Daily Report sat down with Mayor Sharon Weston Broome to discuss her mayoral campaign and her vision for Baton Rouge. This interview has been edited for brevity and clarity. If reelected, what would the priorities of your third term be? A third term for me can really be summed up in two words: acceleration and delivery. Over the next four years, I will prioritize continued economic development to transform the cornerstones of our city and ensure that we continue to thrive. We’ve already done that with Amazon, Howell Place and the ever-growing medical corridor, and we’re in the process of doing that with Memorial Stadium and the River Center. We have to continue to attract new industries to diversify our economy and attract and retain talent. Supplier diversity will also be key to ensuring our small minority- and veteran-owned businesses have a seat at the table. As the strongest economy in the state, we have momentum right now. Secondly, I’m going to continue to focus, of course, on public safety. Public safety is paramount for every citizen in East Baton Rouge Parish. We’re going to continue to invest in our police—like we did with the 13% raise that was given under my administration—and in their equipment and technology. We will also continue our intense work in the community to address the root causes of crime. Data shows that we’ve seen some progress, but the challenge remains and we’re very committed to tackling it. My third priority is quality of place, specifically in regard to blight and homelessness. I recently launched a corridor cleanup program to clean up and maintain 50-plus corridors in our city. My administration has also supported the private groups that have augmented our work like Clean Pelican and Keep Tiger Town Beautiful. As for homelessness, we have to solve this problem so we don’t become an Austin or a Seattle. What I’ve done is hired a homelessness director and invested in the first non-congregate shelter in our parish. I’ve also invested in over 2,000 new affordable housing units and worked with our local One Stop to address the root causes of homelessness. What would you do to address the long-standing inequities between north and south Baton Rouge, particularly when it comes to economic development? We’re going to continue to focus on affordable housing units, because we know that everyone desires a place to live so that they can maintain their dignity. We will continue to pursue federal opportunities like the Choice Neighborhood Grant that we secured for Ardendale. We will also continue to work on transportation enhancement projects—as you know, we just broke ground on the Bus Rapid Transit system that’s going to start on Airline Highway. The continued projects of MovEBR that touch north Baton Rouge will certainly add to economic development, and investing in streetlights will be an emphasis for us, as well. We will also continue to look for opportunities to put buildings back into commerce like we did with Howell Place by setting up Oschner’s clinic there. We’ve allocated millions of dollars to north Baton Rouge organizations, and we currently have a request for proposals out to accept bids to provide seed funding to a developer and grocery operator to build a grocery store in a food desert. And I’d be remiss if I didn’t mention the fact that Amazon has certainly been a catalyst for economic development, as well. The new facility is part of north Baton Rouge and has created over 1,000 jobs. I believe that we’ve laid a good foundation to build upon in north Baton Rouge and other areas of disinvestment. The issue of disinvestment is one that you have to be very intentional about, and that’s what we’ve done and will continue to do with the help of the community. What impact do you think the incorporation of St. George will have on attracting new businesses to the region? Do you think the incorporation will create competition between Baton Rouge and St. George for future investment, and if so, how do you plan to navigate that? I believe that the strength of our region and the resources we have will continue to be a draw for business and industry to come to our parish. However, I also believe that how we transition in regard to St. George is key to ensuring that we don’t stunt our own growth. We must come to terms quickly on an intergovernmental agreement and ensure the continuation of basic services for all of our citizens. As parish president, it’s my duty to ensure stability and welfare for all of the 447,000 people in our parish. The sooner we resolve matters at the negotiation table, the sooner we can focus on our shared goals of growth. I’ve always said this: We rise and fall together, as a community. On the ballot is a proposed update to Baton Rouge’s plan of government that would create the position of city-parish manager. Do you support that measure? I did communicate and collaborate with the Metro Council when it was working on its proposal, and I believe the council’s motivation was certainly to move our system of government forward. There are elements of the current proposal that I believe are good changes, like adding an executive council to the office of the mayor. However, I believe that our current “strong mayor” system is essential in our consolidated government, and the city-parish manager proposal really does bring me some pause. I’ve always said that the issue of a city-parish manager is more about salary than the need for change. I’m committed to building a leadership staff around me that, at the end of the day, will help me deliver and win. I encourage voters to really consider the proposal and its impacts. Louisiana has a well-documented outmigration problem, particularly when it comes to young professionals. What needs to be done in Baton Rouge to better attract and retain young professionals? One of the first things we need to focus on is education. Yesterday, we announced a new endeavor—our Head Start Restart Program. When we talk about retention, we need to begin when children first start school by creating pathways for them educationally and sharing success stories with them. I also believe that we have to focus on placemaking—creating public spaces that are attractive to young people. That’s why I’m very excited about a riverfront development that highlights our riverfront from the bluffs of Southern University to downtown where we’re already planning some additional bypass all the way out to the gates of LSU where the city has property that I’d like to see developed into a park. And we have to invite people to the table—our chamber, our foundation, our tourism industry, our universities—to discuss creating a comprehensive talent pipeline using the assets we already have in Baton Rouge. We need to have that strategic buy-in from our partners in the community. Editor’s Note: This interview is part of a series of Daily Report mayoral candidate interviews. All candidates are asked the same questions. Read our interview with Democratic mayoral candidate Ted James here.