Sharon Weston Broome

Sharon Weston Broome
Member of the Louisiana Senate from the 15th district
In office December 2004 – January 11, 2016
Preceded by	Melvin Lee "Kip" Holden
Succeeded by	Regina Barrow
Louisiana State Senate President Pro Tempore
In office 2008 – January 11, 2016
Preceded by	Diana Bajoie
Succeeded by	Gerald Long
Louisiana State Representative for District 29 (East and West Baton Rouge parishes)
In office 1992–2004
Preceded by	Clyde Kimball
Succeeded by	Regina Barrow
Personal details
Born	October 1956 Chicago, Illinois, USA
Political party	Democratic
Spouse(s)	Marvin Broome
Residence	Baton Rouge, Louisiana
Alma mater	University of Wisconsin–La Crosse, Regent University
Occupation	Communications specialist
Religion	Baptist

Sharon Weston Broome (born October 1956)^[1] is a Democratic former member of the Louisiana State Senate for District 15, the first African-American woman in that position, which she held from 2004 to 2016.

Her state senatorial predecessor, African-American Democrat Kip Holden, is the departing Baton Rouge Mayor-President who ran unsuccessfully for lieutenant governor in the nonpartisan blanket primary held on October 24, 2015.^[2] 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.

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. She 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, Representative 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.^[3] In 2012, sponsored a bill requiring doctors to let a woman hear the heartbeat of a fetus (if present) before performing an abortion.^[4] The bill was signed into law by Governor Bobby Jindal on June 8, 2012.^[5]

Before being elected to state office, Broome, a native of Chicago, Illinois, served on the Baton Rouge Metro Council. She holds two degrees in communications and worked as a reporter for WBRZ-TV for five years.^[2]

Broome was among the state and local officials who endorsed the unsuccessful reelection in 2014 of Democrat U.S. Senator Mary Landrieu.^[6] Term-limited in the Senate, Broome is the first candidate to declare her intentions to run in 2016 to succeed Holden as Mayor-President for East Baton Rouge Parish.^[7] Several Republican candidates are also running for Mayor-President.

Broome was succeeded in the state Senate by Regina Barrow, who had also followed her the House of Representatives. Barrow was succeeded in the House by Metro Council member Ronnie Edwards, who died of pancreatic cancer after only forty-four days of service. Both Barrow and Edwards were born in Wilkinson County, Mississippi.^[8]

References

1. "Sharon Broome, October 1956". Louisiana Secretary of State. Retrieved May 24, 2015.
2. "Biography at Louisiana State Senate". Retrieved 14 June 2012.
3. "Update on Challenges to Teaching Evolution". American Geosciences Institute. 7 January 2003. Retrieved 20 November 2013.
   • Original resolution text: "A bizarre and outrageous attack on evolution by a Louisiana legislator". Retrieved 20 November 2013.
4. "Abortion bills advance through La. Legislature". NECN.com. May 16, 2012. Retrieved 14 June 2012.
5. "Jindal signs abortion bills". WWL.com. June 8, 2012. Retrieved 14 June 2012.
6. "Landrieu’s GOP Endorsements Pale In Comparison To 2008 Election". thehayride.com. Retrieved September 12, 2014.
7. Rebekah Allen (May 18, 2015). "Sharon Weston Broome off to early start in 2016 Baton Rouge mayoral race as others have yet to declare". The Baton Rouge Advocate. Retrieved May 24, 2015.
8. "Rep. Rodnette Bethley "Ronnie" Edwards". The Baton Rouge Advocate. Retrieved March 7, 2016.

External links

• Louisiana State Senate – Sharon Weston Broome official government website