Metro Council decessus

Prologue: Death on the Horizon

The Metro Council as we know it, from its long-held stances to power structure, is approaching its expiration date. For those of us paying attention, the label reads 10-04-08. That’s the day voters will head to the polls and discover what most hopefully already know: that eight of the council’s 12 incumbents are not seeking to reclaim their seats due to term limits and other reasons. It’s practically an open slate, giving voters the rare opportunity to write their own political drama, from lead characters to plot twists, for the next term of office.

Of course, there are still four incumbents on the ballot, and all are being assailed by calls for a clean sweep. Their mistakes will be pointed out, and ties to the Old Regime will be made, but don’t expect a collective mea culpa from this band of well-financed incumbents; they’re ready for a battle and won’t be pulling punches. To be certain, the Metro Council will never be the same, but these four incumbent races will dictate the extremities of the coming transformation – will it be a simple patchwork or a complete rewrite?

The other eight races include no incumbents and represent the city parish’s guarantee of a new style of governance. No matter how voters choose in these contests, there will be eight new faces on the council come next year. But as in any drama, there’s still a distinct chance for tragedy around every corner. After all, no matter who ends up on the Metro Council – old, new, rich, poor, black or white – the membership will still be faced by the same special interests, chronic problems, and constituent dilemmas that plagued their predecessors.

Act I: Gluttony

Incumbents will fight to protect their turf

It has not been a good year for Metro Councilman Byron Sharper, a Democrat who represents District 7. He was arrested for allegedly forcing himself on an 18-year-old woman in March (similar charges were dropped by another woman in 2006). He was further ostracized by former supporters, and, last but certainly not least, faces opposition on the fall ballot from no fewer than six respectable names from the community.

Still, Sharper is going to make another run. When he made his decision earlier this year, Sharper told reporters he had “talked to family and friends, and a lot of my constituents encouraged me to run because they say we’ve done a good job and they still want to support us.” That may be so, but the limited good will won’t protect Sharper from what promises to be among the most vicious attacks of the campaign season.

All of the candidates running against him spout the same opening line. They frame Sharper as a desperate incumbent willing to do anything to cling to power, like a milder version of Shakespeare’s Claudius. “This is not the kind of behavior you would expect from basically anyone, less a councilman,” says Suchitra S. Dyer, a local attorney and associate professor at Baton Rouge Community College. “No matter what happens, this issue is going to dog him throughout the entire election. This does nothing to aid the district.”

If you believe the political scuttlebutt floating around the Government Building and a handful of published reports, a few of the candidates in District 7 were personally recruited by Mayor Kip Holden, a Democrat, who is routinely at odds with Sharper.

Holden has broad approval and support, so it isn’t surprising that he has involved himself in another race. The mayor has also thrown a wide net to draft challengers to Councilman Ulysses “Bones” Addison, the Democrat who has represented District 2 since 2000. That contest, though, will be much more difficult to flip. Two terms in office have provided Addison with ample opportunities to gain influence over locally elected officials, ministers and community groups. Moreover, he started the year with nearly $20,000 in his campaign war chest.

But it’s Addison’s resources on the street—such as block captains and community leaders—that present the real test for Democratic challengers like Vincent Jemison. For his part, Jemison hopes Addison’s intricate network will actually work against him with the masses. “(Addison) has a leg up in campaigning because, yes, he has made all the right connections and has built up his own resources,” says Jemison, formerly a consultant for the Shaw Group and Federal Emergency Management Agency. “But not much in the district has changed since he took office, so you have to ask who the network is benefiting. Who is working for who?”

With eight open seats on the Metro Council, interests around the city can smell and taste blood in the water. That’s one of the reasons why council members not usually known for fundraising are turning up the heat. For instance, incumbent Councilwoman Martha Jane Tassin, the Republican who represents District 6, jumped through some serious hoops this year to raise cash after starting the first quarter with roughly $3,000 in her campaign kitty, an unimpressive and embarrassing number for an incumbent. But a few aggressive direct mail efforts and cocktail parties later, Tassin is now boasting in excess of $40,000—just $10,000 short of her goal for the cycle. “We really hit it hard,” Tassin says, adding most of her checks were delivered in small amounts from residents of Baton Rouge, as opposed to the huge corporate checks floating the other incumbents.

Her two Democratic opponents—Sarah Holliday and Donna Collins Lewis—admit to being cash-strapped, which will make toppling the incumbent that much tougher. Holliday is using campaign materials left over from her 2004 bid against Tassin. Lewis, meanwhile, is asking friends and family for money. “We’re just not going to be able to compete against an incumbent’s money. She has contacts we don’t,” says Lewis, a housing program manager for the Louisiana Family Recovery Corps.

“We’re running a grassroots campaign and urging voters to replace the entire council,” Lewis adds. “There’s not much else you can do when facing the force of an incumbent.”

Act II: Naiveté

They do not know what they do not know

If you believe the cloak-and-dagger political operatives who stick to the shadows, you won’t make it far in Louisiana politics unless you have a taste for the jugular. So what would make an otherwise sane Red Stick citizen want to jump in the deep end as a rookie? “I feel a bit better about it because I know what I’m getting into,” says Alison Cascio, a Republican contender in District 11. “I’ve worked closely with the Metro Council and as a councilman’s aide, and I’m fully aware of the ups and downs and all the headaches.”

For Cascio, though, the potential jump is a bigger sacrifice than you might think. Should she win, Cascio has promised to voluntarily quit her job with the Center for Planning Excellence, a nonprofit that coordinates urban and rural planning efforts for local governments and others. The likelihood that there might be a conflict of interest is “too close for comfort,” she says, and that loss of income and job security was one of the reasons she almost didn’t run.

If the cutthroat nature of the political game—and the possibility of personal conflicts—isn’t enough to sway average citizens from running for office, then the price tag involved with getting elected might do the trick. Based on several interviews with consultants involved in this season’s Metro Council races, a candidate will likely have to spend somewhere between $35,000 and $65,000 to triumph.

Milton Lee, a Democrat running in District 5, says his campaign war chest will come nowhere close to that figure. Rather, he plans to loan his campaign $5,000 from his own bank account. If his bid picks up momentum, there might be a fundraiser sometime this month, but otherwise Lee says he’s comfortable swallowing the loan for the opportunity to make a difference. “We’re going to run a grassroots campaign,” says Lee, a retired lab technician. “Yard signs, T-shirts, refreshments for walkers. Things like that. We’re just going to work hard and do the best we can. That’s why we need prayers and support more than dollars at this point.”

Whether a candidate has money or not, or the appropriate political schooling or none at all, they still have to campaign. For community-level candidates, that means knocking on doors, which can be as uncomfortable as selling vacuum cleaners through cold calls. Michael Samuel, a Democrat making a push in District 10, admits he’s still in his comfort zone, knocking on doors in the neighborhoods where he was schooled and raised. “It’s been easy for me because everyone knows my name,” he says. “There haven’t been any doors closed on me yet. But I haven’t ventured far from my extended community, so the challenges are probably just beginning.”

As for the negative side of campaigning, Samuel, a Dow retiree, says he knows it’s coming, especially if he plans to make it to the November runoff. It’s an unsavory aspect he’s not looking forward to, which is probably why he’s sticking to a safe strategy that has sunk candidates with even the most noble of intentions. After all, campaigning is a contact sport; you can’t sit on the sidelines. “That’s why I’m only talking about myself right now,” Samuel says. “We’ll see how that works out.”

Act III: Arrival

Out with the old school, in with the new

When the sun sets on 2008, we’ll know exactly who will and who won’t be sitting on our city’s Metro Council. Sure, bad blood will still be boiling and hatchets will go unburied, but the constant campaigning, at least in the most conventional terms, will be over. It will be a time for coalescing behind new leadership and a time for learning. If he should be elected, Joel Boe’, a Republican candidate in District 9, says his attention will immediately turn to catching up.

Like the other new faces on the council, Boe’ will have to cram plenty of learning into a few weeks. He says the Metro Council’s staff is already working on an orientation course, but there’s probably very little they can do to prepare for all of the reversed stances a fresh council might take.

For instance, at the urging of a small handful of members, the Metro Council debated a proposal earlier this year that would trash its current 12 single-member districts for a new makeup of 10 single-member districts and two at-large seats. Also, rather than allowing the council to elect the mayor pro tem, the at-large candidate with the most votes would assume the coveted position. It represents yet another issue that hasn’t had its last hearing. “I think that could come up at any time,” says Councilman Mike Walker, a Republican running for re-election in District 8. “It could even come back up this year, before we have a new council.”

“The learning curve is going to be tremendous, for everyone from voters to council members,” Boe’ says. “It’s going to be huge turnover, and I think there’s going to be a lot of people entering the fray with an open mind.”

Gentle thoughts aside, there’s a great deal of information new council members will never be able to glean from an orientation process, according to Jim Benham, a Republican running for the District 12 seat he previously held for three terms during the early 1990s. Despite the fact that the Metro Council will be new, there will be the same special interests and insurmountable challenges in the process that plagued the previous crop of lawmakers.

Learning to separate fact from spin will be the first real lesson, as will be figuring out how to work within that system. “You’re going to have people that want to influence the process,” Benham says, like contractors, lobbyists, and lawyers. “They’re going to want a say in legislation. But I’ve found that the best approach is to trust the civic associations and their presidents. They’re the real voice of the people, and that’s who we’re representing.”

It’s that type of institutional knowledge that many people are fearful of losing. And based on the way the fall ballot is stacked, it’s an element that is undeniably on the way out.

But that might not be a bad thing, says Pat Fuller, a Democrat running in Zachary’s District 1. In fact, it may be the way to pave Baton Rouge’s road to the future. “I think it’s a benefit. We need some new blood up there right now,” says Fuller, owner of Sportsman’s One Stop on Hwy. 61. “I’m looking forward to being the new kid on the block. This is going to be a good thing. Because when you bring in new personnel, you bring in new ideas. And in my opinion, we need that more than anything else right now.”

Reversing course

Turnover. That’s the key word for this year’s Metro Council elections. There are eight open seats vacated by incumbents due to term limits and other reasons. The four remaining posts are being held down by returning incumbents hoping to cling to power. No matter how you multiply and divide, it equates to a brand-new council—and a brand-new take on what have become traditionally divisive issues. Here are three issues that may come back to haunt incumbents.

One Baton Rouge

Should Mayor Kip Holden, a Democrat, land another term, he could return with his ill-fated “One Baton Rouge” resolution. The non-binding measure simply welcomed people of all backgrounds, including all sexual orientations, to the city. The current Metro Council, however, rejected the notion. Many of the rookies on the fall ballot fully expect the resolution to come back up and possibly pass.

Open containers

The ongoing efforts to create an arts and entertainment district downtown has long included a plan to create an open container area for local bars, which would allow patrons to walk the streets with booze in hand. Opponents have been quick to label it an attempt to create another Bourbon Street, much to the ire of supporters. A special committee formed to bring a unified plan to the Metro Council tabled the idea at least once, but as downtown’s resurgence continues, so too does the community’s thirst for this convenience.

At-large Metro Council seats

At the urging of a small handful of members, the Metro Council debated a proposal earlier this year that would trash its current 12 single-member districts for a new makeup of 10 single-member districts and two at-large seats. Also, rather than allowing the council to elect the mayor pro tem, the at-large candidate with the most votes would assume the coveted position. It represents yet another issue that hasn’t had its last hearing.

Click here to read about Kip Holden’s capital improvement plan.

Click here to see where the Metro Council’s four incumbents are getting the bank to finance their campaigns.