BATON ROUGE — Two new members of the East Baton Rouge Metro Council were sworn in Thursday, along with 10 returning members. 

Anthony Kenney and Twahna P. Harris joined the panel after being elected last year. Kenney represents an area extending from Scotlandville to north of Zachary, while Harris represents parts of north Baton Rouge and Mid-City.

The Metro Council, which covers the entire parish, including the various municipalities, will have a 7-5 split favoring Republicans. Voters last month also elected a Republican mayor for the first time in nearly a quarter-century.

Harris is no stranger to the council having spent the last eight years as a legislative assistant to former member Lamont Cole. Cole resigned last year after being named East Baton Rouge Parish School District superintendent. Harris said after taking oath she’s ready to begin the work to take her district to greater heights.

“It’s not new to me but the position itself is, but I’m so excited to be a council member, to also serve the great constituents of District 7. We’ve got a lot of work to do but I know the constituents will work with me, we will work together collaboratively,” Harris said.

At 27, Kenney is the city's youngest councilman. He hopes to inspire growth in the area he represents.

“We must ensure that we’re also inspiring people that businesses want to come to this community, development, grocery stores, and entertainment right because we want to make Scotlandville an inviting and holistic community and also bring back youth-based programs to the community,” Kenney said.

Mayor-President Sid Edwards also took the oath into office Thursday. Harris and Kenney both said they’re excited to work alongside Edwards.

“I’m very elated to work with Coach Sid and his administration," Kenney said. "I think it’s time for Baton Rouge to move in a unified front. It’s a new day, it’s a new chapter, it’s a new opportunity."

Both members expressed it’s important to collaborate together to bring change to the parish.

“The work has already started so we want to continue that work together. His administration looks forward to working with us, so it’s all about unity and working together closely with the administration,” Harris said.

After the inauguration, the council held its first meeting and elected councilman Brandon Noel of District 1 as mayor-president pro-tempore.