BATON ROUGE – Former State Senator Sharon Weston Broome announced her candidacy for Baton Rouge Mayor-President Friday morning.

"I will indeed be a candidate for Mayor-President of Baton Rouge/EBR parish" pic.twitter.com/uxJkJR22vL

— Sharon Weston Broome (@broomeformayor) April 8, 2016

At a campaign event at the Hilton Garden Inn, Broome promised to bring together different parts of the Baton Rouge community and create an environment that encourages small business growth. 

"I never aspired to a path of public service, but undoubtedly I responded to the call to serve," she told a group of supporters Friday morning.

Broome is a staple in Baton Rouge politics. From 1992 to 2004, she served in the Louisiana House of Representatives for District 29. In 2004 she was elected to the Louisiana Senate and represented the 15^th district.

Broome is running for the position that will be vacated by Melvin “Kip” Holden. Holden told the media in March that he is 90 percent sure that he will run for Louisiana’s 2^nd congressional district in the U.S. House of Representatives.