Mayor-President Edwards Announces Additional Hires

Baton Rouge, LA - January 7, 2025 - East Baton Rouge Parish Mayor-President Sid Edwards continues to secure key hires for his new administrative team. Today, he announced two additional executive staff members:

Mason Batts, Edward's mayoral campaign manager, will serve as Executive Director of the Mayor-President's Office. Batts is a political strategist with experience in campaign management and governmental operations. Batts formerly served as a staffer in the Louisiana State Legislature, working on issues in both the state house and state senate. He is an alumnus of Louisiana Boys State and a small-business owner. He has been featured in numerous local and national news outlets for his work.

As Executive Director of the Mayor-President's Office, Batts will work alongside the Chief Administrative Officer and the Chief of Staff to set policy, manage external affairs, and serve as senior advisor to the Mayor-President. He will work closely with the Metro Council, State Legislature, and Federal partners.

Christopher Toombs will serve as Executive Assistant. Toombs is the Director of External Relations for Helix Community Schools and a small-business owner. He is a 40-year resident of Baton Rouge and a 1998 graduate of McKinley High School. Toombs received a BS in Political Science from Southern University (Class of 2004). For his post-bachelor's studies, he attended LSU, where he attained his master's degree in liberal arts (Class of 2022) with a focus in Religious Studies and Community Development while serving as the President of the Society of African and African American studies. Currently, Mr. Toombs is a Doctoral candidate at the LSU Art and Design College with a focus in Cultural Preservation (Class of 2025).

During his 16 years in education and community relations, he's used a diplomatic approach to establish progressive outcomes for critical societal issues. As a social capital broker, Mr. Toombs constructs social blueprints encouraging universal allyship.

Mr. Toombs is the son of Ms. Alice Toombs and the father of 3 sons, Dillon, Chase, and Xavier.