By james art The East Baton Rouge mayoral race took a hostile turn this week when incumbent Sharon Weston Broome’s campaign released an attack ad against challenger Ted James. The radio ad, also sent via text message to voters across the parish on Wednesday, features two edited recordings of James appearing to be caught on a hot microphone.
In the opening soundtrack, James appears to make misogynistic comments about Broome’s ability to lead. “Honestly, a white man, if he knows he has to deal with someone black, he’d rather deal with another man than a woman… it’s screwed up and honestly, I can take advantage of that.”
The tape then accuses James of changing his position on the new city of St. George in exchange for Republican donations, after which he can be heard calling himself a “woke MAGA man.”
In a statement released Wednesday, Broome said she was “disturbed by his words.”
“This type of sexism and misogyny has no place in a better Baton Rouge,” she added.
The James campaign claims the tape was secretly made by ME Cormier, Broome’s campaign manager, in a private conversation between the two. They say the conversation was “diced” and that his words were taken out of context.
“Unlike Ms. Broome’s previous life as a reporter, in this case she has no objectively reasonable explanation: her campaign lied about Ted James and used his own words against him — only those words were not spoken in context, in which they were presented today.”
The two were once considered close political allies until James decided to challenge the two-term mayor earlier this year. As the race heats up, the tension rises.
A recent poll released Monday by FuturePAC, a political action committee of the Baton Rouge Area Chamber, showed James at 29 percent and Broome at 28 percent, down from a few months ago when Broome was in the lead . Republican Sid Edwards trailed at 22 percent, according to the results.
James also broke fundraising records with more than $1 million in campaign donations, while Broome raised more than $600,00, also besting previous cycles. Broom, however, criticized James for accepting money from Republicans like Eddie Rispoon, a former Trump-endorsed gubernatorial candidate and St. George advocate.
On the campaign trail, James touted Republican support as evidence of what he described as his unifying vision for Baton Rouge.
“I know some people want to use that as a liability, but I also think it’s a tremendous strength,” he said at the Baton Rouge Press Club luncheon in October.
James’ team said his “Woke MAGA guy” comment was a joke he has repeatedly made about his ability to garner bipartisan support — as well as a response to Broom’s accusations of taking bribes from Republicans.
As for what James said about women in politics, they claim that James was not expressing his own views, but rather was citing “appalling” remarks he heard on the campaign trail.
James released his own set of attack ads that aired on local radio stations, though he avoided personal attacks. In one ad he blames Broome for the city’s high homicide rate, in another he accuses Broome of mismanaging the city’s Head Start program and emphasizes his Democratic support over Broome.
On Wednesday, the James campaign threatened legal action unless Broome’s campaign provided the full, uncut version to every radio station it sent the ad to by noon the next day. This term has expired.
Recording someone unknowingly is not a crime in Louisiana, and neither is the long-standing tradition of political ads that take unflattering quotes out of context.
But by presenting his words as responses to specific questions rather than part of a larger, unedited conversation, James’ team says Broome misrepresented his words and intentions, portraying him in a “false light.”
Unlike defamation, where one party makes a false statement about another, false light occurs when true facts are given a false impression by the context in which they are placed.
“Quoting someone out of context is different than putting a quote in a defamatory context,” said Scott Sternberg, a First Amendment attorney in New Orleans who represents media organizations.
It is unclear whether a legal battle will ensue. Because of First Amendment protections designed to protect political discourse, it is likely to be an uphill and expensive fight for a mayoral candidate.
“When private individuals sue each other for defamation, the bar is very low,” said Robert Garda, Jr., professor of law at Loyola University. “But when public figures are suing each other, you must prove by clear and convincing evidence that there is actually malice in your statement.”
Gardai say the same is likely to apply to a public figure making a false claim. The plaintiff will have to prove that the statement was made with actual malice—a legal standard requiring proof that the defendant made the statement with knowledge of its falsity or with reckless disregard for the truth.
“While the supreme court has not looked in a false light with respect to public figures. Whenever a tort against public figures is involved, this actual malice standard is required. he added.
Sternberg, who admitted he has supported James in the past, said he has a lifeline for Broome’s campaign.
“If the campaign wanted to end the questions and speculation. They should just release the unedited audio for everyone to hear. But they won’t do that. And that speaks volumes.” he said.
Meanwhile, the strikes are likely to continue, possibly even beyond Election Day. If neither candidate receives more than 50% of the vote, as many predict, the election will go to a runoff.
“As a black woman who has successfully led this parish as mayor-president, I am personally offended that he believes we cannot work with anyone to get results. I am also happy to prove him wrong on this matter,” Broome said in a statement.
“This is what the death throes of a desperate politician look like now that the polls show us in a strong lead,” said a spokesman for Ted James. “We will continue to weigh our legal options as she continues to degrade herself.”
Although a full recording of their conversation has not been released, Broome’s campaign provided longer versions of the recordings used in the ad to WRKF. Below are the transcripts:
First entry
Ted James: Because they’ve already seen what they’re going to get with her and there’s nothing in the center. No traffic on DPW. This is inaction. There’s a lot of turnover here in her office and a lot of them are willing to take a chance on me and quite frankly… It’s screwed. A white man if he knows he has to deal with someone
Black, he’d rather deal with another man than a woman, that’s fine. It’s screwed. And honestly, I could use it right now. And that won’t change in four years. It won’t change in eight years.
P1: I know that.
Ted James: And the funny thing is, I’m fighting for that in regards to Kamala Harris, right? It’s like I’m arguing about it because she’s my personal friend. She is getting the same right now. The same as even people in our party, they, she, if they don’t care about Joe, they just don’t want her to be president because she’s a black woman, I get it, I get it.
Second entry
Ted James: Speaking for myself, I’m not going to dive down that road because people have given you gifts that you don’t always agree with. I’ve had people donate to me which I don’t always agree with and I don’t want to confuse the voters if some of you hate Eddie Rispone so much? Great, Davante Lewis is going to support me, so I have MAGA and LGBT as what I’m bringing together, so you can’t say I’m Trump’s guy. I have the first openly gay black man as an elected official supporting me. I can’t be both, can I? I can’t be awake and MAGA, can I? And they say everything about me. I am awake and MAGA. I am an awakened MAGA person.