Sharon Weston Broome

Sharon Weston Broome (born October 1, 1956) is the mayor-president of Baton Rouge, Louisiana. She served in the Louisiana State Senate representing the 15th district from 2005 to 2016. She was elected mayor-president in a runoff election held on December 10, 2016. Broome is the first African-American woman to serve as mayor-president. From 2008 to 2016, Broome was the President Pro Tempore of the state Senate. In 2011, she was elected to her second full Senate term without opposition. Early life and career From 1992 to 2004, Broome was a member of the Louisiana House of Representatives for District 29. She was succeeded by her legislative assistant, Regina Barrow. From 1996 to 2003, she was Chairman of Municipal, Parochial and Cultural Affairs Committee. Broome was elected Speaker Pro Tempore of the House, the first woman to have held that position. Broome is hence the first woman to serve in the number-two leadership position in both legislative chambers. In 2002, Broome introduced House Concurrent Resolution (HCR) 74 which condemned "Darwinism" as justifying racism and Nazism. The bill was amended to remove allusions to Darwin and passed. In 2012, she sponsored a bill requiring doctors to let a woman hear the heartbeat of a fetus (if present) before performing an abortion. The bill was signed into law by Republican Louisiana Governor Bobby Jindal on June 8, 2012.