On Nov 15, 2025, East Baton Rouge voters rejected three tax propositions collectively called Thrive EBR. The taxes, like so many EBR ballot measures, were confusing and complicated, requiring multiple explainer articles and promotional sessions. But focusing on the minutia of the taxes would miss the context which produced this result. The political establishment assumed they could speak for you and you would accept a tax plan that you had no input on creating. Activists, voters, city-parish employees, and community organizations need to begin organizing together to prevent a follow up that is worse.
On the surface, the results are very surprising. It seemed that everyone who mattered in EBR endorsed the Thrive! plan. Both the local Democratic Party and Republican Party endorsed. The local Police Union, the Firefighters Association and AFL-CIO endorsed. All 12 Metro-Council members and all four mayors in EBRP endorsed. Everywhere you went in the parish, there were signs endorsing the measures. The library administration, while not technically allowed to take a stance, did everything it could to push people to vote Yes.
However, for those of us with deep ties to the community and grassroots organizations, it was clear that a groundswell of No votes was coming. Local political commentators like Nick Laborde, Gary Chambers, Tania Nyman, and Rolfe McCollister came out against the plan, from different angles. There was a common thread: Mayor-President Edwards cannot be trusted.
“Coach Sid” is merely a symbol of the political establishment. He is uniquely unpopular and his surprise win in 2024 was not truly a reflection of the general EBR population. Edwards has no vision for the future, and none of this would have been possible without the support of the Metro Council. The political class of EBR has become complacent, as evidenced by the uninspiring 2024 campaigns where candidates refused to distinguish themselves from politics as usual. It was the lowest turnout in a presidential election year that the Parish has had since at least 2000.
Thrive! is a continuation of these politics. Documents show that a major funder of the campaign is Governor Jeff Landry’s personal attorney. Other funders have ties to the January 6 insurrection. The biggest beneficiary will be the wealthy in the white-flight enclave of St. George. Edwards claims that the parish owes debts to the new city for an amount that St. George lawyers seem to keep changing. This debt is only an excuse for the rich to impose austerity measures on the rest of us.
Rather than collaborating with community organizations and workers, the Thrive campaign was coordinated top-down. Information sessions did not provide opportunities for attendees to offer suggestions or changes. The plan was given to the Metro Council, complaints were ignored, and it was put on the ballot.
By rejecting Thrive!, voters are saying that they want their money to go to the things they care about: the library, infrastructure, social support systems. They do not want the money to go into the Mayor and Metro Council’s “general fund” which will be used to give tax breaks to the wealthy, increase the abuse and over-enforcement from police, and maybe buy Councilmember Laurie Adams another house.
What’s Next?
The Baton Rouge Democratic Socialists of America is creating an alternative to politics as usual. Clearly the organized political establishment in the city could not move the voting public to their side. Distrust of these institutions is high, for good reason: they have failed to address the material needs of the majority of residents of EBR. We want all schools to be well-funded. We want our crumbling infrastructure repaired. We want the wealthy to pay their fair share, and that includes Exxon, LSU, and all the other corporate entities who abuse our city. We want real solutions to crime, not more police who brutalize our neighbors. We want a Metro Council that is actually representative of the parish.
We are beginning a campaign to stop the creation of the St. George school system. This school system will further bankrupt the parish and is the next step in the segregation efforts within the parish. Join us in canvassing and getting the word out.
We ask all non-library City-Parish employees to become active members of their AFSCME union and push the union to actually fight for you. You will have to attend the meetings, voice your concerns, and collaborate with your fellow workers to reform the union. Do not let your union endorse a plan that is against your interest because you did not show up. Baton Rouge DSA is available to help you coordinate and plan.
For library workers, since you are currently ineligible to join AFSCME, you will have to organize on your own into an independent union. You can begin by talking to your coworkers, building a list. The city-parish will attempt to cut wages, benefits, or staff as a result of this. The library administration spoke as representatives of the library, with minimal input from the workers themselves. It is only by organizing together that you can change this.
In the future, East Baton Rouge Parish residents should push for a more participatory budgeting process. In Participatory Budgeting, neighborhood assemblies get to decide how funds are allocated in the city through a process of deliberative democratic decision making. Rather than budgets created behind closed doors with backroom deals between politicians, a participatory plan would give power back to the community, and allow them to decide how they want their tax dollars to be spent. This power should not be given to lobbyists or campaign donors or Jeff Landry, but the people of the city who make it work every day.
The way to win your demands is not by waiting for establishment leaders to act, as they have failed to do for many years now. The activists on social media and grassroots community organizations need to unite to make sure their voices are heard. It is vital that we, the people, shape the narrative of why this vote failed. The best way to do that is to organize together.
The Baton Rouge Democratic Socialists of America (BR DSA) is working to build a true democracy in the Greater Baton Rouge area. You should join the movement for a better world at dsausa.org/join