Editor: Sleepwalking into Election Day

With fewer than three weeks now remaining until the Nov. 6 election, Business Report Executive Editor JR Ball has seen enough—or not enough—to declare the local mayoral race the most boring in the modern history of Baton Rouge. “Be honest: Is anyone at all excited about this election—other than the candidates themselves and those who will handsomely profit if their guy is in office?” Ball asks in his latest column. While Mayor Kip Holden and his main challenger, Metro Councilman Mike Walker, have been content to squabble over a few well-worn issues including crime and infrastructure, Ball says, long-shot candidates Gordon Mese and Steve Myers haven’t been able to inject any excitement into the race. “This race is such a who-cares affair that the campaign contribution haul of all four candidates combined is less than the $800,000-plus [Business Report Publisher] Rolfe McCollister single-handedly raised in his 2000 primary run for mayor,” Ball notes. Read the complete column here; and send your comments to editors@businessreport.com.