Renée Gill Pratt
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Renée Gill Pratt (born 1954) is a local politician from New Orleans and a protégée of Democratic U.S. Representative William "Bill" Jefferson.
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[edit] Political career
A Democrat, Pratt served as state representative for District 91 from 1991 to 2002 and as a New Orleans city council member for District B from 2002 to 2006.
District B includes the Central Business District, the Garden District, Central City, the Irish Channel, the Lower Garden District and the Touro neighborhood. District 91 covers the precincts located on the southwest side of District B, which roughly correspond to the Irish Channel and the Touro neighborhood.
Pratt lost her bid for re-election in 2006, against Stacy Head, another Democrat and a New Orleans attorney. She possibly faced a backlash related to the aftermath of Hurricane Katrina. Mayor Ray Nagin 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.
[edit] Controversies
In the weeks following her defeat, Pratt faced criticism for driving a $28,266 Dodge Durango that she had donated to a nonprofit organization before she left office. The organization subsequently hired her and assigned her to the vehicle.
She also was blamed for renting office space from a company formed by Mose Jefferson, the brother of U.S. Representative Bill Jefferson, at the rate of $1,800 a month, for her satellite council office.
[edit] Education
A life long resident of District B, Pratt attended Holy Ghost Elementary School, Xavier University Preparatory School, Dillard University and the University of New Orleans.
[edit] Election history
State Representative, 91st Representative District, Spring 1991
Threshold > 50%
First Ballot, March 23, 1991
| Candidate | Affiliation | Support | Outcome |
| Renée Gill Pratt | Democratic | 853 (29%) | Runoff |
| Linda Compton | Democratic | 757 (25%) | Runoff |
| Others | n.a. | 1,375 (46%) | Defeated |
Second Ballot, April 20, 1991
| Candidate | Affiliation | Support | Outcome |
| Renée Gill Pratt | Democratic | 1,246 (52%) | Elected |
| Linda Compton | Democratic | 1,159 (48%) | Defeated |
State Representative, 91st Representative District, Fall 1991
Threshold > 50%
First Ballot, October 10, 1991
| Candidate | Affiliation | Support | Outcome |
| Renée Gill Pratt | Democratic | 7,605 (72%) | Elected |
| Louella Givens | Republican | 2,941 (28%) | Defeated |
Councilmember, District B, 1994
Threshold > 50%
First Ballot, February 5, 1994
| Candidate | Affiliation | Support | Outcome |
| Oliver Thomas | Democratic | 9,467 (42%) | Runoff |
| Renée Gill Pratt | Democratic | 8,609 (38%) | Runoff |
| Others | n.a. | 4,651 (20%) | Defeated |
Second Ballot, March 5, 1994
| Candidate | Affiliation | Support | Outcome |
| Oliver Thomas | Democratic | 13,964 (52%) | Elected |
| Renée Gill Pratt | Democratic | 13,042 (48%) | Defeated |
State Representative, 91st Representative District, 1995
Threshold > 50%
First Ballot, October 21, 1995
| Candidate | Affiliation | Support | Outcome |
| Renée Gill Pratt | Democratic | 6,903 (78%) | Elected |
| George Patterson | Democratic | 1,933 (22%) | Defeated |
State Representative, 91st Representative District, 1999
Threshold > 50%
First Ballot, October 23, 1999
| Candidate | Affiliation | Support | Outcome |
| Renée Gill Pratt | Democratic | No opponents | Elected |
Councilmember, District B, 2002
Threshold > 50%
First Ballot, February 2, 2002
| Candidate | Affiliation | Support | Outcome |
| Renée Gill Pratt | Democratic | 14,016 (77%) | Elected |
| Kenneth Bazile | Democratic | 3,783 (14%) | Defeated |
| Donald Ray Pryor | Democratic | 1,526 (8%) | Defeated |
Councilmember, District B, 2006
Threshold > 50%
First Ballot, April 22, 2006
| Candidate | Affiliation | Support | Outcome |
| Renée Gill Pratt | Democratic | 7,042 (40%) | Runoff |
| Stacy Head | Democratic | 6,691 (38%) | Runoff |
| Others | n.a. | 3,893 (22%) | Defeated |
Second Ballot, May 20, 2006
| Candidate | Affiliation | Support | Outcome |
| Stacy Head | Democratic | 10,214 (54%) | Elected |
| Renée Gill Pratt | Democratic | 8,694 (46%) | Defeated |
[edit] Sources
City of New Orleans : http://www.cityofno.com/
Louisiana Secretary of State : http://www.sos.louisiana.gov/
New Orleans Gambit: http://www.bestofneworleans.com/dispatch/2006-07-11/politics.php
| Preceded by Diana Bajoie (D) |
State Representative, 91st Representative District 1991–2002 |
Succeeded by Rosalind Peychaud (D) |
| Preceded by Oliver Thomas (D) |
Councilmember, District B 2002–2006 |
Succeeded by Stacy Head (D) |
