Renée Gill Pratt
Encyclopedia
Renée Gill Pratt is a local politician from New Orleans. She was also Director of the Center for Student Retention and Success in Southern University at New Orleans
. On 2011 February 24, racketeering charges against her resulted in a hung jury
.
for District 91 from 1991 to 2002 when she was succeeded by Rosalind Peychaud
. Gill Pratt served on the New Orleans city council 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, roughly corresponding to the Irish Channel and the Touro neighborhood.
Gill Pratt lost her bid for re-election in 2006, against Stacy Head
, another Democrat and a New Orleans attorney. Gill Pratt 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.
She also was blamed for renting office space from a company formed by Mose Jefferson
, the brother of convicted felon U.S. Representative William J. Jefferson
, at the rate of $1,800 a month, for her satellite council office.
In May 2009 Gill Pratt—along with Mose Jefferson
, Betty Jefferson
, and Angela Coleman
(Betty Jefferson's daughter)—was indicted on federal racketeering charges. Mose Jefferson was also facing a separate trial for bribing Orleans Parish School Board president Ellenese Brooks-Simms. The racketeering indictment contained a relationship to the bribery case in that part of the alleged racketeering involved Gill Pratt's supposed obtaining of $300,000 for a couple of private schools so that they could buy the software which Mose Jefferson, with Ellenese Brooks-Simms' help, also sold to the public schools; according to the indictment, Mose Jefferson's commission on the sales to the private schools was $30,000, of which Gill Pratt pocketed $3500. Within a week of the indictment of Gill Pratt, John Pope reported in the Times-Picayune that Gill Pratt was being appointed to a SUNO position which carries no additional pay. In the same article Pope described Mose Jefferson as "Gill Pratt's longtime companion"—a situation noted as being "as close as it gets" by columnist Stephanie Grace. Gill Pratt's appointment to SUNO's Executive Cabinet was immediately criticized by, among others, Louisiana Governor Bobby Jindal
. Amid astonishment over the appropriateness and timing of the appointment—in that all Louisiana public universities were facing steep budget cuts and suggestions were circulating that SUNO should be merged with the neighboring University of New Orleans
—Gill Pratt, with the urging of SUNO chancellor Victor Ukpolo
, went on a leave of absence without pay.
Gill Pratt had not been seen in public since 22 May 2009 when on June 5 she—along with Mose Jefferson, Betty Jefferson, and Angela Coleman—pleaded "not guilty" before U.S. magistrate Joseph Wilkinson Jr. at the Hale Boggs
Federal Building in New Orleans. Gill Pratt's lawyer was Michael Fawer, who also represents Mose Jefferson in a separate bribery case.
At a hearing before U. S. District Judge Ivan L. R. Lemelle
on 17 June 2009, lawyers for Betty Jefferson and Angela Coleman requested a delay from the 3 August 2009 start date for the racketeering trial; at the same hearing, however, lawyers for Gill Pratt and Mose Jefferson requested that the racketeering trial begin as scheduled on August 3. On 28 July 2009, Lemelle delayed the start of the racketeering trial to 25 January 2010.
On August 4, Fawer unsuccessfully sought (denied by U.S. District Judge Mary Ann Vial Lemmon
) to delay Mose Jefferson's bribery trial until after the racketeering trial, because, as summarized by Michael Kunzelman of the Times-Picayune:
On 21 August 2009 Mose Jefferson was convicted on four felony counts in his bribery trial.
On 2011 February 24 one juror's siding with Gill Pratt resulted in a mistrial. The Times-Picayune editorialized over the hung jury
, citing what the newspaper called "the criminal enterprise run by some members of the Jefferson family."
, Dillard University
, and the University of New Orleans
.
Threshold > 50%
First Ballot, March 23, 1991
Second Ballot, April 20, 1991
State Representative, 91st Representative District, Fall 1991
Threshold > 50%
First Ballot, October 10, 1991
Councilmember, District B, 1994
Threshold > 50%
First Ballot, February 5, 1994
Second Ballot, March 5, 1994
State Representative, 91st Representative District, 1995
Threshold > 50%
First Ballot, October 21, 1995
State Representative, 91st Representative District, 1999
Threshold > 50%
First Ballot, October 23, 1999
Councilmember, District B, 2002
Threshold > 50%
First Ballot, February 2, 2002
Councilmember, District B, 2006
Threshold > 50%
First Ballot, April 22, 2006
Second Ballot, May 20, 2006
Southern University at New Orleans
Southern University at New Orleans is a historically black university located in New Orleans, Louisiana, United States...
. On 2011 February 24, racketeering charges against her resulted in a hung jury
Hung jury
A hung jury or deadlocked jury is a jury that cannot, by the required voting threshold, agree upon a verdict after an extended period of deliberation and is unable to change its votes due to severe differences of opinion.- England and Wales :...
.
Political career
A Democrat, Gill Pratt served as state representativeLouisiana House of Representatives
The Louisiana House of Representatives is the lower house in the Louisiana State Legislature, the state legislature of the US state of Louisiana. The House is composed of 105 Representatives, each of whom represents approximately 42,500 people . Members serve four-year terms with a term limit of...
for District 91 from 1991 to 2002 when she was succeeded by Rosalind Peychaud
Rosalind Peychaud
Rosalind Magee Peychaud is a Democratic former state representative for Louisiana House of Representatives District 91 . As of 2009 Peychaud became deputy chief of staff for U.S. Representative Joseph Cao, a Republican who represents Louisiana's 2nd congressional district...
. Gill Pratt served on the New Orleans city council for District B from 2002 to 2006.
District B includes the Central Business District
New Orleans Central Business District
The Central Business District is a neighborhood of the city of New Orleans. A subdistrict of the French Quarter/CBD Area, its boundaries as defined by the City Planning Commission are: Iberville, Decatur and Canal Streets to the north, the Mississippi River to the east, the New Orleans Morial...
, the Garden District
Garden District, New Orleans
The Garden District is a neighborhood of the city of New Orleans. A subdistrict of the Central City/Garden District Area, its boundaries as defined by the City Planning Commission are: St. Charles Avenue to the north, 1st Street to the east, Magazine Street to the south and Toledano Street to the...
, Central City
Central City, New Orleans
Central City is a neighborhood of the city of New Orleans. It is located at the lower end of Uptown, just above the New Orleans Central Business District, on the "lakeside" of St. Charles Avenue...
, the Irish Channel
Irish Channel, New Orleans
Irish Channel is a neighborhood of the city of New Orleans. A subdistrict of the Central City/Garden District Area, its boundaries as defined by the City Planning Commission are: Magazine Street to the north, 1st Street to the east, the Mississippi River to the south and Toledano to the...
, the Lower Garden District
Lower Garden District, New Orleans
Lower Garden District is a neighborhood of the city of New Orleans. A subdistrict of the Central City/Garden District Area, its boundaries as defined by the City Planning Commission are: St...
and the Touro
Touro, New Orleans
Touro is a neighborhood of the city of New Orleans. A subdistrict of the Central City/Garden District Area, its boundaries as defined by the City Planning Commission are: St. Charles Avenue to the north, Toledano Street to the east, Magazine Street to the south and Napoleon Avenue to the...
neighborhood. District 91 covers the precincts located on the southwest side of District B, roughly corresponding to the Irish Channel and the Touro neighborhood.
Gill Pratt lost her bid for re-election in 2006, against Stacy Head
Stacy Head
Stacy Aline Singleton Head is a member of the New Orleans City Council.-Early Life and Career:Stacy Head was born in 1969 as the daughter of Katherine Hamberlin Singleton and Ernest Lynn Singleton. She grew up in Greensburg, Saint Helena Parish, Louisiana...
, another Democrat and a New Orleans attorney. Gill Pratt possibly faced a backlash related to the aftermath of Hurricane Katrina
Hurricane Katrina
Hurricane Katrina of the 2005 Atlantic hurricane season was a powerful Atlantic hurricane. It is the costliest natural disaster, as well as one of the five deadliest hurricanes, in the history of the United States. Among recorded Atlantic hurricanes, it was the sixth strongest overall...
. Mayor Ray Nagin
Ray Nagin
Clarence Ray Nagin, Jr. is a former mayor of New Orleans, Louisiana, United States. Nagin gained international note in 2005 in the aftermath of Hurricane Katrina, which devastated the New Orleans area....
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.
Controversies
In the weeks following her defeat, Gill 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
Mose Jefferson
Mose Oliver Jefferson was a member of the New Orleans family that includes his younger brother, convicted felon and former U.S. Representative William J. Jefferson...
, the brother of convicted felon U.S. Representative William J. Jefferson
William J. Jefferson
William Jennings "Bill" Jefferson is a former American politician, and a published author from the U.S. state of Louisiana. He served as a member of the U.S. House of Representatives for nine terms from 1991 to 2009 as a member of the Democratic Party. He represented , which includes much of the...
, at the rate of $1,800 a month, for her satellite council office.
In May 2009 Gill Pratt—along with Mose Jefferson
Mose Jefferson
Mose Oliver Jefferson was a member of the New Orleans family that includes his younger brother, convicted felon and former U.S. Representative William J. Jefferson...
, Betty Jefferson
Betty Jefferson
Barbara "Betty" Jefferson Jackson is the elected assessor of New Orleans' Fourth Municipal District; she was first elected on 1998 February 7 and was reelected in 2002 and 2006. Before her political career in New Orleans she lived for a number of years in Chicago. She is an older sister of...
, and Angela Coleman
Angela Coleman
Angela Coleman , daughter of New Orleans Fourth Municipal District Assessor Betty Jefferson, was one of four individuals indicted in 2009 by federal grand jury for the U.S. Justice Department's Eastern District of Louisiana...
(Betty Jefferson's daughter)—was indicted on federal racketeering charges. Mose Jefferson was also facing a separate trial for bribing Orleans Parish School Board president Ellenese Brooks-Simms. The racketeering indictment contained a relationship to the bribery case in that part of the alleged racketeering involved Gill Pratt's supposed obtaining of $300,000 for a couple of private schools so that they could buy the software which Mose Jefferson, with Ellenese Brooks-Simms' help, also sold to the public schools; according to the indictment, Mose Jefferson's commission on the sales to the private schools was $30,000, of which Gill Pratt pocketed $3500. Within a week of the indictment of Gill Pratt, John Pope reported in the Times-Picayune that Gill Pratt was being appointed to a SUNO position which carries no additional pay. In the same article Pope described Mose Jefferson as "Gill Pratt's longtime companion"—a situation noted as being "as close as it gets" by columnist Stephanie Grace. Gill Pratt's appointment to SUNO's Executive Cabinet was immediately criticized by, among others, Louisiana Governor Bobby Jindal
Bobby Jindal
Piyush "Bobby" Jindal is the 55th and current Governor of Louisiana and formerly a member of the United States House of Representatives. He is a member of the Republican Party....
. Amid astonishment over the appropriateness and timing of the appointment—in that all Louisiana public universities were facing steep budget cuts and suggestions were circulating that SUNO should be merged with the neighboring University of New Orleans
University of New Orleans
The University of New Orleans, often referred to locally as UNO, is a medium-sized public urban university located on the New Orleans Lakefront within New Orleans, Louisiana, United States. It is a member of the LSU System and the Urban 13 association. Currently UNO is without a proper chancellor...
—Gill Pratt, with the urging of SUNO chancellor Victor Ukpolo
Victor Ukpolo
Dr Victor O. Ukpolo is chancellor of Southern University at New Orleans, also known as SUNO.Ukpolo is most known for his successful efforts in restoring SUNO to operation after Hurricane Katrina, specifically his role in obtaining funds for SUNO's recovery, including $44 million for student...
, went on a leave of absence without pay.
Gill Pratt had not been seen in public since 22 May 2009 when on June 5 she—along with Mose Jefferson, Betty Jefferson, and Angela Coleman—pleaded "not guilty" before U.S. magistrate Joseph Wilkinson Jr. at the Hale Boggs
Hale Boggs
Thomas Hale Boggs Sr. , was an American Democratic politician and a member of the U.S. House of Representatives from New Orleans, Louisiana...
Federal Building in New Orleans. Gill Pratt's lawyer was Michael Fawer, who also represents Mose Jefferson in a separate bribery case.
At a hearing before U. S. District Judge Ivan L. R. Lemelle
Ivan L. R. Lemelle
Ivan L. R. Lemelle is a United States federal judge.Born in Opelousas, Louisiana, Lemelle received a B.S. from Xavier University of Louisiana in 1971 and a J.D. from Loyola University New Orleans School of Law in 1974. He was a law clerk for Robert Collins of the Orleans Parish Criminal District...
on 17 June 2009, lawyers for Betty Jefferson and Angela Coleman requested a delay from the 3 August 2009 start date for the racketeering trial; at the same hearing, however, lawyers for Gill Pratt and Mose Jefferson requested that the racketeering trial begin as scheduled on August 3. On 28 July 2009, Lemelle delayed the start of the racketeering trial to 25 January 2010.
On August 4, Fawer unsuccessfully sought (denied by U.S. District Judge Mary Ann Vial Lemmon
Mary Ann Vial Lemmon
Mary Ann Vial Lemmon is a United States federal judge.Born in New Orleans, Louisiana, Lemmon received her undergraduate degree from Loyola University New Orleans and continued as a law student on that campus, to receive a J.D. from Loyola University New Orleans School of Law in 1964. She was in...
) to delay Mose Jefferson's bribery trial until after the racketeering trial, because, as summarized by Michael Kunzelman of the Times-Picayune:
-
- Gill Pratt . . . isn't available to testify during the bribery case this month because she is awaiting her own trial next year in a [the] separate but related racketeering conspiracy case.
On 21 August 2009 Mose Jefferson was convicted on four felony counts in his bribery trial.
On 2011 February 24 one juror's siding with Gill Pratt resulted in a mistrial. The Times-Picayune editorialized over the hung jury
Hung jury
A hung jury or deadlocked jury is a jury that cannot, by the required voting threshold, agree upon a verdict after an extended period of deliberation and is unable to change its votes due to severe differences of opinion.- England and Wales :...
, citing what the newspaper called "the criminal enterprise run by some members of the Jefferson family."
Education
A lifelong resident of District B, Gill Pratt attended Holy Ghost Elementary School, Xavier University Preparatory SchoolXavier University Preparatory School
Xavier University Preparatory School is a private, Roman Catholic high school in New Orleans, Louisiana. It is located in the Roman Catholic Archdiocese of New Orleans....
, Dillard University
Dillard University
Dillard University is a private, historically black liberal arts college in New Orleans, Louisiana. Founded in 1930 incorporating earlier institutions that went back to 1869, it is affiliated with the United Church of Christ and the United Methodist Church....
, and the University of New Orleans
University of New Orleans
The University of New Orleans, often referred to locally as UNO, is a medium-sized public urban university located on the New Orleans Lakefront within New Orleans, Louisiana, United States. It is a member of the LSU System and the Urban 13 association. Currently UNO is without a proper chancellor...
.
Election history
State Representative, 91st Representative District, Spring 1991Threshold > 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 Oliver Thomas For the Texas businessman and World War II POW, see Oliver C. Thomas.Oliver M. Thomas, Jr. , is a Democratic politician from New Orleans. He served on the New Orleans City Council from 1994 to 2007... |
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 Oliver Thomas For the Texas businessman and World War II POW, see Oliver C. Thomas.Oliver M. Thomas, Jr. , is a Democratic politician from New Orleans. He served on the New Orleans City Council from 1994 to 2007... |
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 George Patterson George Franklin "Paddy" Patterson was a professional ice hockey centre who played nine seasons in the National Hockey League . He was born in Kingston, Ontario.... |
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 Stacy Head Stacy Aline Singleton Head is a member of the New Orleans City Council.-Early Life and Career:Stacy Head was born in 1969 as the daughter of Katherine Hamberlin Singleton and Ernest Lynn Singleton. She grew up in Greensburg, Saint Helena Parish, Louisiana... |
Democratic | 6,691 (38%) | Runoff |
| Others | n.a. | 3,893 (22%) | Defeated |
Second Ballot, May 20, 2006
| Candidate | Affiliation | Support | Outcome |
| Stacy Head Stacy Head Stacy Aline Singleton Head is a member of the New Orleans City Council.-Early Life and Career:Stacy Head was born in 1969 as the daughter of Katherine Hamberlin Singleton and Ernest Lynn Singleton. She grew up in Greensburg, Saint Helena Parish, Louisiana... |
Democratic | 10,214 (54%) | Elected |
| Renée Gill Pratt | Democratic | 8,694 (46%) | Defeated |
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