On Nov. 3, East Baton Rouge Parish will vote on its next mayor, who will see the parish through another season of the COVID-19 pandemic, a nationwide reckoning with social justice issues and Baton Rouge’s own specific challenges.
Incumbent Sharon Weston Broome will face off against six other candidates running to keep Baton Rouge moving forward. 225 magazine asked the seven for their answers to these questions about key issues facing the city-parish:
• What policies would you have put in place as the pandemic unfolded this spring and summer? What will you do if and when the health crisis continues in the fall?
• How do you plan to help local business owners and workers who have been affected by the COVID-19 shutdown get back on their feet?
• With the recent momentum in the Black Lives Matter movement and the push for police reforms to address racial discrimination, what would your approach be to create real equality in our city?
• Do you support the efforts to create the city of St. George? Why or why not?
• Do you see public transportation and alternative transportation infrastructure as a necessary investment for the city? What would you do to improve the current infrastructure?
• Baton Rouge’s murder rate decreased slightly last year but appears to be rising again in 2020. What steps would you take to reduce violent crime?
• How would you describe a “successful” term? What is your biggest priority?
Read the responses from Sharon Weston Broome, Steve Carter, E. Eric Guirard, C. Denise Marcelle, Jordan Piazza, Frank Smith III and Matt Watson here.
