With voters set to go to the polls to decide runoff races and various tax proposals on Saturday, Business Report Publisher Rolfe McCollister has endorsed Democrat Sharon Weston Broome to be Baton Rouge’s next mayor-president.
McCollister concedes both Broome and her challenger, Republican Sen. Bodi White, have been good public servants who have represented their constituents well in the past.
“But this job is much bigger and requires a broader vision and need to connect with all residents. Issues like traffic and flood recovery are not Democratic or Republican problems; they are community problems. Success will require surrounding one’s self with a strong leadership team—and getting wise counsel from those in our city, state and nation who have been ‘thought leaders’ and have had success,” McCollister writes.
McCollister says “we can’t be parochial” or “think ‘small town,’” because we aren’t anymore.
“We must be innovative and ‘think big’ or our children and grandchildren may have even larger issues to face,” he writes. “That is not a legacy we desire.”
After personally interviewing both Broome and White, McCollister says he asked himself, “Which candidate will be the better listener and be more effective with the Metro Council and residents north and south? Who is the right choice at this time in history to unite our parish and move our Capital City forward?”
McCollister says he concluded that Broome is “the servant-leader who can be the best mayor-president for our community and future.”
In the “classic Democrat versus Republican showdown” to fill the final seat in the U.S. Senate, McCollister says he’s voting for Republican State Treasurer John Kennedy over Democrat Public Service Commissioner Foster Campbell. McCollister notes that “Washington, D.C., politics is a team sport with red and blue jerseys, like it or not,” adding, “Most of us tend to root for one team or the other, based on one’s view of the function of government, taxes, individual liberties and state’s rights.”
McCollister sees Campbell as a strong liberal and Kennedy as a conservative. “There is a definitive distinction between these two and how they would vote and represent the people of Louisiana. The options are very clear. My philosophy—and I believe that of Louisiana—will best be represented by Kennedy in the U.S. Senate.”
As for the Metro Council, McCollister is recommending Erika Green, LaMont Cole, Dwight Hudson, Tara Wicker and Barbara Freiberg in their respective races.
McCollister also lays out why he is supporting the five tax proposals on the Dec. 10 ballot, which include the Parishwide Crisis Stabilization Center, Green Light Property Tax, Green Light Sales Tax Rededication, Hotel Occupancy Tax and North Economic Development District.
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