Jefferson Chapter Honors Local Resident and Legislator for Contributions to Community

During the annual Legislator of the Year Mixer, the Jefferson Chapter of the Alliance for Good Government recognized the Linda Watson and Jefferson Parish Councilman Scott Walker with the chapter’s Legislator of the Year Award.

Linda is a community- and civic-minded person, caring and giving, one who likes to work behind the scenes and especially loves the arts and all things beautiful. For the past nine years, she has enjoyed being a member of the Leading Ladies Guild, which is a subcommittee that fundraises for the Jefferson Performing Arts known by most as JPAS.  Utilizing proceeds from their recent fundraiser, JPAS was able to purchase a van.

Linda has served on the Board of JPAS for many years – eight of these years as a counselor, secretary, fundraising Committee Chair, and co-President.   She served as co-chair “The Follies” in Westwego for two years.  She worked with Great Ladies making costumes, attending rehearsals, bringing supplies and preparing food for the cast and the after party. “I’ve enjoyed greeting the groups attending the Chrysalis program at the theater, picking up items for the silent auctions, and preparing for LLG’s fundraisers,” Watson says.

She is active in her church and serves as the recording secretary on the church’s Parish Council and plays an active role in other church ministries such as the Care Team.  The Care Team and its members played a major role during the COVID crisis when hundreds were homebound.  She loves music and has been a member of the church choir since 2006.

Linda has devoted countless volunteer hours and has worked to assist low-income families through NOEL, which is part of the Home Builders Association.  Working through NOEL on fundraisers, Linda has written grants for individuals and grants for home construction and beautification projects.

Linda also works with various organizations to help those in need and support social and community causes.  Each quarter, she joins others to coordinate socials for the female residents at St. Margaret’s Nursing Home.  She volunteers at local hospitals including St. Jude, Kenner Regional, and now Ochsner.  She has worked with Habitat for Humanity, Save the Lake, Christmas in October, and other worthy causes for the greater New Orleans community.

Scott Walker, Legislator of the Year Recipient

Scott Walker is the Jefferson Parish Councilman At-Large, Division B, representing the entire parish, a former local news anchor for WDSU, and a local business owner. He spent 23 years in local television news, including working as a news anchor at WDSU from 2009 to 2018.

Scott won his first term as a Jefferson Parish councilman in October 2019 and was re-elected to a second term in 2023 with 61% of the vote. His current term runs through January 2028.  As an elected official, Scott has put a strong focus on transparency, accessibility, public safety, the future of Jefferson Parish, and economic development opportunities.  Placing a priority on the parish’s youngest learners, Councilman Walker has led the Jefferson Parish Council’s early childhood education initiative – contributing nearly $1M over three years and securing private donations from the Jefferson Business Council and Jefferson Community Foundation to total nearly $2M when factoring in the state’s dollar-for-dollar match.

He has also worked closely with the Jefferson Parish Sheriff’s Office to enhance public safety, recently providing funding for two-speed trailers equipped with license plate reader technology and bulletproof vests for JPSO K9s.

Councilman Walker was the driving force behind $20 million in funding being dedicated to the modernization of The Shrine on Airline and The Alario Center. Councilman Walker’s office also facilitated and paid for upgrades at the Alario Center, such as new sports courts and basketball goals for the facility. He has also provided funding to renovate a Jefferson Parish Head Start center in River Ridge and to purchase an ambulance which serves Lafitte, Crown Point, Barataria, and Jean Lafitte.

The purpose of the Alliance for Good Government is to foster, protect and promote the welfare and interest of the citizens of the State of Louisiana by bringing together thinking citizens into an organization to promote public policies which benefit the New Orleans Metropolitan area, the State of Louisiana and the United States of America. The purpose is also to research and inform the public on any issues that relate to taxes, bonds, amendments, etc. This will be done as part of the Alliance for Good Government’s endorsement process in each parish and voted on by each parish with the President’s supervision.