Some two dozen local business executives gathered today to collectively speak out for the first time against the City of St. George incorporation effort.
At a press conference at the Pecue Lane headquarters of H&E Equipment Services, located inside the footprint of the proposed city, local company CEOs took turns at the podium to explain why they believe incorporation would be bad for education, economic development and the overall quality of life in Baton Rouge.
“Great cities don’t splinter,” said Sean Reilly, CEO of Lamar, one Louisiana’s largest publicly-traded companies and the largest outdoor media company in the world. “They don’t breakaway. Great cities have actually grown together and annexed together and that is just a historical fact.”
Sparkhound CEO Shawn Usher, noting his company’s offices are in St. George while his residence is in the city of Baton Rouge, acknowledged that he empathizes with the supporters of St. George, who feel frustrated they are not getting the public education and city services they pay for, but said breaking apart is not the solution to solving those problems.
Some executives—Community Coffee Board Chair Donna Saurage and Exxon Mobil’s Charles Dabadie—didn’t speak out against St. George, per se. Rather, they emphasized the progress the parish school system has made in recent years and the need to help it continue improving.
“I urge everyone to come together and work together for the kids,” Saurage said.
Others, like H&E Chairman John Engquist came out bluntly in opposition to the effort, saying the economics don’t make sense.
“It will be bad for Baton Rouge, bad for business,” he said.
Lipsey’s chairman Richard Lipsey, who has personally been funding his own opposition campaign on local media, continued to challenge St. George’s budget estimates and its pledge—reiterated in a new video spot that aired this week—that it will not raise taxes.
“You cannot run a new city without taxes,” Lipsey said. “You cannot run a city without a drainage and sewage system. You cannot run a city with four or five employees. It is not going to work for 86,000 people.”
While the group gathered today with Mayor Sharon Weston Broome represented a cross section of top business leaders, several heavy hitters were noticeably absent.
Among them: Jim Bernhard, who 18 months ago vowed in two public speeches to become more politically involved and help Baton Rouge. He was unable to attend because of a scheduling conflict but says he would have been there if able and is “100 percent for one Baton Rouge.”
Developer Mike Wampold also was absent. Reached for comment, he said he was out of town.
Baton Rouge Area Chamber President and CEO Adam Knapp also was absent from the podium, though he attended the press conference. He declined to speak at the microphone but afterward reiterated BRAC’s opposition to the effort.
“We look at it from an economic standpoint and this creates uncertainty about what will happen with education, crime, services, taxes,” Knapp says. “There is a risk factor and once you do it it cannot be undone.”
Editor’s Note: This story has been updated from an earlier version to include a comment from Jim Bernhard.
