Fall 2008 a true season of change

The stage is set for real change in East Baton Rouge Parish.

Just as we hoped, a raft of new faces has stepped up to compete for seats on the Metro Council this fall in what promises to be an election of sweeping change. No fewer than eight new faces will take the oath of office, possibly more as multiple candidates will take on the four incumbents.

Many Baton Rougeans responded to the call for action, with multiple candidates for every district. It will give voters a chance to construct an “extreme makeover” of the Metro Council.

The timing couldn’t be better. Our Metro Council needs both new ideas and a new image.

There was a time when the Metro Council was a reliable stepping stone to seek higher office, producing such successful politicians as State Sen. Sharon Weston Broome and Secretary of State Jay Dardenne, Mayor Kip Holden and former state Sen. Carl Crane, all former Metro Council members.

But more recently the council has been a government body mocked and ridiculed. As many as eight Metro Council members ran for higher office in recent elections and every single one of them lost those bids.

New candidates will need to take a fresh approach to the campaign. The eventual winners must tackle their job with courage and vision. The council of late has fought change, mired itself in petty turf wars and often foiled or delayed progressive initiatives.

The new council should start by reinventing itself, by discussing bold new ideas such as “at-large” seats on the council, which could break the fiefdom mentality that has beset so many Metro Council members who only consider how issues affect their district, and not the entire parish. By providing built-in political cover for some members, some may act as real agents for change, rather than crumble in the face of a loud minority of voices within their own district.

The Metro Council also should consider letting the people vote on a two-term limit for both itself and for the mayor, and to make it retroactive to this fall’s election. Anything less and voters will have to wait 12 years to get wholesale change. The Metro Council also should take an interest in the selection of the next East Baton Rouge Parish schools superintendent, a leadership role critical to Baton Rouge’s overall future. So goes the quality of our schools, so goes our quality of life, our population and our economic base.

We hope our new Metro Council won’t use phrases like “that’s not our job.” In fact, if it involves building the city-parish or improving the quality of life here, it is your job. It’s your most important task, in fact.

Now that the field is set, you as a voter need to become informed, let these newcomers know what matters to you, press them on what they’re going to do fix Baton Rouge’s problems. Determine for yourself if the person is narrow- or simple-minded, or if they are an innovator with vision who can see the forest for the trees in our community.

Click here to see a list of all the candidates.