Louisiana 2011 Legislative Analysis – House District 87

Incumbent – Girod Jackson III (D – Term Limited in 2019)

District Map

House District 87

Vote History

 Current District

The Westbank of Jefferson Parish historically was settled by blacks and blue collar whites. And as time went on, the demographics of this part of Jefferson Parish supported the creation of a black majority district. This demographic reality became a political reality in 1991, when reapportionment for the first time ever created a black majority district on the Westbank.

House District 87 is shaped like a hook, and twists around Marrero, Harvey, and the Harvey Canal all the way to the Intracoastal Waterway to pick up black majority neighborhoods along the way. It currently has a 77% black voter registration, which is up from 72% a decade ago.

Politically, this is a securely Democratic district – one of the most Democratic in the state. The typical Republican performance here is about 15%, although if this is a race involving New Orleans native Mary Landrieu, the GOP performance is even weaker.

Unlike other districts in the New Orleans area, this district has had considerable turnover, as its occupants (all black Democrats since 1991) tend to seek other offices. After a white Democrat was defeated in the 1991 runoff 59-41% on the same day that the Edwards/Duke race was on the ballot, Kyle Mark Green served three terms before vacating the seat to run unsuccessfully for the Jefferson Parish Council in 2003. He was succeeded by Derrick Shepherd, who left after a year to run for an open state senate seat. In the open seat race to replace him, Terrell Harris was elected in 2005, but he didn’t even seek a full term in 2007. (UPDATED 9/14/2011) He was succeeded by Girod Jackson, who was elected without opposition both in 2007 and 2011 when opponents withdrew right after qualifying. He is allowed to serve two more terms.

New District

Population losses in Orleans and Jefferson Parish made redistricting a tricky proposition for the area. There were two challenges that District 87 had: (1) the district was 19% under populated, and (2) the perceived legal mandate to draw new minority districts in the Westbank to replace those eliminated in New Orleans. District 83 immediately to the west was reconfigured to be a black majority district; to accomplish this, it traded 95% black precincts in Marrero for 30% black precincts adjacent to Westwego. It also picked up a 53% black portion of Harvey from District 85 (represented by Republican Ricky Templet). Finally, District 84 (represented by Republican Pat Connick) contributed a 33% black precinct in Marrero.

These changes diluted the black voting percentage from 77 to 61%, but this is still a securely Democratic district. And with the demographic changes that have been occurring on the Westbank, that percentage will almost certainly increase over the next decade. Rep. Jackson shouldn’t have re-election worries; it will be interesting to see whether he seeks another office in the future.