Two cities, two votes
Central said no to everything. Baton Rouge called a truce long enough to say yes.
Central voters just said no. Not once, not twice, but three times. The suburban hamlet hunkered down and was the lone voice of dissent on each of the three parishwide tax proposals approved by voters on Saturday.
They may not have big numbers, but voters there hung together on the hill of defeat.
Meanwhile, in the heart of Baton Rouge—where a rather nasty political fight has been playing out over the City-Brooks Park master plan and especially the fate of its 9-hole golf course—voters on both sides of the issue set aside their differences long enough to call a truce and approve a BREC tax renewal.
Why it matters: Central, based on its voting track record, doesn't see much need for taxes, but Baton Rouge voters stopped hostilities long enough to make it clear together that funding BREC is necessary for a healthy community.
Not on my watch: Central voters didn't just vote against proposals for the library, BREC and Council on Aging. They crushed them.
- COA got the most amount of love from Central, with just 57.6% of voters saying no, compared to roughly 65% for BREC and the library.
- Their angst is mighty, but their impact isn't, accounting for less than 5% of the total vote for each measure.
A source familiar with Central politics argues voters there want core government services funded before quality-of-life amenities. It's a coherent argument—except Central voters also rejected Thrive EBR in November, a package specifically designed to break down dedicated millages and redirect money toward infrastructure and general fund priorities.
Kumbaya moments: The most contentious civic debate at the moment is the City-Brooks Park master plan, the golf course, the potential for a conservancy to manage it, and the ongoing University Lakes project. Yet voters near ground zero came together in something resembling harmony to extend a BREC property tax.
- Some 70.5% of voters in the 17 precincts surrounding City-Brooks Park approved the BREC tax renewal, just a percentage point behind the library's 71.6%.
- Even St. George voters, who are notoriously anti-tax and made it clear they had issues over the millage rate the library was requesting, gave 58.4% approval to the library's request, not as strong as the vote for BREC and COA, but still decisive.
The bottom line: East Baton Rouge, for all its challenges, sent a clear message that quality of life is important and worth funding—well ... maybe not in Central.
