BATON ROUGE, LA (BR-PROUD) – During her time in office, Mayor-President Sharon Weston Broome has seen her share of hard times. How Mayor Broome learned to lead during tough times and the impact she has on our community.
Mayor-President Sharon Weston Broome is no stranger to adversity.
“I don’t know too many communities that have experienced the trauma that we have here in Baton Rouge,” Broome said.
In her first year in office, the city was rocked by the killing of Alton Sterling, the ambush attack on local law enforcement and the historic floods.
“That was a challenging year for me as mayor-president.”
Many thought the capital city area would never recover from the summer of 2016, but she remained steadfast.
“Challenges make us stronger, and our community has certainly demonstrated resiliency time and time again. But resiliency can’t be void of concrete solutions so we don’t repeat the atrocities of the past,” said Broome.
Advice her father gave her at a young age.
“He said I want you to be able to go out in the world and do whatever it is you want to. I often say that from him I got the tenacity to lead and courage and from my mom I got compassion to love and serve,” Broome said.
She is the first African American woman to become mayor of Baton Rouge.
Broome said her time in office has focused on the gap between community and police. She also pushed for equality for all residents.
“Contrary to some sentiments that may say oh you are only concerned about one area of the city. I’m concerned about this entire city no matter what zip code so that everyone in Baton Rouge and East Baton Rouge Parish feels this is a place that you can thrive and prosper.”
Broome is now in charge for another challenge, the coronavirus pandemic.
She is handling the pandemic while in the midst of protests in response to the death of George Floyd
“The fact that we had high school students that led a peaceful protest on Sunday. The fact that you see college students leading the peaceful protest on Siegen Lane. All of that, I believe, speaks to the evolvement and development of the next generation of leaders,” Broome Said.
But through it all she’s remained hopeful.
“I knew that through God all things are possible and I kept the faith.”
She hopes that no matter what obstacle you may face in life that you do the same.