A candidate for the Metro Council’s District 4 seat is crying foul over the fact that her contract with the Baton Rouge River Center’s management company, SMG, was terminated after she entered the race.
Maranda White owns Octagon Media, an advertising and marketing firm that, until late July, handled the media buying to advertise events at the River Center. She estimates the gross billings from the account totaled more than $375,000 a year, of which her firm received a percentage.
Shortly after she announced her candidacy against incumbent Metro Councilman Scott Wilson, however, White received an email from River Center General Manager Michael Day informing her that, “due to our management agreement with the city-parish, our business relationship must end to avoid a conflict of interest.”
The letter goes on to say, “We feel this is for the best interest of your campaign as well as making sure SMG is compliant with its management agreement with the city-parish.”
White says she is baffled by SMG’s decision and has tried, unsuccessfully, to bring the issue to the attention of other parish leaders.
“I didn’t work for SMG or the city-parish, and I never received any city-parish dollars,” she says. “I was paid by the promoters of the events and received a percentage of whatever they spent on ads, so for him to say this was a conflict for the city-parish is a faulty rationale.”
Day, however, says while it’s true White’s firm was not paid directly by SMG, the River Center’s management company referred media placement business to Octagon Media—something he says could be perceived as a conflict of interest.
“By doing business with a candidate some people could interpret that as a conflict of interest,” Day tells Daily Report. “We don’t want anybody to think we are backing or endorsing a candidate, so we feel it is best not to do business with any candidate.”
SMG does not have an expressly written policy that would preclude the company from doing business with a candidate under an arrangement like the one SMG had with Octagon Media, Day says. However, he says, “It’s a standard procedure. It’s not written anywhere, but we just don’t do it.”
Day says his actions were not influenced in any way by members of the Metro Council or by White’s opponent, Wilson.
“I don’t know Scott Wilson personally and have never had a conversation with him outside of the council chambers,” Day says.
For his part, Wilson says he has been made aware of White’s concerns but knew nothing about them until after the fact.
“I didn’t know anything about this contract until after it was already terminated,” he says. “I didn’t have anything to do with it, and the only time I’ve ever spoken to Michael Day was when he came before the Metro Council because the River Center had business before the council.”
—Stephanie Riegel
