Clarkson was born as Jacquelyn Brechtel in New Orleans on January 17, 1936.[2] Her maternal grandmother, Sophie Bass, was a Jewish immigrant from Lithuania.[2][3] She was the daughter of Sophie (née Berengher) and Johnny Brechtel, a football coach. She was married to Arthur Clarkson and they have five daughters, including Academy Award-nominated actress Patricia Clarkson. Before entering politics she was in real estate and president of the Louisiana Realtor Association.[4]
Clarkson 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.[5] The boundaries of District 102 are roughly the same as the Algiers neighborhood (also known as the Fifteenth Ward) in New Orleans.[6][7] Those of District C include Algiers, as well as the Vieux Carré or French Quarter neighborhood.[8]
Clarkson died on June 26, 2024, at the age of 88.[9]
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's New Orleans Saints.[10][11] Mayor Ray Nagin won re-election only after facing a much tougher challenge than expected before the hurricane,[12] and half of the council members who ran again were defeated.[13]
The resignation of Councilmember at Large Oliver Thomas 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.[14]
Clarkson in 2008 and 2009 became particularly outspoken in defending likeminded councilwoman Stacy Head in a feud with city sanitation director Veronica White. Clarkson called for White's dismissal, but Nagin defended White.[15]
Clarkson was re-elected as Councilmember at Large in February 2010 (again narrowly defeating Cynthia Willard-Lewis),[16] and was named president of the council in May 2011.[17]
Election history
Although a lifelong Democrat, Clarkson had received support from Republican organizations including the Parish Executive Committee of the Orleans ParishRepublican Party.[18] 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 seat.[19] Likeminded fellow Democratic Councilwoman Stacy Head found herself soon facing a recall petition. Clarkson, however, was not subjected to a recall effort; as councilwoman-at-large she represented a broader constituency, and she was more ingrained into the New Orleans political scene.[20] In May 2009, as the New Orleans e-mail controversies 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.[21]
Orleans Parish Councilmember, District C, 1994[22]
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