The slim margin of victory for the East Baton Rouge Parish Sheriff's Office property tax renewal might be an example of the defund the police movement — or the result of the coronavirus keeping the sheriff from promoting the ballot issue in person.
The divided response from voters in the July 11 election was the closest vote since the inception of the tax in 1981.
The millage, which comes up for renewal every 10 years, contributes to roughly 17% of the sheriff’s operating budget, said EBRSO spokesperson Casey Rayborn Hicks.
While past decades have seen easy wins for the department without much opposition, voters on July 11 passed the tax on a 53-47 percent vote.
The last time the tax was on the ballot, in 2010, all 314 precincts in the parish voted to renew. By contrast, on July 11, roughly half of the parish's current precincts voted for the renewal, according to data from the Secretary of State's website. It passed 84-16 in 2010, and 65-35 in 2000.
This summer's election ballot includes something familiar, the renewal of a property tax that supports the East Baton Rouge Sheriff’s Office o…
Amid national calls to defund law enforcement, some say the close vote comes down to local advocacy groups urging the rejection of the tax and widespread protests against police brutality energizing certain groups.
"It’s worth taking note," said Bryan McCann, an associate professor at LSU who researches crime and and public culture. "In a lot of respects, it’s kind of a reflection of mainstream politics catching up with social movements."
Sheriff Sid Gautreaux, however, insists the coronavirus pandemic is mostly to blame for the tight vote, noting he usually organizes speaking engagements ahead of the elections to explain the tax.
"Typically, we spend a lot of time and effort going to meet with different homeowners associations and community groups in order to talk about the millage and what it means," Gautreaux said. "Unfortunately, without that level of outreach and education … I think many residents didn’t truly understand what it is and that our community’s safety was at risk."
Nevertheless, Gautreaux did acknowledge that an advocacy group targeted the tax renewal, campaigning to get voters to reject the measure.
The Promise of Justice Initiative, based in New Orleans, launched a campaign to combat the tax in concert with The East Baton Rouge Parish Prison Reform Coalition, an organization that has long criticized the way the local jail is managed by the sheriff's office.
"There’s a global pandemic happening and an accompanying recession that makes people maybe more skeptical of renewing taxes than they would have otherwise been in 2010," said Michael Cahoon, co-lead organizer and policy advocate with PJI. "Our opposition to the tax … really centered on transparency and accountability from the sheriff’s office in terms of what this tax is being spent on."
Cahoon said the campaign started late in the election cycle after residents reached out asking for guidance during the early voting process. The organization sent mailers, used volunteers for calls and texts, and released a digital ads opposing the tax.
McCann, the LSU professor, said that 10 years ago when the tax passed without a hitch, it was likely such organizing wasn't happening because "that conversation was a non-starter."
"Not only are we having this very large and intense reckoning presently in the midst of George Floyd’s death, but also we’re still, in Baton Rouge, living with the legacy of Alton Sterling," McCann said. "I think the work that has been done and the changing nature of the conversation created an opening that wasn’t present before."
In the aftermath of the July 11 election, a map of precincts shows that, for the most part, yes and no votes on the tax were separated into blocks across the parish. The no votes were concentrated in the heart of the city of Baton Rouge, while the yes votes spread in a long swath from St. George to Central, largely in the suburbs.
About 67,000 people voted on the ballot measure, compared to roughly 30,000 ten years ago.
"I know that most of our community, regardless of party affiliation, would agree that safety is a priority for their families and businesses," Gautreaux said. "In my heart I truly believe had many of them known what was at stake, turnout would have been higher as would the percentage of those in support of renewal."
This summer's election ballot includes something familiar, the renewal of a property tax that supports the East Baton Rouge Sheriff’s Office o…
The Rev. Alexis Anderson, a member of the East Baton Rouge Parish Prison Reform Coalition, said she sees the close race as a kind of victory.
"I want people in this country and this parish to get engaged and involved and ask the hard questions," Anderson said. "We’ve got to do our jobs as citizens. For me, the 53-47 vote was amazing."
