Central leaders think St George incorporation will happen

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Here's why St. George's effort in Baton Rouge will happen, leaders of a similar project say

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The leaders of Central know what it’s like to create a new city in East Baton Rouge Parish, and they say they see the people trying to organize a new city of St. George in the southeastern part of the parish going through the same struggles.

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"We were told we were a bunch of racist rednecks,” said Russell Starns, a Central businessman who spearheaded the city's incorporation drive in 2004. “The mayor at the time asked us not to do it because he was worried what it would do to the parish."

It ultimately boils down to what people in a community want for themselves, he said.

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Like those in Central, those backing the St. George incorporation effort say the campaign to block it is driven largely by people who don't even live within the proposed new city's boundaries.

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They are currently awaiting word from the parish's Registrar of Voters on whether they've amassed the 12,951 signatures required to bring it to voters. The petition needs valid signatures from 25 percent of the registered voters within St. George's proposed city limits. Organizers fell 71 signatures short in their previous attempt in 2015.

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