Kip Holden delivered his final State of the City address to the Baton Rouge Rotary Club today, marking the beginning of his 12th and final year as mayor.
Speaking to a packed room of business and civic leaders that included some of his closest friends and advisers, an exuberant Holden touted a laundry list of accomplishments that have taken place in the city over the past 11 years, including improvements to public safety, economic development and job growth, the revitalization of downtown, the growth of the local film industry, and the transformation of the city’s reputation among outsiders as an attractive place to live, work and play.
“When I took office Baton Rouge only showed up on the list of sports teams,” Holden said. “Last year, Baton Rouge was ranked one of the best cities for business, one of five emerging entrepreneur hubs, major market of the year, and healthiest small business climate of the South.”
Holden also highlighted several transformative projects that, while still in the early stages, were launched during his tenure in office, including The Water Campus and the streetcar line that is planned for a three-mile stretch of Nicholson Drive between LSU and downtown.
“This isn’t a dream,” he said of the streetcar. “This is something you will be riding on in five years.”
The upbeat address stood in stark contrast to Holden’s State of the City address two years ago, when he vowed to fight those threatening to incorporate a separate city of St. George out of East Baton Rouge Parish. Holden made no mention of that failed endeavor today.
Rather, he put a positive spin on just about everything in Baton Rouge, including the city’s crime rate. Holden said since 2005, violent crime is down 25%, property crimes are down 28% and “overall crime is trending down.”
While true, the city’s murder rate has fluctuated over the past decade. After climbing between 2006 and 2012, it dropped in 2013 and 2014 before inching up again last year.
Holden also took credit for improving Baton Rouge’s infamous traffic congestion, noting that his administration committed nearly $700 million through the Green Light Plan to a list of 110 street improvements, 88 of which have been completed or are under construction.
“When I took office we were 60 years behind in badly needed traffic improvements,” he said. “Now, Green Light Plan has reduced traffic in some of those areas.”
Holden, who made an unsuccessful bid last fall for lieutenant governor, didn’t say what the future holds for him once his third term ends in December, and he declined to respond to a question on the subject following the speech.
“I’m not making any announcements today,” he said. “Everyone will know in time.”
—Stephanie Riegel
