Editor’s note: This story has been updated since its original publication to include new information from the Mayor Sharon Weston Broome’s office about Thursday’s scheduled press conference.
Mayor Sharon Weston Broome will hold a press conference at 10:30 a.m. Thursday to announce the city-parish’s new chief administrative officer.
Broome’s spokesperson, Janene Tate, says the mayor will also provide an update on the search for a new police chief.
The CAO position has been the subject of intense interest among City Hall watchers since the mayor’s initial hire, Troy Bell, was forced to resign in May. Bell had been on the job just five days, when reports surfaced in The Advocate that he’d lied on his resume.
Retired Southern University Chancellor James Llorens has been serving as interim CAO for the nearly five months since.
Metro Council members say the lack of a permanent CAO is a problem, even more so now that veteran City Hall administrator William Daniel—who was Mayor Kip Holden’s CAO—has announced he is stepping down as director of environmental services to head up Ascension Parish’s newly-created infrastructure division. Daniel brought badly needed institutional knowledge to the administration, council members say.
“The CAO position is just huge to Council members because that is our point person in the administration,” says council member Tara Wicker. “I’m a huge fan of Dr. Llorens but it’s critical that we get someone permanent in there to establish relationships and create stability.”
The CAO position isn’t the only one that has been filled on an interim basis. Other department heads serving on an interim basis include: Interim Baton Rouge Police Chief Johnny Dunnam, Interim Director of EMS Chad Guillot, Interim Director of Fleet Management Nate Stohel, and, in the wake of Daniel’s departure, Interim Director of Environmental Services Adam Smith.
Additionally, the mayor’s appointment to the planning commission remains unfilled, as does the assistant CAO position that was vacated in August, when James Gilmore resigned, though the administration said at the time it might intentionally leave the position unfilled.
“We have some great folks in an interim capacity,” says council member Dwight Hudson. “But we’ve got to have something permanent and long term if we want to move the city forward.”
Adds Councilwoman Chauna Banks, “It seems like some of this would have been worked out during the campaign. I would have liked some of these positions to have been filled from Day One.”
Tate says Broome will have an update on the CAO position Thursday, and that the interview process for a new police chief is under way. As for the other unfilled positions, Tate did not have updated information as of press time. Daily Report will update the story as information becomes available.
—Stephanie Riegel
