Kip Holden
| Kip Holden | |
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Mayor-President of Baton Rouge and East Baton Rouge Parish |
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In office January 3, 2005 – December 31, 2016 |
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| Preceded by | Bobby Simpson |
| Succeeded by | Sharon Weston Broome |
| Member of the Louisiana Senate from the 15th district |
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In office 2002–2004 |
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| Preceded by | Wilson Fields |
| Succeeded by | Sharon Weston Broome |
| Member of the Louisiana House of Representatives from the 63rd district |
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In office 1988–2002 |
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| Preceded by | Jewel Joseph Newman |
| Succeeded by | Avon R. Honey |
| Personal details | |
| Born |
Melvin Lee Holden August 12, 1952 New Orleans, Louisiana, U.S. |
| Political party | Democratic |
| Spouse(s) | Lois Stevenson |
| Children | Melvin Monique Angela Myron Brian-Micheal |
| Alma mater |
Louisiana State University, Baton Rouge Southern University, Baton Rouge |
Melvin Lee Holden, known as Kip Holden (born August 12, 1952), served from 2005 to 2016 as the Democratic Mayor-President of Baton Rouge and East Baton Rouge Parish, Louisiana, USA. The parish includes the state capital of Baton Rouge and smaller suburban cities such as Baker, Central City, and Zachary.
He was the unsuccessful Democratic candidate in the November 21, 2015 race for lieutenant governor. Victory went to the Republican Billy Nungesser.
He vacated his position as Mayor-President at the end of 2016 and was succeeded by Sharon Weston Broome, another member of the Democratic Party.
Holden was elected mayor-president on November 3, 2004, when he unseated the Republican incumbent, Bobby Simpson of Baker. Holden was inaugurated on January 3, 2005.
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 as the first African-American Mayor-President of East Baton Rouge Parish was fostered through the support of his urban black base but also with substantial support from suburban whites, many being Republicans. Support from the latter group was buoyed by backing from Jim Bernhard, CEO of The Shaw Group, and several other figures in business and industry. The dissatisfaction with Mayor-President Simpson was demonstrated in dramatic fashion by the fact that President Bush received 54 percent of the parish vote in his re-election campaign, and then U.S. Representative Richard Hugh Baker received 69 percent. In the same election Holden matched Bush's 54 percent parishwide total.
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