Mayor Broome talks about victories, death threats and St. George when the term ends

BATON ROUGE, La. (WAFB) – Sharon Weston Broome is preparing for a new chapter after 35 years in political office.

In her final days as mayor-president, she sat down for an exclusive interview with WAFB’s Deon Guillory. No topic was off limits, from death threats, regrets and the challenges of being the city’s first black woman mayor.

Sharon Weston Broome is a pioneer. Now she says goodbye to her life in the public eye.

“I’m looking forward to the next chapter in my life,” Broome said.

The next chapter comes after 35 years as an elected leader. The last eight of them were the first African-American woman to serve as mayor-president of East Baton Rouge Parish. She called it the most challenging position she has ever held.

“With the help of amazing support staff here and other individuals who wanted to see Baton Rouge move forward and progress, we have been able to accomplish many historic initiatives here in the city and parish,” explained Broome.

Being above a city with a $1 billion budget and 4,000 employees also came with some potentially life-threatening moments.

“I never talked about it much, but there were several times when the Baton Rouge Police Department had to investigate potential threats on my life. They had to investigate,” Broome said.

“In all your years as an elected official, were these the first threats of this kind against you?” Deon Guillory asked.

“When I became mayor. Yes,” Broome replied.

What was that feeling?

“I have to repeat. I am a woman of faith. I trust God to take care of me.”

Baton Rouge police confirmed to WAFB that there were several potential threats against Mayor Broome over the years. The most recent was a sword-wielding man who was caught on camera with the weapon in a downtown building back in October. The BRPD Intelligence Division told Broome details of the threats, including several online.

Broome stated, “I never talked about it because I’m a woman of faith and I didn’t want it to be a hindrance to my work.”

Her faith would be tested as soon as she took office. The city was healed in the aftermath of the Alton Sterling shooting, the police ambush, and the Great Flood.

“Louisiana. Baton Rouge will always have to deal with water management, but the Broome administration has laid a good foundation for flood protection progress,” explained Broome.

That progress came because of the stormwater master plan. It shows where every drop of water goes. Over the years, crews have cleaned thousands of tons of debris cleaned from drainage systems and canals. The city-parish also used millions in American Rescue Plan Funding to improve stormwater infrastructure to reduce the risk of flooding. Another plan was to get Baton Rouge going.

“The MOVEBR plan,” Guillory said. “Yes. Very proud of it,” Broome said.

This transportation and infrastructure improvement program consists of 72 projects and nearly a billion dollars to help reduce traffic congestion, build sidewalks and manage traffic signals throughout the parish. Voters approved a 30-year half-cent sales tax to pay for it.

“We were able to be successful because I believe we had the right plan at the right time and then we had people who joined us on a common goal,” explained Broome.

Guillory asked, “Is that your proudest moment as mayor? That initiative.”

Broome replied: “People ask me that. I can’t say it’s my proudest moment because I’ve had many moments as mayor.”

She pointed to helping get small, minority and women-owned businesses in the game to be considered for city contracts and attracting Amazon to build a fulfillment center in the old Cortana Mall. It was all part of her mission, she said, to help uplift disinvested communities.

Guillory asked, “What do you say to your critics who weren’t so keen on that work?”

Broome responded, “Well, I think a lot of these critics have changed their minds because they realize the impact of not having resources and programs and economic growth and development in certain areas of our city and the impact that has in other areas.”

Much of that work can be overshadowed by the city’s rampant crime problem, even with the creation of the real-time crime center. According to BRPD’s crime trends analysis page, homicides are up more than 6% compared to 2023. Assaults, robberies and thefts are up by double digits.

“Have people come up to you and said I don’t feel safe in the city?” Guillory asked.

“I’ve had a number of comments when it comes to public safety. I’ve had people say they don’t feel safe, but on the other hand, I’ve had people say ‘Mayor, I don’t know why they blame you. You can’t be everywhere and control people’s behavior. So I’ve had both sides of it, and as a leader you can’t deny the challenges in your community,” Broome replied.

Guillory asked, “Anything in your eight years that you wished, if you could, would you do it over?”

Broome responded: “As I heard someone say, I’m a public servant, not a perfect servant. I believe we all look at our lives, whether it’s my role as a leader as mayor-president, and see areas where there have been room for improvement.”

She said the area is selling her administration’s achievements to the people of the city-parish.

Guillory asked, “Do you think how people felt about the St. George situation overshadowed the results?”

Broome replied: “There’s no question that the rise of the town of St. George was a dominant part of the conversation and part of our administration. I don’t think people understood. I don’t think many people understood what I tried to do in this process.”

Voters approved a measure for the area considered St. George, to break away and create a new city. The city of Baton Rouge took the case to court and ultimately lost. Now the negotiations on a transition have dragged on for several months. The city-parish said the new city accounts for a nearly $40 million hit in the recently passed budget, with cuts across the board but no layoffs.

Guillory asked, “You mentioned one of your goals was to keep the community together. Do you think the community is together or apart? Are we apart?

Broome responded, “That’s a big question. We’ve tried time and time again to talk about the problem that exists in our community as it relates to division. When I reflect, not only on my tenure as mayor-president, but just my tenure as a public servant, and it kind of ties into what I said earlier. I think there’s still a division between us. I think a lot of that division has existed here, but I believe that there are people trying to push through the division to promote unity.”

The voters were divided when it came to the run-off election in December. It marked the first time Broome would lose an election in his more than three decades as a politician.

Guillory asked, “Do you feel the St. George question? The creation of the city. The transition seems to have been very slow. Was that the deciding factor for people that night?

Broome responded: “I don’t think St George was the deciding factor. I think it played a part in the election result, but it wasn’t the deciding factor. I think we saw a case where we had a runoff. We had the primary, of course, and we had a runoff during a season that was maybe not that free. It’s a lot of different factors.”

Broome said she would leave that to the political analysts. She said she has had conversations with Mayor-President-elect Sid Edwards. She would not share the advice she gave the political newcomer, but said she is doing her part to ensure a smooth transition.

“My goal was never to see how many elections I could win. My aim has always been to serve the people. Serving humanity and that calling still resonates and is part of the fabric of Sharon Weston Broome’s life,” said Broome. “I learned early in this process that public service is not about a title or a position. That service to humanity in general is really about your care and your concern for others, and you don’t have to have a title or a position to do that.”

Sharon Weston Broome leaves office for the last time with public service still running through her veins, even though she no longer holds the title of mayor-president.

Broome said she plans to be quiet and listen to the Lord for her next assignment. She plans to write a book and has already received requests for public speaking engagements.

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