BATON ROUGE - A former senior staff member with Mayor-President Sharon Weston Broome's office announced his candidacy for the East Baton Rouge Metro Council Thursday.

In a news release, Gaudet says he plans to campaign for the open District 3 seat, which represents a large, southeastern portion of the parish, including a swath of the newly-created St. George. 

Gaudet announced his exit from the mayor's office earlier this year but stayed on in order to assist in the city-parish's coronavirus response. Gaudet had served as a part of the Mayor-President’s executive team since the start of her administration and was one of her first hires.

You can read the full announcement below.

Rowdy Gaudet announced today his candidacy for the District 3 seat on the East Baton Rouge Metropolitan Council. This District 3 Metro Council seat will be an open seat, scheduled for the Tuesday, November 3, 2020 election date.

“I firmly believe that citizens across East Baton Rouge Parish share a common purpose: to support and inspire each other, to create opportunity for future generations, and to feel a sense of fellowship, safety and belonging together,” said Gaudet. “I’ve worked for many years in a variety of capacities to improve our community, and I now feel even more compelled to lead by offering myself for public service through our Metro Council.”

Gaudet highlighted three areas of focus in his pursuit of the council seat: accelerating our economy through small business growth, continuing to advance infrastructure improvements around the parish, and prioritizing public safety. He also highlighted his belief that local government is the most flexible form of government, able to be most responsive to the needs of the community.

Gaudet works professionally as Managing Director at the consulting firm, Emergent Method. He previously served for nearly three and a half years as an Assistant Chief Administrative Officer for City-Parish government. He cited his time working inside City Hall as an asset in becoming a member of the Metro Council.

“Overseeing several departments, being involved in the development of traffic and drainage infrastructure improvement projects, serving on the Planning and Zoning Commission, and working to clean and improve the appearance of our city are just some of the areas I feel have well-prepared me to take on the role of council member.”

In addition to his professional career, Gaudet volunteers on a number of local non-profit boards and commissions. He holds a bachelor’s degree in communications from McNeese State University, a Master of Business Administration from Louisiana State University, and has completed the Harvard University Kennedy School of Government’s Senior Executives in State and Local Government Executive Education Program.