BATON ROUGE, LA — February 25, 2019 — Today we learned that the East Baton Rouge Parish Registrar of Voters verified the signatures needed to put the proposed City of St. George measure on the ballot. This proposition significantly affects every resident of East Baton Rouge Parish. If and when an election is scheduled, it is my hope that the election date is one in which high voter turnout is anticipated.

I encourage not only those who reside inside the proposed city’s boundaries, but all residents of the parish, to closely evaluate the proposal prepared by St. George organizers as well as the independent analyses that outline the proposed city’s impact on the City-Parish and the services it claims it will provide.

It is now incumbent upon St. George organizers to honestly and truthfully address the many questions that have been raised by citizens over the course of the past year. Citizens across the parish deserve to have a clear understanding of how this proposed city would impact their personal finances. Economists who have studied the proposal stated that St. George would operate in a deficit and would have no choice but to raise taxes to provide adequate services to its residents.

I am committed to keeping Baton Rouge together and firmly believe we are stronger as a whole. Recent history demonstrates that when we unite around common goals we are able to find workable solutions that benefit every resident of this parish.