Daily Report sat down with Democratic mayoral candidate Ted James to discuss his campaign and his vision for Baton Rouge. This interview has been edited for brevity and clarity.
If elected, what would some of your first priorities be as mayor?
No. 1 is putting a public safety summit together—pulling together the leadership of the 11 different law enforcement agencies that we have in hopes of talking about how we can consolidate efforts and resources to better keep the people of East Baton Rouge Parish safe.
I also want to address the dismal results of our Head Start program. The Baton Rouge Area Foundation’s report was just shocking in that we spend $10 million out of $18 million allocated and 32% of our young people score zero in terms of kindergarten readiness. Making changes there will be a top priority, and I also plan to work with our school district and other stakeholders to create a literacy program for our young people.
Something else that’ll be critically important to me is working with not only the Metro Council but our legislative delegation to create a parish agenda in advance of the 2025 legislative session.
Another top priority will be working with the Office of Community Development to create a blight map and make sure that we’re aggressively tackling blight in our community.
Last, I want to rethink our approach to economic development. Right now, there’s no point person on economic development in the mayor’s office and no contract with the Baton Rouge Area Chamber. I will very early in my administration reengage in conversations with BRAC. Most cities of our size have full economic development departments. That would be a financial challenge, but we need to pull resources back to the table to better align with BRAC.
What would you do to address the long-standing inequities between north and south Baton Rouge, particularly when it comes to economic development?
With my background in housing policy and at the Small Business Administration, I see investments in affordable housing, rehabilitating blighted areas and making business easier for our entrepreneurs as keys to sustainable growth. We cannot just prioritize ribbon-cutting over fast-tracking permitting and improving our transportation and workforce development systems. We’ll need to take a holistic approach.
When it comes to infrastructure, we need to make sure that we’re fast-tracking investments in north Baton Rouge. That’ll require some changes to the priorities of the MovEBR program and a more aggressive approach to capital outlay at the state Capitol.
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?
First of all, if we continue to take the stance that the current administration has taken and we continue to make this a prolonged fight, I think there will be a negative impact. If the cooperative endeavor agreement between the city-parish and St. George isn’t signed by the time I take office, getting that done will be a top priority so that we can start to move forward as a parish.
But when it comes to not only St. George but Baker, Central and Zachary as well, I see them as opportunities for us to create more economic growth. I think we need to get past the notion of looking at our cities as competitors and start looking at them as partners, especially in terms of economic opportunity and pooling resources to address issues like stormwater drainage.
Once we have a parish agenda and we’re able to have recruitment opportunities for major industries, I will look to the mayors of the other cities for ways that they can add value. All of the cities in the parish have their own strengths.
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 don’t support the plan of government change. Since the day that I announced my campaign, I’ve been committed to hiring a credentialed person to help me lead this community. Having worked with city managers at the SBA, I’ve seen great ones and I’ve seen not-so-great ones. My concern is twofold.
First, there are some plan of government changes that I would like to propose. I’d like the new administration and the new council to have an opportunity to look at the plan of government and not ask the people of the parish to accept changes this year and again next year.
Second, I don’t need a plan of government change to tell me that we need a credentialed hire to help me fulfill my vision for the parish. I’ve already committed to doing that.
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?
We need to quickly improve not only our quality of life but the perception that young people have of Baton Rouge. We have two major universities here—LSU and Southern University—and I think the city-parish should be more involved with young people at those universities to create opportunities while they’re here, whether it be through internships or really diving into the A&M Agenda that was signed during the historic LSU and Southern game.
We also need to look at our downtown. When you have a downtown on the river that has no excitement and that doesn’t have a huge draw, it’s hard to talk to young people about remaining in the region.
In terms of my conversations with BRAC and Louisiana Economic Development, we need to be better about the types of industries that we recruit here. We need to make sure that we’re recruiting industries that college graduates are interested in. We need to be more tech-focused and we need to elevate our conversations around entrepreneurship and venture capital.
We also need to get crime under control. Everybody wants to live and work in a city that’s safe.
And in terms of aesthetics, we need to make sure that we’re investing in our green spaces downtown and in other areas that young people want to congregate in.
Editor’s Note: This interview is the first in a series of mayoral candidate interviews that will be published in Daily Report. All candidates will be asked the same questions.
