Renee Gill Pratt

Renee Gill Pratt is a superdelegate in the 2008 Democratic presidential nomination.

Bio

 * Louisiana will send 10 super delegates to the Democratic National Convention in August. The state's other 56 delegates, those whose titles are not prefaced by "super," are required to vote proportionately to the results of the state primary -- roughly 2-to-1 in favor of Obama.
 * 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.

Personal political interests and issues

 * Renee Gill Pratt, who lost her seat on the New Orleans City Council
 * 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.

Committees and affiliations

 * 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.

Related SourceWatch articles

 * Portal:Superdelegate Transparency Project
 * Superdelegates in the 2008 presidential primaries
 * U.S. presidential election, 2008
 * U.S. presidential election, 2008/Congressional endorsements
 * Portal:2008 U.S. Congressional Elections