Motivated for Change: Istrouma Football Coach Sid Edwards enters first political fray, eyes Baton Rouge’s Mayor-President Position
by: William Weathers // GeauxPreps.com Contributor
The events of July 19 that led Istrouma High head football coach Sid Edwards to qualify to become Baton Rouge’s Mayor-President were born more than a year ago.
Edwards, who became coach of the inner-city school on March 23, 2003, routinely passed a collection of used tires and piles of trash on the corner of the north Baton Rouge school – a scene that plays out to this day, serving as the catalyst for the 61-year-old and owner of 194 career victories to make his first foray into politics.
“They don’t know where to turn or where to go to,” Edwards, a Republican, said during Tuesday’s meeting of the Baton Rouge area Chamber of Commerce. “They’re trying to make it through the day. When I started seeing those things it culminated with this.”
Nearing the end of what was expected to be a two-person chase for the Mayor-President’s position – a battle between incumbent Sharon Weston Broome and Ted James – mushroomed into a race with nine candidates that included Edwards’ stunning inclusion last Friday.
The primary is Nov. 5 with a runoff, if needed, in December.
“We think our Republican candidate has a tremendous chance to run a strong first in the primary,” Chairman of the East Baton Rouge Republican party Woody Jenkins said Tuesday. “And then be in the runoff in December where anything can happen, where we think there’s likely to a very low turnout, and where voter turnout and getting our voters to the polls will be all important.”
Edwards, 61, said he solidified his intentions for his candidacy last Wednesday, driving to City Hall to qualify in his first election. He plans to run a “positive” campaign that he said will take him across party lines to try and unite a city of more than 400,000 residents.
“My whole life I’ve been told don’t, you can’t, don’t do this,” said Edwards, recounting several stages of his 44-year coaching career, the last two at Istrouma. “You’re not qualified, you don’t know what you’re doing. Three days into this (campaign), I’m hearing it again.”
Grass-roots campaign underway
Edwards realizes he’s got plenty of ground to cover over the next 3 ½ months. He’s going to discover whether his grass-roots approach will be a match for savvy veterans such as Broome and James, a former State Representative.
Not only does he lack political experience, but Edwards estimated Broome’s accumulated more than $1 million for her campaign, while James’ campaign has $750,000.
Edwards’ start-up total for the race? He said $9.42 but significantly looks to change with the start of an online app and post office box for donations.
“It’s not rocket science,” he said. “You’ve got to love people. You’ve got to have common sense and you’ve got to help people. I know it’s not just that simple, but that’s a big part of what we’re doing.”
Determined to taste success
Edwards, a native of Baton Rouge, grew up the son of a plant worker and initially a stay-at-home mother until she later entered the workforce.
The graduate of the now-defunct Redemptorist High School turned to coaching at age 16 when his skills for competition didn’t quite measure up.
“I loved sports,” he said. “I just wasn’t good at them.”
The parents of his younger sister’s softball team were the first to respond to the then 16-year-old Edwards, who was asked to coach the team.
It wouldn’t be his last encounter with negative feedback.
“I fell in love with the game,” Edwards said, “as well as the other sports I’ve coached.”
Redemptorist was a floundering Catholic school on the north side of town with a football team that was 3-45 in its last 48 games, Edwards said.
The Wolves rose to prominence with a pair of state football championships, coupled with a state crown in boys basketball team, under Edwards’ guidance.
“Nobody’s going to win there,” he remembered hearing about Redemptorist which was closed after the 2015 school year. “It can’t happen. It won’t happen.”
There were brief stops at Jesuit in New Orleans and Menard in Alexandria, each lasting a year, when Edwards returned to Baton Rouge to become the coach at Central.
Edwards coached the Wildcats to a 104-52 record in 17 years, reaching a watershed moment in his third season with a trip to the Class 5A state semifinals.
“People said, ‘Don’t go there, Sid. It’s a no-win situation. You can’t win. No coach stays more than three years, and they haven’t won a playoff game in 33 (years)’,” he recalled of the job.
A beacon of hope for Istrouma
A fourth-month period ensued before Edwards landed at Istrouma, located in the 70805 zip code, the same area he grew up in as a child.
While the school had a glorious past during the days of famed running back Billy Cannon and won 10 state championships, the school had encountered its share of difficulty and was shuttered for three years before reopening its doors in August of 2017.
Edwards saw the opportunity to coach at Istrouma as something bigger than his next stop. In his first season, the Indians went 6-6, including winning an opening-round Division II state regional select playoff game, before bowing out to eventual state champion St. Thomas More.
“I took the job at Istrouma as a mission and a cause,” he said. “It was another place, people said you’re absolutely nuts. You can’t go there.”
Edwards listened to an array of criticisms from Tuesday’s audience of approximately 50 people, some of which matched the calls and text messages he’s received since qualifying. He’s discussed attacking such topics as public safety, improved education, traffic, the creation of jobs, blight, and homelessness.
“God blessed me,” he said. “I am a unifier, and I am a healer. I’m here to heal Baton Rouge.”
Qualifying to run for public office coincided with Istrouma’s football team nearing the end of its offseason program. The Indians will take part in their preseason boot camp in preparation for August workouts that will lead up to the start of the season on Sept. 6 against Collegiate-Baton Rouge.
With former head coaches on his staff, Edwards is confident his two coordinators, McKinney Evans and Byron Wade, can shoulder a bigger burden in the lead-up to the season, while the head coach embarks on the campaign trail. The seven-day-a-week challenge of going door to door to drum up support remains of paramount importance, along with distributing yard signs and collecting money, which is also vital because of the head start Broome and James already have.
Once he qualified last Friday, Edwards found himself having to quell the fears of his players at Istrouma who were alarmed about the prospects of losing their head coach.
“They were asking me if I was still their coach and that hurt my heart,” Edwards said. “I don’t want to cheat the players. I’ve got to work this (political race) to have any success. I told them I was still their coach. Then they wanted to know if I would still be their coach if I became mayor. I said if I won, I would not be your coach, but think about it … I’d be your mayor.”