Sharon Weston Broome (born October 1, 1956) is an American politician and former television reporter who served as mayor-president of Baton Rouge and East Baton Rouge Parish from 2017 to 2025. A member of the Democratic Party, she was the first African-American woman to hold the office. Broome won the 2016 Baton Rouge mayoral election, was reelected in 2020 and lost her campaign for a third term to Republican Sid Edwards in 2024.
Broome began her political career on the East Baton Rouge Parish Metropolitan Council in 1988. She represented District 29 in the Louisiana House of Representatives from 1992 to 2005 and became the first woman elected speaker pro tempore of the chamber in 2004. She subsequently represented District 15 in the Louisiana State Senate from 2005 to 2016 and served as president pro tempore from 2008 to 2016. Broome was the first woman to hold the pro tempore leadership position in both chambers of the Louisiana State Legislature. She also served as the 99th president of the National League of Cities from November 2024 until January 2025.
During her mayoral tenure, Broome introduced the MoveBR transportation program and commissioned a parish stormwater master plan following the 2016 Louisiana floods. She opposed the incorporation of St. George, arguing that it would adversely affect Baton Rouge's finances, but the Louisiana Supreme Court permitted the incorporation to proceed in 2024. Her administration also faced scrutiny over contracts connected to the Baton Rouge Area Violence Elimination program, the stalled Housing for Heroes development and allegations that Baton Rouge Police Department officers abused detainees at a warehouse nicknamed the Brave Cave. Broome canceled the remaining BRAVE contracts and later permanently closed the warehouse while investigations continued.
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Early life and career
Early life and education
Broome was born on October 1, 1956, in Chicago, Illinois. She attended Carter Elementary School, where Mamie Till-Mobley, the mother of Emmett Till, was her third-grade teacher.
Broome earned a bachelor's degree in mass communication from the University of Wisconsin–La Crosse and a master's degree in communications from Regent University. Before entering politics, she worked as a reporter for WBRZ-TV for five years.
East Baton Rouge Metro Council
Broome was elected to the East Baton Rouge Parish Metropolitan Council in 1988, defeating a 12-year incumbent.
Louisiana House of Representatives
Broome represented District 29 in the Louisiana House of Representatives from 1992 to 2005. She chaired the House Committee on Municipal, Parochial and Cultural Affairs from 1996 through 2003. In 2004, she became the first woman elected speaker pro tempore of the Louisiana House.
In 2001, Broome introduced House Concurrent Resolution 74, which linked Darwinist ideology to racism. The House adopted an amended version that condemned racism but removed the references to Darwin and evolution.
Louisiana State Senate
After Broome moved to the Louisiana Senate, Regina Barrow succeeded her in the House. Barrow had previously worked as Broome's legislative assistant.
Broome represented District 15 in the Louisiana State Senate from 2005 to 2016 and served as president pro tempore from 2008 to 2016. She was the first woman to have held the pro tempore leadership positions in both chambers of the Louisiana Legislature.
In 2012, Broome sponsored Senate Bill 708, which increased the required interval between an ultrasound and an abortion from two hours to 24 hours. The legislation also required medical personnel to make a fetal heartbeat audible when present, although the patient could decline to listen. The measure became Act 685 of 2012.
Mayor of Baton Rouge
2016 election
In May 2015, Broome, who was term-limited from the Louisiana Senate, became the first candidate to announce a campaign to succeed Kip Holden as mayor-president. Her campaign emphasized parish unity and proposals to improve access to health care in North Baton Rouge.
Broome led the November 8 first round with 60,368 votes, or 31.62 percent, and advanced to a runoff against Republican state Senator Bodi White. On December 10, she defeated White with 59,637 votes, or 51.83 percent, to White's 55,421 votes, or 48.17 percent.
Broome was sworn into office on January 2, 2017.
First term
In April 2017, Broome appointed Troy Bell as the city-parish chief administrative officer. Bell resigned within days after news organizations reported that he did not hold the master's degree listed on his résumé. Broome acknowledged that additional vetting should have occurred, said she accepted responsibility for the appointment and named James Llorens interim chief administrative officer.
In December 2017, Broome selected Louisiana State Police Lieutenant Colonel Murphy Paul as Baton Rouge police chief. Paul was sworn into office in January 2018.
In 2017, Broome's administration faced scrutiny over contracts connected to the federally funded Baton Rouge Area Violence Elimination program. Broome suspended the contracts while the Louisiana Legislative Auditor investigated. In September, the administration canceled the remaining contracts and announced that approximately $1.4 million in unspent grant money would be returned to the federal government.
During the controversy, Broome's office mistakenly released records identifying nine minors who had participated in the program. District Attorney Hillar Moore asked news organizations that received the records to return the unredacted documents.
A 2018 investigative audit found that two BRAVE contracts lacked sufficient detail to determine whether the payments were reasonable. The auditor concluded that the city-parish might not have received adequate value for the money spent, potentially violating the Louisiana Constitution. Broome disputed that a constitutional violation had occurred but acknowledged that the contracting process needed tighter controls.
In 2018, Broome proposed the MoveBR transportation program, funded through a 30-year half-cent sales tax. East Baton Rouge Parish voters approved the tax on December 8, 2018. The program was projected to raise approximately $1 billion for nearly 70 road, sidewalk and traffic-improvement projects. The tax took effect in April 2019, and the program formally began that September.
Broome also commissioned an East Baton Rouge Parish stormwater master plan in April 2017 following the 2016 Louisiana floods. In 2019, the parish secured $15 million for the plan, including $11.25 million from the Federal Emergency Management Agency and $3.75 million committed by the Louisiana Office of Community Development. The plan was intended to guide drainage projects and flood-mitigation policies throughout the parish.
2020 election
The 2020 mayoral election was held on November 3, with a runoff on December 5, to elect the mayor-president of East Baton Rouge Parish.
Broome faced six opponents in the first round. No candidate received a majority, resulting in a runoff between the top two candidates: Broome, a Democrat, and former Republican state representative Steve Carter. Broome received 48 percent of the first-round vote, while Carter received 20 percent.
The election took place during the COVID-19 pandemic, which was among the issues addressed by the candidates.
Broome won the December 5 runoff with 57 percent of the vote, while Carter received 43 percent, securing Broome a second term. Her victory made her the first woman reelected as East Baton Rouge Parish mayor-president.
Second Term
In 2021, the East Baton Rouge Metropolitan Council unanimously approved Broome's proposal to allocate $6 million in American Rescue Plan Act funds to Housing for Heroes, a proposed 36-unit affordable-housing development in Scotlandville. Queen Muhammad Ali and Bradly Brown of KMT Holdings and Development were among the project's developers. By March 2023, construction had not begun and the funds had not been disbursed. Broome's office said the developers had not met the federal requirements governing the funds.
Records later obtained by The Advocate indicated that Broome had slowed the project in 2022 after learning of compliance concerns and instructed Brown and city-parish employees to ensure that the development met federal guidelines. In July 2023, Broome announced an agreement with KMT Holdings naming the company as the recipient of the funds for what the city-parish called the Scotlandville Housing Development. KMT received approximately $961,000 in August 2023.
In May 2024, a federal grand jury subpoenaed city-parish records concerning the project and KMT Holdings. In December 2025, the Louisiana Attorney General's Office charged Brown with felony theft, bank fraud, illegal transfer of monetary funds, money laundering and filing false public records. The charges included allegations that Brown stole more than $25,000 from the city-parish and defrauded three banks; he had not been convicted. In February 2026, the administration of Mayor-President Sid Edwards canceled the project contracts for nonperformance, announced that approximately $5 million would be returned to the federal government and said the city-parish would seek restitution for the money paid to KMT.
In August and September 2023, lawsuits accused officers assigned to the Baton Rouge Police Department (BRPD) Street Crimes Unit of abusing detainees at a narcotics-processing warehouse nicknamed the "Brave Cave." Jeremy Lee alleged that officers beat him at the facility in January 2023, leaving him with a fractured rib and other injuries. Ternell Brown alleged that officers took her there following a June traffic stop, subjected her to an invasive strip search and released her without charges after determining that the prescription drugs found in her vehicle were legal. Troy Lawrence Jr., one of the officers accused in Lee's lawsuit, resigned after the allegations became public.
Broome initially said that she had been unaware of the facility's existence. WAFB subsequently reported that Broome's office and Police Chief Murphy Paul had received a January 17 email concerning Lee's treatment. Broome said that she did not recall receiving the message, and her office said Paul had forwarded it to the department's criminal-investigations and internal-affairs units. The city-parish began reviewing whether the complaint had received a formal response. Paul later acknowledged that the department's internal-affairs division had initially failed to investigate the complaint.
2024 election
Broome sought a third term in 2024. Eight candidates competed in the November 5 election. Republican political newcomer Sid Edwards, the head football coach at Istrouma High School, placed first with 34% of the vote; Broome received 31%; and Democratic former state representative Ted James received 28%. Because no candidate received a majority, Edwards and Broome advanced to a December 7 runoff.
During the runoff, Broome emphasized her administration's experience and infrastructure investments and presented herself as the candidate of stability. Edwards campaigned as a change candidate, focusing on crime, blight and homelessness. The incorporation of St. George and its implications for parish finances were also issues in the runoff.
Edwards defeated Broome in the runoff, receiving 57,308 votes (54%) to Broome's 48,587 (46%), ending her eight years as mayor-president.
Personal life
Sharon Weston Broome was single for most of her adult life until marrying Marvin Alonzo Broome in 2000. She has no biological children but became a stepmother to his three children from a previous marriage, whose biological mother died of cancer, upon their marriage. She has three grandchildren through her stepchildren.