Former EBR Mayor-President Kip Holden dies at 72 after decades of civil service

BATON ROUGE - Former Mayor-President of Baton Rouge Melvin "Kip" Holden died after a "lengthy illness," WBRZ learned Wednesday morning. He was 72 years old. Holden served as the city-parish's first Black mayor-president from 2005 to 2016. His tenure was bracketed by the aftermath of Hurricane Katrina and the flood of 2016. He was succeeded by Sharon Weston Broome.  Before becoming mayor, Holden also served on the East Baton Rouge Parish Metro Council, as well as in th