Amid the joyless prospects of the presidential race and the partisan bickering at the State Capitol, the Baton Rouge mayor’s race is beginning to take shape, notes Business Report Editor Stephanie Riegel in her latest column.
“Whether it will be as divisive as the battles playing out at the state and national levels remains to be seen,” Riegel writes. “What is clear is that the business community has yet to coalesce behind a consensus candidate.”
For months, business leaders quietly tried to recruit one of their own to enter the race, she says, adding that Jay Campbell, executive chairman of Associated Grocers, and consultant Perry Franklin, owner of Franklin Associates, were among those approached.
“Both would have made great candidates,” Riegel writes. “Neither was interested. Given the divisive nature of politics today and the thankless job of holding public office, you can hardly blame them.”
Riegel notes that plenty of others have been interested, the latest being state Sen. Mack “Bodi” White, R-Central. White, Riegel says, will have plenty of business supporters, particularly in his strongholds of Zachary and Central as well as in southeast Baton Rouge, where he led legislative efforts in 2013 and 2014 to create an autonomous school district.
She says the bills were inextricably linked to the unsuccessful City of St. George incorporation movement, and White is associated with St. George for better or worse, depending on your perspective.
“As such, he will have a hard time convincing moderates and the downtown business establishment, who opposed the controversial effort two years ago, that he is the guy who can best bring Baton Rouge together,” Riegel says.
Metro Councilman John Delgado is trying to position himself as that guy, Riegel says. Delgado is a moderate Republican, downtown business owner—of several bars—and was a vocal opponent of the St. George effort. She says he would seemingly be the natural choice of many in the business community.
“But Delgado has credibility problems that come, in part, from his penchant for getting out in front on too many issues,” Riegel says. “Critics say he panders. It doesn’t help matters that he is a personal injury lawyer.”
Consultant and former state Sen. Sharon Weston Broome, the third major candidate in the race, is liked and respected by many in her north Baton Rouge stronghold. But she is a Democrat with a record to reflect it, which will automatically scare off a certain segment of voters.
“What’s more, she has yet to articulate her vision for Baton Rouge and has been absent from recent debates over economic development and access to health care in north Baton Rouge,” Riegel writes. “In what could have been a golden opportunity for her to get out in front on a hot-button issue and demonstrate leadership she has stayed silent. It was not lost on those paying attention.”
Read the full column, in which Riegel discusses candidates Byron Sharper, Darryl Gissel and Greg LaFleur. Send your comments to editors@businessreport.com.
