Jacquelyn Brechtel Clarkson (born January 17, 1936) is an American politician who served in the Louisiana House of Representatives from 1994 to 2002, and multiple tenures on the

New Orleans City Council The New Orleans City Council is the legislative branch of the City of New Orleans, Louisiana, United States. The current mayor-council form of city government was created in 1954, following the 1950 amendment of the state constitution that provide ...

(1990–94, 2002–06, 2007–2013). She has been

Honorary consul A consul is an official representative of the government of one state in the territory of another, normally acting to assist and protect the citizens of the consul's own country, as well as to facilitate trade and friendship between the people ...

of Lithuania in New Orleans since December 2014. She is the mother of actress

Patricia Clarkson Patricia Davies Clarkson (born December 29, 1959) is an American actress. She has starred in numerous leading and supporting roles in a variety of films ranging from independent film features to major film studio productions. Her accolades in ...

Background

Clarkson's maternal grandmother, Sophie Bass, was a Jewish immigrant from Lithuania. She is the daughter of Sophie (née Berengher) and Johnny Brechtel, a football coach. She is married to Arthur Clarkson and they have five daughters, including

Academy Award The Academy Awards, better known as the Oscars, are awards for artistic and technical merit for the American and international film industry. The awards are regarded by many as the most prestigious, significant awards in the entertainment ind ...

-nominated actress

. Before entering politics she was in real estate and president of the Louisiana Realtor Association. She represented District C on the New Orleans City Council from 1990 to 1994 and from 2002 to 2006, as well as District 102 at the Louisiana House of Representatives. The boundaries of District 102 are roughly the same as the Algiers neighborhood (also known as the Fifteenth Ward) in New Orleans. Those of District C include Algiers, as well as the Vieux Carré or

French Quarter The French Quarter, also known as the , is the oldest neighborhood in the city of New Orleans. After New Orleans (french: La Nouvelle-Orléans) was founded in 1718 by Jean-Baptiste Le Moyne de Bienville, the city developed around the ("Old Sq ...

neighborhood.

After Hurricane Katrina

Clarkson ran for Councilmember at Large in 2006, but she lost in the general election, often called the runoff in Louisiana, against Arnie Fielkow, another Democrat and former Executive Vice President of the

National Football League The National Football League (NFL) is a professional American football league that consists of 32 teams, divided equally between the American Football Conference (AFC) and the National Football Conference (NFC). The NFL is one of the ...

New Orleans Saints The New Orleans Saints are a professional American football team based in New Orleans. The Saints compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member of the league's National Football Conference (NFC) South division. Since 1975, the te ...

. Mayor

Ray Nagin Clarence Raymond Joseph Nagin Jr. (born June 11, 1956) is an American former politician who was the 60th Mayor of New Orleans, Louisiana, from 2002 to 2010. A Democrat, Nagin became internationally known in 2005 in the aftermath of Hurricane K ...

won re-election only after facing a much tougher challenge than expected before the hurricane, and half of the council members who ran again were defeated. The resignation of Councilmember at Large

Oliver Thomas Oliver M. Thomas, Jr. (born February 10, 1957), is a Democratic politician, actor, writer, and poet from New Orleans. He served on the New Orleans City Council from 1994 to 2007. On August 13, 2007, Thomas resigned his council seat after pleadi ...

in 2007 over bribery charges enabled Clarkson to return on New Orleans City Council. She was elected to her first term as Councilmember-at-Large in a special election in November 2007, defeating Cynthia Willard-Lewis. Clarkson in 2008 and 2009 became particularly outspoken in defending likeminded councilwoman

Stacy Head Stacy Aline Singleton Head (born June 30, 1969) is an American lawyer and former president of the New Orleans City Council. Early life and career Stacy Head was born in 1969 as the daughter of the former Katherine Hamberlin and Ernest Lynn Single ...

in a feud with city sanitation director Veronica White. Clarkson called for White's dismissal, but Nagin defended White. Clarkson was re-elected as Councilmember at Large in February 2010 (again narrowly defeating Cynthia Willard-Lewis), and was named president of the council in May 2011.

Election history

Although a lifelong Democrat, Clarkson has received support from

Republican Republican can refer to: Political ideology * An advocate of a republic, a type of government that is not a monarchy or dictatorship, and is usually associated with the rule of law. ** Republicanism, the ideology in support of republics or agains ...

organizations including the Parish Executive Committee of the

Orleans Parish New Orleans ( , ,New Orleans

Republican Party. In 2008 she broke party ranks and supported Republican challenger Anh "Joseph" Cao in his longshot but successful bid to unseat Democratic incumbent William J. Jefferson from

Louisiana's 2nd congressional district Louisiana's 2nd congressional district contains nearly all of the city of New Orleans and stretches west and north to Baton Rouge. The district is currently represented by Democrat Troy Carter. With a Cook Partisan Voting Index rating of D+25, ...

seat. Likeminded fellow Democratic Councilwoman

found herself soon facing a recall petition. Clarkson, however, was not subjected to a recall effort; as councilwoman-at-large she represents a broader constituency, and she is more ingrained into the New Orleans political scene. In May 2009, as the

New Orleans e-mail controversies Stacy Aline Singleton Head (born June 30, 1969) is an American lawyer and former president of the New Orleans City Council. Early life and career Stacy Head was born in 1969 as the daughter of the former Katherine Hamberlin and Ernest Lynn Singl ...

intensified, Clarkson began publishing thousands of her e-mail messages online: ::Anything we don't want the public to see, we shouldn't put in an e-mail. . . . Just let us do it responsibly so private information about our constituents doesn't get out there.Michelle Krupa
"Surge of N.O. e-mail may flow online soon: It's 2.5 million pages of files, attorney says"
in ''Times-Picayune'' (New Orleans), 20 May 2009, Saint Tammany Edition, pp. A1, A9 (Clarkson quoted on p. A9). See also

Footnotes

External links

* Clarkson campaign website : https://web.archive.org/web/20071022171110/http://jackieclarkson.org/ JackieClarkson.org
Oral History Interview with Jacquelyn Clarkson
fro
Oral Histories of the American South
* City of New Orleans : https://web.archive.org/web/20051108055806/http://www.cityofno.com/ * Louisiana Secretary of State : https://web.archive.org/web/20060911211304/http://www.sos.louisiana.gov/ * New Orleans ''Times-Picayune'' : http://www.nola.com/weblogs/bourbon/index.ssf?/mtlogs/nola_bstdiaries/archives/2003_05.html {{DEFAULTSORT:Clarkson, Jackie 1936 births 20th-century American politicians 21st-century American politicians American people of Lithuanian-Jewish descent American real estate brokers Jewish American state legislators in Louisiana Living people Democratic Party members of the Louisiana House of Representatives New Orleans City Council members Women city councillors in Louisiana Women state legislators in Louisiana 21st-century American women politicians 20th-century American women politicians 21st-century American Jews