Kip Holden
Encyclopedia
Melvin L. "Kip" Holden is the Democratic
Mayor
-President of East Baton Rouge Parish, Louisiana
. The parish includes the state capitol of Baton Rouge and smaller suburban cities like Baker
, Central City
and Zachary
. He was elected the city's mayor on November 3, 2004. He unseated the Republican
incumbent
, Bobby Simpson
of Baker, even as President George W. Bush
and U.S. Representative Richard Baker were winning again in East Baton Rouge Parish. Holden was inaugurated on January 3, 2005.
On taking office, Holden retained Walter Monsour, a Republican lawyer originally from Shreveport
, as the chief administrative officer, even though Monsour had supported Simpson's reelection. Monsour told Holden that he would take the position if Holden agreed to treat all areas of the parish equally whether or not those precincts voted for Holden. Monsour had held the same post twenty years earlier in 1985 under then Democratic Mayor-President Pat Screen
and was credited with resolving fiscal problems that developed in Screen's second term.Early in 2009, Monsour stepped down as CAO and was replaced by his assistant, former Republican State Representative Mike Futrell, a Baton Rouge native.
The 2004 race was Holden's third attempt to win the mayor-presidency. In 1996, he had failed in a bid to unseat Democrat-turned-Republican Mayor-President Tom Ed McHugh
of Zachary, later the executive director of the Louisiana Municipal Association.
Holden's election is significant in that he is the first African-American Mayor-President of East Baton Rouge Parish. His election was made possible on account of the support of his black base in the city's core, but also with substantial support from suburban white voters, many being Republicans. Support from the latter group was buoyed by the support of Jim Bernhard, CEO of The Shaw Group
, and other leaders in business and industry in the Baton Rouge area, but largely a result of severe dissatisfaction with Mayor-President Simpson. This was demonstrated in dramatic fashion by the fact that President Bush received 54 percent of the parish vote in his re-election campaign and Congressman Baker received 69 percent. Holden in the same election secured 54 percent parishwide.
In 2008, Holden was inducted into the Louisiana Political Museum and Hall of Fame
in Winnfield
.
Previous to his political career, Holden was a journalist
and later an attorney
.
As mayor, he is a member of the Mayors Against Illegal Guns Coalition
, an organization formed in 2006 and co-chaired by Mayors Michael Bloomberg
of New York City
and Thomas Menino
of Boston, Massachusetts
.
Holden has been married for more than twenty years to Lois Stevenson Holden and has five children; Melvin II, Monique, Angela, Myron, and Brian-Micheal.
La Clerk
Public Information Officer
Public Relations Specialist
Reporter, (1978–1979)
Reporter, (1977–1978)
News Director, (1975–1977)
Democratic Party (United States)
The Democratic Party is one of two major contemporary political parties in the United States, along with the Republican Party. The party's socially liberal and progressive platform is largely considered center-left in the U.S. political spectrum. The party has the lengthiest record of continuous...
Mayor
Mayor
In many countries, a Mayor is the highest ranking officer in the municipal government of a town or a large urban city....
-President of East Baton Rouge Parish, Louisiana
Louisiana
Louisiana is a state located in the southern region of the United States of America. Its capital is Baton Rouge and largest city is New Orleans. Louisiana is the only state in the U.S. with political subdivisions termed parishes, which are local governments equivalent to counties...
. The parish includes the state capitol of Baton Rouge and smaller suburban cities like Baker
Baker, Louisiana
Baker is a city in East Baton Rouge Parish, Louisiana, United States, and a part of the Baton Rouge Metropolitan Statistical Area. The population was 13,793 at the 2000 census.-Geography:Baker is located at...
, Central City
Central City, Louisiana
City of Central is a city in East Baton Rouge Parish, Louisiana, United States. The newest city in Louisiana, it is the 12th largest city in the state. It is part of the Baton Rouge Metropolitan Statistical Area....
and Zachary
Zachary, Louisiana
Zachary is a city in East Baton Rouge Parish, Louisiana, United States, in the Baton Rouge Metropolitan Statistical Area. The population was 11,275 at the 2000 census.-History:...
. He was elected the city's mayor on November 3, 2004. He unseated the Republican
Republican Party (United States)
The Republican Party is one of the two major contemporary political parties in the United States, along with the Democratic Party. Founded by anti-slavery expansion activists in 1854, it is often called the GOP . The party's platform generally reflects American conservatism in the U.S...
incumbent
Incumbent
The incumbent, in politics, is the existing holder of a political office. This term is usually used in reference to elections, in which races can often be defined as being between an incumbent and non-incumbent. For example, in the 2004 United States presidential election, George W...
, Bobby Simpson
Bobby Simpson (Louisiana politician)
Bobby Ray Simpson is an educator who served as the Republican Mayor-President, a combined municipal-parish office of East Baton Rouge Parish, Louisiana, from 2001-2004...
of Baker, even as President George W. Bush
George W. Bush
George Walker Bush is an American politician who served as the 43rd President of the United States, from 2001 to 2009. Before that, he was the 46th Governor of Texas, having served from 1995 to 2000....
and U.S. Representative Richard Baker were winning again in East Baton Rouge Parish. Holden was inaugurated on January 3, 2005.
On taking office, Holden retained Walter Monsour, a Republican lawyer originally from Shreveport
Shreveport, Louisiana
Shreveport is the third largest city in Louisiana. It is the principal city of the fourth largest metropolitan area in the state of Louisiana and is the 109th-largest city in the United States....
, as the chief administrative officer, even though Monsour had supported Simpson's reelection. Monsour told Holden that he would take the position if Holden agreed to treat all areas of the parish equally whether or not those precincts voted for Holden. Monsour had held the same post twenty years earlier in 1985 under then Democratic Mayor-President Pat Screen
Pat Screen
James Patrick Screen, Jr., known as Pat Screen , was a Louisiana State University quarterback from New Orleans, Louisiana, who served as the Democratic Mayor-President of East Baton Rouge Parish from 1981–1988....
and was credited with resolving fiscal problems that developed in Screen's second term.Early in 2009, Monsour stepped down as CAO and was replaced by his assistant, former Republican State Representative Mike Futrell, a Baton Rouge native.
The 2004 race was Holden's third attempt to win the mayor-presidency. In 1996, he had failed in a bid to unseat Democrat-turned-Republican Mayor-President Tom Ed McHugh
Tom Ed McHugh
Thomas Edward McHugh, known as Tom Ed McHugh , has since 2001 been the executive director of the Louisiana Municipal Association. McHugh is a former Mayor-President, a combined municipal-parish position, of East Baton Rouge Parish, Louisiana. A resident of Zachary in East Baton Rouge Parish, McHugh...
of Zachary, later the executive director of the Louisiana Municipal Association.
Holden's election is significant in that he is the first African-American Mayor-President of East Baton Rouge Parish. His election was made possible on account of the support of his black base in the city's core, but also with substantial support from suburban white voters, many being Republicans. Support from the latter group was buoyed by the support of Jim Bernhard, CEO of The Shaw Group
The Shaw Group
The Shaw Group is a Fortune 500 corporation headquartered in Baton Rouge, Louisiana. As of February 27, 2011, the company employed approximately 28,000 people all over the world with 7 billion dollar revenue in 2010...
, and other leaders in business and industry in the Baton Rouge area, but largely a result of severe dissatisfaction with Mayor-President Simpson. This was demonstrated in dramatic fashion by the fact that President Bush received 54 percent of the parish vote in his re-election campaign and Congressman Baker received 69 percent. Holden in the same election secured 54 percent parishwide.
In 2008, Holden was inducted into the Louisiana Political Museum and Hall of Fame
Louisiana Political Museum and Hall of Fame
The Louisiana Political Museum and Hall of Fame in Winnfield, Louisiana, highlights the careers of more than a hundred of the state’s leading politicians and political journalists. Because three governors, Huey P. Long, Jr., Oscar K...
in Winnfield
Winnfield, Louisiana
Winnfield is a city in and the parish seat of Winn Parish, Louisiana, United States. The population was 5,749 at the 2000 census. It has long been associated with the Long faction of the Louisiana Democratic Party and was home to three governors of Louisiana.-Geography:Winnfield is located at ...
.
Previous to his political career, Holden was a journalist
Journalist
A journalist collects and distributes news and other information. A journalist's work is referred to as journalism.A reporter is a type of journalist who researchs, writes, and reports on information to be presented in mass media, including print media , electronic media , and digital media A...
and later an attorney
Lawyer
A lawyer, according to Black's Law Dictionary, is "a person learned in the law; as an attorney, counsel or solicitor; a person who is practicing law." Law is the system of rules of conduct established by the sovereign government of a society to correct wrongs, maintain the stability of political...
.
As mayor, he is a member of the Mayors Against Illegal Guns Coalition
Mayors Against Illegal Guns Coalition
Mayors Against Illegal Guns is a coalition of over 600 mayors who support a number of gun control initiatives that the group calls "commonsense reforms" to fight illegal gun trafficking and gun violence in the United States...
, an organization formed in 2006 and co-chaired by Mayors Michael Bloomberg
Michael Bloomberg
Michael Rubens Bloomberg is the current Mayor of New York City. With a net worth of $19.5 billion in 2011, he is also the 12th-richest person in the United States...
of New York City
New York City
New York is the most populous city in the United States and the center of the New York Metropolitan Area, one of the most populous metropolitan areas in the world. New York exerts a significant impact upon global commerce, finance, media, art, fashion, research, technology, education, and...
and Thomas Menino
Thomas Menino
Thomas Michael "Tom" Menino is the mayor of Boston, Massachusetts, United States and the city's first Italian-American mayor...
of Boston, Massachusetts
Massachusetts
The Commonwealth of Massachusetts is a state in the New England region of the northeastern United States of America. It is bordered by Rhode Island and Connecticut to the south, New York to the west, and Vermont and New Hampshire to the north; at its east lies the Atlantic Ocean. As of the 2010...
.
Holden has been married for more than twenty years to Lois Stevenson Holden and has five children; Melvin II, Monique, Angela, Myron, and Brian-Micheal.
Professional history
- Louisiana State Senator, District 15
- Southern University Law CenterSouthern University Law CenterSouthern University Law Center, a campus of the Southern University System, opened for instruction in September 1947. Its concept was born out of a response of a lawsuit by an African American resident, Charles J. Hatfield, III, seeking to attend law school at a state institution...
- Baton Rouge, Louisiana Adjunct Professor of Law (1991–Present)
- Louisiana House of RepresentativesLouisiana House of RepresentativesThe Louisiana House of Representatives is the lower house in the Louisiana State Legislature, the state legislature of the US state of Louisiana. The House is composed of 105 Representatives, each of whom represents approximately 42,500 people . Members serve four-year terms with a term limit of...
State Representative, District "63", (1988–2001)
- Councilman, Baton Rouge Metro Council District "2" (1984–1988)
- Louisiana Department of Labor Office of Workers’ Compensation - Baton Rouge, Louisiana
La Clerk
- Baton Rouge City Police - Baton Rouge, Louisiana
Public Information Officer
- United States Census BureauUnited States Census BureauThe United States Census Bureau is the government agency that is responsible for the United States Census. It also gathers other national demographic and economic data...
- Baton Rouge, Louisiana
Public Relations Specialist
- WBRZ Channel 2 - Baton Rouge, Louisiana
Reporter, (1978–1979)
- WWL Radio - New Orleans, Louisiana
Reporter, (1977–1978)
- WXOK Radio - Baton Rouge, Louisiana
News Director, (1975–1977)
Education
- Southern University Law CenterSouthern University Law CenterSouthern University Law Center, a campus of the Southern University System, opened for instruction in September 1947. Its concept was born out of a response of a lawsuit by an African American resident, Charles J. Hatfield, III, seeking to attend law school at a state institution...
- Baton Rouge, Louisiana, Juris DoctorJuris DoctorJuris Doctor is a professional doctorate and first professional graduate degree in law.The degree was first awarded by Harvard University in the United States in the late 19th century and was created as a modern version of the old European doctor of law degree Juris Doctor (see etymology and...
, (1985)
- Southern UniversitySouthern UniversitySouthern University and A&M College is a historically black college located in Baton Rouge, Louisiana. The Baton Rouge campus is located on Scott’s Bluff overlooking the Mississippi River in the northern section...
- Baton Rouge, Louisiana, Master of Arts, Journalism, (1982)
- Louisiana State UniversityLouisiana State UniversityLouisiana State University and Agricultural and Mechanical College, most often referred to as Louisiana State University, or LSU, is a public coeducational university located in Baton Rouge, Louisiana. The University was founded in 1853 in what is now known as Pineville, Louisiana, under the name...
- Baton Rouge, Louisiana, Bachelors of Arts, Journalism, (1974)