that is one of the things we are doing to address that.”
Broome said her first 30 days as mayor have been busy reaching out to and meeting with a variety of groups and individuals on issues such as economic development, flood recovery and public safety. On Thursday she is expected to announce the results of a series of meetings she has had with representatives from law enforcement and the community. She would not divulge any details from those meetings or hint at what the announcement might be about.
Broome also said she has begun reviewing the reports submitted on Tuesday from the 21 transition committees that have been studying various areas of city-parish government and different aspects of life and culture in the community.
Though Broome did not mention the possibility of a renewed city of St. George incorporation effort in her speech, in her closing remarks she asked the audience to remain united in the city-parish.
“I am asking you to be committed to a unified parish,” she said. “I don’t want us to allow race, political ideologies or anything else to divide us as a city or parish. Let’s focus on the common goals.”
—Stephanie Riegel
