Karen Carter Peterson
Encyclopedia
Karen Carter Peterson is a Democratic
member of the Louisiana State Senate
, representing the 5th District since 2010. She previously served as the representative from District 93 (1999–2010), in the Louisiana House of Representatives
and as Speaker Pro Tempore (2008–2010). Peterson is one of three Democratic National Committee
Members in Louisiana, the others being State party chair Claude Leach and Ben Jeffers.
in Washington, D.C.
, in 1991. Peterson then returned to New Orleans to receive a law degree from Tulane University
in 1995. She is a practicing attorney with the firm the Davillier Law Group
, a former city councilman and the leader of the powerful Black Organization for Leadership Development (BOLD), which has repeatedly aligned itself in opposition to William J. Jefferson
and his Progressive Democrats. With the help of BOLD, Peterson was elected in 1999 to the Louisiana state legislature as a representative for the 93rd district, which encompasses New Orleans’s CBD, the upper French Quarter, and parts of Central City and Mid-City. In the state legislature, she was one of the most vocal supporters of a plan to reform the New Orleans public school system by putting it under state control, and was a backer of the levee board consolidation bill.
(map) in the mid-term election of November 2006
. She, along with several other candidates, challenged incumbent Democrat Bill Jefferson
, who was already the subject of an FBI investigation. She finished in second place with 19,972 votes (21.6% of the total votes cast), and therefore she and Jefferson entered a runoff round of voting on December 9, 2006. Jefferson prevailed by a 57%-43% margin, the lowest since his original election in 1990.
In the 2006 Congressional election, Peterson received endorsements from prominent Republican
businessmen Joe Canizaro and Boysie Bollinger. She was also endorsed by both the Louisiana state and Orleans Parish branches of the Democratic Party
, a normally unusual development given that the parties usually support their incumbent members, but with the recent allegations against Jefferson, it was not a big surprise. She centered her campaign around the argument that Jefferson's corruption scandal left New Orleans with a lack of credible and respected representation in Congress. Jefferson, in turn, accused Peterson of profiting from no-bid "sweetheart" contracts with the New Orleans City Council as their legal advisor for utility regulation. Jefferson was subsequently defeated by Republican Joseph Cao
in 2008 and convicted of 11 felonies in 2009.
; she attributed the loss to "the national ambition of our governor" Bobby Jindal
, assumed to be interested in the Presidency and wanting to seek that higher office without a tax increase on his record.
Peterson drew the ire of a Jindal ally, Louisiana Republican Party State Chairman Roger Villere
, of Metairie
in Jefferson Parish
. Villere called upon Peterson to release certain public information about herself to him. At least two Republican lawmakers, Joe Harrison
of Napoleonville
and Ernest Wooton
of Belle Chasse
, defended Peterson and urged Villere to apologize or to step down from the chairmanship. Villere's open records request had come after Peterson had criticized Governor Jindal.
's documentary
about Hurricane Katrina
, When the Levees Broke
. Carter Peterson's sense of humor was manifest during the closing days of the 2009 legislative regular session when a cabinet official in Governor Bobby Jindal
's administration accidentally coughed on her after he had tested positive for swine flu
virus; the following day, Carter Peterson emerged in the House chamber wearing a hospital mask, prompting colleague state representative Jared Brossett
to move that the House be "fully quarantined" until the plague subsided.
Democratic Party (United States)
The Democratic Party is one of two major contemporary political parties in the United States, along with the Republican Party. The party's socially liberal and progressive platform is largely considered center-left in the U.S. political spectrum. The party has the lengthiest record of continuous...
member of the Louisiana State Senate
Louisiana State Senate
The Louisiana State Senate is the upper house of the state legislature of Louisiana. All Senators serve four year terms and are assigned multiple committees to work on. The Republicans control the State Senate following a Special Election Victory in District 26 by Jonathan W. Perry...
, representing the 5th District since 2010. She previously served as the representative from District 93 (1999–2010), in the Louisiana House of Representatives
Louisiana 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...
and as Speaker Pro Tempore (2008–2010). Peterson is one of three Democratic National Committee
Democratic National Committee
The Democratic National Committee is the principal organization governing the United States Democratic Party on a day to day basis. While it is responsible for overseeing the process of writing a platform every four years, the DNC's central focus is on campaign and political activity in support...
Members in Louisiana, the others being State party chair Claude Leach and Ben Jeffers.
Background
Peterson was born and raised in New Orleans, Louisiana, the daughter of Ken and Gwen Carter. Her father was one of New Orleans’s first black property tax assessors and a prominent political figure in the city. Peterson graduated from Mercy Academy, and received a bachelors degree in international business and marketing from Howard UniversityHoward University
Howard University is a federally chartered, non-profit, private, coeducational, nonsectarian, historically black university located in Washington, D.C., United States...
in Washington, D.C.
Washington, D.C.
Washington, D.C., formally the District of Columbia and commonly referred to as Washington, "the District", or simply D.C., is the capital of the United States. On July 16, 1790, the United States Congress approved the creation of a permanent national capital as permitted by the U.S. Constitution....
, in 1991. Peterson then returned to New Orleans to receive a law degree from Tulane University
Tulane University
Tulane University is a private, nonsectarian research university located in New Orleans, Louisiana, United States...
in 1995. She is a practicing attorney with the firm the Davillier Law Group
BOLD political organization
Peterson is a political protégé of Jim SingletonJim Singleton
James Milton Singleton , a prime mover in the New Orleans political organization BOLD , serves on the nine-member Louisiana Gaming Commission, having been nominated for the position by Xavier University of Louisiana president Norman Francis and appointed by Governor Bobby Jindal.-Role in...
, a former city councilman and the leader of the powerful Black Organization for Leadership Development (BOLD), which has repeatedly aligned itself in opposition to 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...
and his Progressive Democrats. With the help of BOLD, Peterson was elected in 1999 to the Louisiana state legislature as a representative for the 93rd district, which encompasses New Orleans’s CBD, the upper French Quarter, and parts of Central City and Mid-City. In the state legislature, she was one of the most vocal supporters of a plan to reform the New Orleans public school system by putting it under state control, and was a backer of the levee board consolidation bill.
Loss to Jefferson, 2006
Peterson was a candidate for U.S. Congress in Louisiana's 2nd congressional districtLouisiana's 2nd congressional district
Louisiana's 2nd congressional district is a congressional district in the U.S. state of Louisiana. The district contains nearly all of the city of New Orleans , and some of its suburbs, including the West Bank portion of Jefferson Parish and South South Kenner.The district is currently represented...
(map) in the mid-term election of November 2006
Louisiana House elections, 2006
The first round of the Louisiana House election of 2006 were held on Tuesday, November 7, 2006. The terms of all seven Representatives to the United States House of Representatives will expire on January 3, 2007, and will be put up for contest. The winning candidates will serve a two-year term from...
. She, along with several other candidates, challenged incumbent Democrat Bill 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...
, who was already the subject of an FBI investigation. She finished in second place with 19,972 votes (21.6% of the total votes cast), and therefore she and Jefferson entered a runoff round of voting on December 9, 2006. Jefferson prevailed by a 57%-43% margin, the lowest since his original election in 1990.
In the 2006 Congressional election, Peterson received endorsements from prominent Republican
Republican Party (United States)
The Republican Party is one of the two major contemporary political parties in the United States, along with the Democratic Party. Founded by anti-slavery expansion activists in 1854, it is often called the GOP . The party's platform generally reflects American conservatism in the U.S...
businessmen Joe Canizaro and Boysie Bollinger. She was also endorsed by both the Louisiana state and Orleans Parish branches of the Democratic Party
Democratic Party (United States)
The Democratic Party is one of two major contemporary political parties in the United States, along with the Republican Party. The party's socially liberal and progressive platform is largely considered center-left in the U.S. political spectrum. The party has the lengthiest record of continuous...
, a normally unusual development given that the parties usually support their incumbent members, but with the recent allegations against Jefferson, it was not a big surprise. She centered her campaign around the argument that Jefferson's corruption scandal left New Orleans with a lack of credible and respected representation in Congress. Jefferson, in turn, accused Peterson of profiting from no-bid "sweetheart" contracts with the New Orleans City Council as their legal advisor for utility regulation. Jefferson was subsequently defeated by Republican Joseph Cao
Joseph Cao
Anh "Joseph" Quang Cao is the former U.S. Representative for , serving from 2009 until 2011. He is a member of the Republican Party. In April 2011, he announced he will be a candidate for Attorney General of Louisiana in 2011, however in September 2011 he pulled out of the race.He was the first...
in 2008 and convicted of 11 felonies in 2009.
Tobacco taxation
Although generally a proponent of restrictions on state government spending instead of tax increases to close budgetary shortfalls, Peterson, an avowed non-smoker, supports higher taxes on tobacco and use of the consequent revenue to fund priorities of the Louisiana Healthier Families Act. Her 2009 House Bill 889 (Louisiana Healthier Families Act), after heavy lobbying by both sides, failed in the Louisiana House of RepresentativesLouisiana 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...
; she attributed the loss to "the national ambition of our 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....
, assumed to be interested in the Presidency and wanting to seek that higher office without a tax increase on his record.
Peterson drew the ire of a Jindal ally, Louisiana Republican Party State Chairman Roger Villere
Roger F. Villere, Jr.
Roger Francis Villere, Jr. is a businessman from Metairie in Jefferson Parish in suburban New Orleans who on March 26, 2004, was elected state chairman of the Louisiana Republican Party by the 144-member GOP State Central Committee. He succeeded Pat Brister of St...
, of Metairie
Metairie, Louisiana
Metairie is a census-designated place in Jefferson Parish, Louisiana, United States and is a major part of the New Orleans Metropolitan Area. Metairie is the largest community in Jefferson Parish. It is an unincorporated area that would be larger than most of the state's cities if it were...
in Jefferson Parish
Jefferson Parish, Louisiana
Jefferson Parish is a parish in Louisiana, United States that includes most of the suburbs of New Orleans. The seat of parish government is Gretna....
. Villere called upon Peterson to release certain public information about herself to him. At least two Republican lawmakers, Joe Harrison
Joe Harrison (Louisiana politician)
Joseph Arthur Harrison, known as Joe Harrison is a financial planner from Napoleonville, Louisiana, who is a Republican member of the Louisiana House of Representatives from District 51 in Assumption, Lafourche, St...
of Napoleonville
Napoleonville, Louisiana
Napoleonville is a village in and the parish seat of Assumption Parish, in the U.S. state of Louisiana. The population was 686 at the 2000 census. It is part of the Pierre Part Micropolitan Statistical Area.-History:...
and Ernest Wooton
Ernest Wooton
Ernest Durham Wooton is a former sheriff of Plaquemines Parish, Louisiana, who is a departing Independent member of the Louisiana House of Representatives from the numerically last of the state House districts, No. 105. He resides in Belle Chasse east of New Orleans. He was an unsuccessful...
of Belle Chasse
Belle Chasse, Louisiana
Belle Chasse is a census-designated place in Plaquemines Parish, Louisiana, on the West Bank of the Mississippi River. Belle Chasse is part of the Greater New Orleans Metropolitan area. The population was 9,848 at the 2000 census....
, defended Peterson and urged Villere to apologize or to step down from the chairmanship. Villere's open records request had come after Peterson had criticized Governor Jindal.
Personal life
Peterson lives in New Orleans’ Warehouse District. She is married to Dana Peterson, a political consultant. The couple has no children. She appears in Spike LeeSpike Lee
Shelton Jackson "Spike" Lee is an American film director, producer, writer, and actor. His production company, 40 Acres & A Mule Filmworks, has produced over 35 films since 1983....
's documentary
Documentary film
Documentary films constitute a broad category of nonfictional motion pictures intended to document some aspect of reality, primarily for the purposes of instruction or maintaining a historical record...
about 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...
, When the Levees Broke
When the Levees Broke
When the Levees Broke: A Requiem in Four Acts is a 2006 documentary film directed by Spike Lee about the devastation of New Orleans, Louisiana due to the failure of the levees during Hurricane Katrina. It was filmed in late August and early September 2005, and premiered at the New Orleans Arena on...
. Carter Peterson's sense of humor was manifest during the closing days of the 2009 legislative regular session when a cabinet official in 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....
's administration accidentally coughed on her after he had tested positive for swine flu
Swine flu
Swine influenza, also called pig influenza, swine flu, hog flu and pig flu, is an infection by any one of several types of swine influenza virus. Swine influenza virus or S-OIV is any strain of the influenza family of viruses that is endemic in pigs...
virus; the following day, Carter Peterson emerged in the House chamber wearing a hospital mask, prompting colleague state representative Jared Brossett
Jared Brossett
Jared Christopher Brossett is state representative for Louisiana House District 97, having won a special election to the seat on 2009 May 2. Born 1982, he is the son of Brenda M. Brossett and Elery Michael Brossett....
to move that the House be "fully quarantined" until the plague subsided.
External links
- Louisiana Senate - Karen C. Peterson official government website
- Karen Carter Peterson Campaign Website
- Project Vote Smart - Representative Karen R. Carter (LA) profile
- Follow the Money - Karen R Carter
- Democratic Leadership Council profile
- "Karen Carter: Well-trained to run against Jefferson" Michelle Krupa, New Orleans Times-PicayuneNew Orleans Times-PicayuneThe Times-Picayune is a daily newspaper published in New Orleans, Louisiana, USA.-History:Established as The Picayune in 1837 by Francis Lumsden and George Wilkins Kendall, the paper's initial price was one picayune—a Spanish coin equivalent to 6¼¢ .Under Eliza Jane Nicholson, who inherited the...
, October 16, 2006 - The New Orleans Times-Picayune. “William Jefferson takes aim at Karen Carter.” November 1, 2006.