Meet Our Mayor
Mayor-President Sharon Weston Broome
City of Baton Rouge/Parish of East Baton Rouge
Sharon Weston Broome was sworn in as the Mayor-President of the City of Baton Rouge and East Baton Rouge Parish on January 2, 2017. She is the first woman to be elected as the leader of the capital city of Louisiana. Since the campaign trail, her focus has been to unite the citizenry around the common goals of equality in education, economic development, justice, housing and other quality ways of life.
Immediately following her election, Mayor-President Broome convened a team of 300 diverse residents to be part of her transition team. Residents ranged from millennials to seniors, who represented various races, education levels and socioeconomic statuses. Among the issues covered were flood recovery, community-police relations, education, economic development, race relations, and transportation. Using this feedback directly from the community, Broome’s administration immediately took action, accomplishing much within the first 100 days in office.
Among these actions were: updating the Baton Rouge Police Department’s Use of Force Policy to align with national best practices; continuing to maximize FEMA Public Assistance funds for reimbursement from repairs and restructuring related to the historic flood of August 2016; launched the Equity in Business initiative, which aims to increase contract opportunities and entrepreneurial activity in all neighborhoods; entered into an agreement with the Baton Rouge Chamber of Commerce that now includes a focus on small businesses, and those owned by minorities and women; held first joint meeting with East Baton Rouge Parish School Board members and Metro Council; and launched an implementation plan for a “Cradle to K” initiative.
During her first year in office, she focused many of her efforts on flood recovery, economic development, public safety, and traffic remediation.
The administration continues to focus on these issues and others that affect the community, and continuously acts on feedback from residents of the parish.
Prior to her current post, Broome served as a Baton Rouge Metro Council Member; Louisiana State Representative (District 29); and Louisiana State Senator (District 15). While in the legislature, she became the first woman to be elected by her peers as Speaker Pro Tempore and President Pro Tempore of the House and Senate.
Over the years, Broome has been recognized for her service and leadership by several organizations, including the Louisiana Coalition Against Domestic Violence, Louisiana Health Freedom Coalition, American Heart Association, Every Child Matters, Baton Rouge NAACP Lifetime Achievement Award, Girl Scouts Louisiana East 2017 Women of Distinction Award, Omega Psi Phi Fraternity, Inc. (Lambda Kappa Kappa Chapter) 2017 Citizen of the Year, and National Congress of Black Women.
Broome holds a B.A. in Mass Communication from the University of Wisconsin-Lacrosse and an M.A. in Communications from Regent University. Broome has served as an adjunct instructor at the Manship School of Mass Communication at Louisiana State University, Baton Rouge Community College, and Southern University. In addition, she was a reporter for five years for WBRZ-TV, the Baton Rouge ABC affiliate.
Faith and family are priorities for Broome. She is a member of Star Hill Church, and is happily married to Marvin Broome. They are the proud parents of three children and three grandchildren.
