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Darryl Hurst appointed to District 5 council seat, plans to run in March election

2 years 2 months 2 weeks ago Wednesday, January 12 2022 Jan 12, 2022 January 12, 2022 10:18 PM January 12, 2022 in News
Source: WBRZ

BATON ROUGE - The Metro Council appointed businessman Darryl Hurst on Wednesday to fill the District 5 seat left vacant when Erika Green resigned after winning her race for Baton Rouge Family Court Judge.

Hurst will hold the seat until at least the March 26 special election to determine who will serve the remainder of Green's term. Hurst says he is planning to run.

"My plan for District 5 is number one, economic growth," Hurst said. "Number two, economic growth. And number three, economic growth."

Four applications were submitted to fill the vacancy. However, only three, including Hurst, showed up to Wednesday's special meeting.

Hurst previously ran for the seat in 2020, garnering 41% of the vote but losing to Green.

Ahead of the vote, each candidate made a final pitch for the appointment. Hurst told council members he plans to work with Republicans and Democrats.

"We're not going to agree on everything, that's for sure," Hurst said. "We come from different cultures, different backgrounds, different parts of the city, different needs, and sometimes we're fighting for the same resources."

Before the vote, East Baton Rouge School Board member Dadrius Lanus, who was also seeking the appointment, argued the council should select someone for the seat who would pledge not to run to serve the remainder of Green's term. He, along with District 2 councilwoman Chauna Banks, argued candidates would then be on an even playing field to campaign and earn the support of the district's residents without the interim seat holder having what they call an advantage.

"Anybody that has served in this capacity knows that when you are sitting up here and you are facing an election, you become different," Banks said. "You are not going to get the same person who would be sitting here [for] three months. When there's a controversial topic, they're gonna be trying to make sure they don't make a mistake. We do that even when we're in reelection."

Lanus plans to challenge Hurst for the seat in March. The other applicant in attendance Wednesday, educator Edna Buchanan, said she does not plan to vie for the seat.

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