The City of St. George was born from the effort to create a local independent school district in the southeastern part of East Baton Rouge Parish. The character of the opposition to that effort set in motion a larger discussion among grassroots citizens dissatisfied by the quality and cost of services from the City-Parish governance model in East Baton Rouge Parish, the quality of the institutions that the governing elite created, to particularly include the K-12 educational system, and the disparity in political influence enjoyed by the people of the southern part of the parish.
We represent more than two-thirds of the parish's tax base, but only about one-third of its expenditures, and the area which will be the City of St. George has never produced a Mayor-President of Baton Rouge in modern times. An initial petition to incorporate the southeastern part of East Baton Rouge Parish began in 2013. The incorporation effort lasted until the summer of 2015 when the petition fell 71 signatures short of putting the City of St. George on the ballot for the citizens to decide. Since then, we have witnessed the further decline of our public school system, skyrocketing murder and crime rates, further decay of our Parish infrastructure, unprecedented exodus of our friends and families from the Parish, and a complete lack of trust in our City-Parish leadership.
After our initial effort to create a city, we were told that things would improve; we were told that we would have a voice; we were told that we are “Better Together.” These were false promises that instead were manifested into ridicule and mockery against those that believed in the vision of the City of St. George. We have re-emerged now with vigor to give the citizens of the proposed City of St. George a voice and to give them hope. We are simply a group of grassroots citizens who once again have decided to take a stand.
Chairpersons for the City of St. George incorporation effort are:
Norman Browning
Chris Rials
225-395-9005
stgeorgelamedia@gmail.com
