A somewhat depleted field of mayoral candidates took on African-American and north Baton Rouge issues, including healthcare, inside the Champion medical center with five of the 12 candidates speaking at a forum Thursday night hosted by The Rouge Collection publisher Gary Chambers.
Several attendees had advanced the site as a future location for an emergency room, though the governor's office has pushed forward with plans for a standalone ER to be operated by Our Lady of the Lake. Candidates were asked about their future plans for Champion.
Democrat Sharon Weston Broome noted she was supportive of the OLOL site, though she left the door open for Champion to be involved in some sort of medical mall or medical park in the future.
Republican John Delgado said he likes Champion, but noted "it's not ideal for an emergency room."
He repeated an argument that the state should roll back its deal with OLOL and "turn the lights back on" at the Baton Rouge General Medical Center-Mid City's ER on Florida Boulevard.
The mostly black crowd groaned at Delgado later in the forum when he responded to a question on income inequality between black and white residents of Baton Rouge. Delgado, an attorney, said the issue comes down to education โย a person with a law degree has opportunities that someone without a high school diploma does not, regardless of race, he said. His response, however, fell flat with the crowd.
Broome was given multiple opportunities to expand on one plank of her platform. The candidate has advocated that the government do more to encourage minority-owned businesses to bid on and receive government contracts.
According to numbers quoted by debate moderators, approximately one percent of city-parish contracts are currently awarded to minority-owned businesses. Broome advocated for raising that number to 25 percent in her first six months in office.
Delgado said that, realistically, if he were mayor, he might consider it a success if the city-parish could increase the proportion up to 10 percent by the end of a four-year term, again, to push-back from the crowd.
Independent Darryl Gissel, who arrived late, said the city-parish should shoot for parity, but that benchmark "is not going to be that easy to reach." He also cautioned that watchdogs need to be vigilant because companies may install a minority officer who represents the business but does not necessarily have any real power.
Democrat Greg LaFleur and Republican Braylon Hyde, who had not qualified for several high-profile debates thus far, also had an opportunity to lay out their plans for Baton Rouge.
LaFleur focused much of his time on education and proposed the construction of a new high school in north Baton Rouge similar to Lee High, though that will likely be a decision for the school board, not the city-parish government. LaFleur dedicated himself to serving the underrepresented of north Baton Rouge. However, some in the crowd reacted negatively when he said the government should force people to sell blighted property if they cannot afford to pay for upkeep.
Hyde recommended the next mayor-president identify companies that he or she would like to locate to north Baton Rouge and seek out those business leaders to find out what concerns they have about the community. The city-parish could use that input to guide priorities in the community, whether they be related to blight, crime or other matters.
The other candidates for mayor-president are Democrats C. Denise Marcelle and Byron Sharper; Republicans Bodi White and R.J. "Smokie" Bourgeois; Libertarian Rufus Craig; and other-party candidates Beverly Amador and Cade Williams.
The primary is on Nov. 8 with a runoff election, if necessary, on Dec. 10. Early voting for the primary begins Tuesday and ends Nov. 1.
Editor's note: This story and headline were updated on Friday morning, Oct, 21, to corrected that five candidates took part in the forum. Also, a photo originally with the story was from a previous mayor's forum.