Broome, Carter, Marcelle and Watson to participate based on polling threshold
Baton Rouge, La. (October 5, 2020) – The Baton Rouge Area Chamber (BRAC) today announced that it will host a 2020 East Baton Rouge Mayoral Forum on Tuesday, October 13, live on both WVLA NBC Local 33 and WGMB Fox 44 beginning at 7 p.m. Mayor-President Sharon Weston Broome, Steve Carter, Representative Denise Marcelle, and Councilman Matt Watson will participate.
Candidates polling at or above 5 percent were invited to participate based on polling commissioned by BRAC and partners September 29-30 among likely voters in East Baton Rouge Parish. The poll was conducted by JMC Analytics and will be fully released on October 14. The topline poll results are as follows:
- Broome (Dem): 41 percent
- Carter (Rep): 14 percent
- Watson (Rep): 13 percent
- Marcelle (Dem): 6 percent
- Piazza (Rep): 4 percent
- Guirard (Ind): 2 percent
- Smith (Rep): <1 percent
- Undecided: 19 percent
“This election comes at a critical time for East Baton Rouge Parish,” said Adam Knapp, president and CEO of BRAC. “The business community is adamant that the person elected to be Mayor-President commit to changing the tenor of city-parish politics and deliver more rapid progress for the parish. With 19 percent of the population undecided, this live forum will help parish voters understand where candidates stand on important issues.”
The live forum will focus on issue areas outlined in BRAC’s 2020 Mayoral and Metro Council Platform. The 10-point platform calls for a commitment from candidates to:
- Prioritize economic development and job creation, creating a unified vision to accelerate recovery from COVID-19
- Develop and drive significant financial investment into redevelopment and economic development in North Baton Rouge
- Improve and build traditional and multi-modal infrastructure
- Make it easier and more efficient to do business in and with the city-parish
- Aggressively drive redevelopment, blight abatement, and public maintenance
- Advance civic enhancement projects that will improve EBR’s quality of place
- Increase the number of people earning high-quality, industry-based credentials via EmployBR’s workforce development services
- Lower the crime rate and increase public trust in law enforcement
- Manage an equitable and transparent separation of the City of St. George, if the court challenge fails
- Foster a culture of transparency and accountability
In addition to being aired live on television, the forum will be live streamed via BRProud’s Facebook page and website, and broadcast live on Talk 107.3. The forum will also be recorded.
The primary election will take place on November 3, and early voting will begin on October 16.
About the Baton Rouge Area Chamber
The Baton Rouge Area Chamber (BRAC) leads economic development in the nine-parish Baton Rouge Area, working to grow jobs and wealth and to improve the business climate and competitiveness in the region. Today, BRAC investors include more than 1,400 small businesses, mid-sized firms, large industry and entrepreneurial startups, as well as individuals and organizations that support business and economic development. In this capacity, BRAC serves as the voice of the business community, providing knowledge, access, services and advocacy. More information is available at brac.org.
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