Jackie Clarkson, mother of the great Patricia Clarkson, was elected to an at-large seat on the New Orleans City Council last night. Her return to the council marks the first time the body's had a white majority in over 20 years, and the first time it's ever had 5 female members (out of seven).
Her win was one of a number of races in the New Orleans area that saw white candidates beat black candidates. In terms of the state races, Buddy Caldwell (D) crushed Royal Alexander (R) in the race for Attorney General, the partisan make-up of the state Senate held steady, while the Republicans picked up seats in the state House. 53 Democrats were elected to the state House (out of 105 members). So it seems entirely possible that a few of them could switch parties and give the Republicans their first majority in the chamber ... since Reconstruction? It is not yet clear who the new Speaker will be. Joel Chaisson (D-Destrehan) appears set to be the new Senate President, and he appears likely to name Mike Michot (R-Lafayette) as chairman of the key Senate Finance Committee.
Posted by armand at November 18, 2007 09:06 AM | TrackBack | Posted to Politics