Hazeur
Two seats in Orleans Parish Civil District Court are up for grabs in elections that will be held on Oct 22.
Last summer, Judges Rosemary Ledet and Madeleine Landrieu won seats on the 4th Circuit Court of Appeals and the pair will vacate their benches at the end of this year.
The two nominees for Ledet's seat are Ellen Hazeur and Regina Bartholomew.
Hazeur served two terms as a New Orleans City Councilwoman and has served as the First City Court Clerk since 2001. Hazeur also serves on the Orleans Levee District Board of Levee Commissioners.
Bartholomew is also former New Orleans City Council member and a former candidate for Louisiana's 2nd U.S. Congressional District.
A 1999 graduate of the Loyola University School of Law, Bartholomew has served as an attorney for the U.S. Department of Labor, the Office of the Solicitor in Dallas and served as general counsel for the Orleans Parish School Board (OPSB).
Bartholomew has received endorsements from U.S. Rep. Cedric Richmond (D-2), Orleans Parish District Attorney Leon Cannizzaro, Orleans Parish Seriff Marlin Gusman and several other Parish officials since she announced her candidacy in July.
The New Orleans CityBusiness newspaper named Bartholomew a recipient of a 2011 Leadership in Law Award.
New Orleans attorneys Clare Jupiter, Nakisha Ervin-Knott and Kris Kiefer are fighting for Landrieu's vacancy.
Jupiter is a partner at Bryan & Jupiter APLC and has specialized in education and tort defense law for thirty years. She formerly served as general counsel for the OPSB and currently serves on the Louisiana State Bar Association Committee o the Rules of Professional Conduct.
Ervin-Knott is a political neophyte but has served as a plaintiff attorney in New Orleans since 1998 after graduating from the Southern University Law Center.
Kris Kiefer is also a plaintiff attorney and graduate of the Southern University Law Center.
He is a managing partner at Kiefer & Kiefer and is the son of former Louisiana State Senator Nat Kiefer, known for outspoken nature and ties with former Louisiana Governor Edwin Edwards.