Rebecca Jackson is a former Republican politician from

Louisville, Kentucky Louisville is the List of cities in Kentucky, most populous city in the Commonwealth of Kentucky, sixth-most populous city in the Southeastern United States, Southeast, and the list of United States cities by population, 27th-most-populous city ...

. She previously served as the

Jefferson County Judge/Executive The Jefferson County Judge/Executive is the nominal chief executive of Jefferson County, Kentucky. On January 3, 2003, the county government merged with that of its largest city, Louisville, to create the Louisville Metro Government. The former po ...

and also ran unsuccessfully for the Republican party nomination for

governor A governor is an politician, administrative leader and head of a polity or Region#Political regions, political region, in some cases, such as governor-general, governors-general, as the head of a state's official representative. Depending on the ...

. She is the former

chief executive officer A chief executive officer (CEO), also known as a chief executive or managing director, is the top-ranking corporate officer charged with the management of an organization, usually a company or a nonprofit organization. CEOs find roles in variou ...

of the

WHAS Crusade for Children The WHAS Crusade for Children is an annual telethon broadcast by WHAS-TV and WHAS (AM) Radio in Louisville, Kentucky. The telethon benefits a wide range of children's charities throughout Kentucky and southern Indiana. The Crusade was begun in 1 ...

, a local

charity Charity may refer to: Common meanings * Charitable organization or charity, a non-profit organization whose primary objectives are philanthropy and social well-being of persons * Charity (practice), the practice of being benevolent, giving and sha ...

that operates a large annual

telethon A telethon (a portmanteau of "television" and "marathon") is a televised fundraising event that lasts many hours or days, the purpose of which is to raise money for a charitable, political or other cause. Most telethons feature heavy solicitatio ...

Early life

Jackson was born in Short Creek in Grayson County. She graduated from Southern High School in Louisville and earned

bachelor's A bachelor's degree (from Medieval Latin ''baccalaureus'') or baccalaureate (from Modern Latin ''baccalaureatus'') is an undergraduate degree awarded by colleges and universities upon completion of a course of study lasting three to six years ( ...

and

master's degree A master's degree (from Latin ) is a postgraduate academic degree awarded by universities or colleges upon completion of a course of study demonstrating mastery or a high-order overview of a specific field of study or area of professional prac ...

s from the

University of Louisville The University of Louisville (UofL) is a public university, public research university in Louisville, Kentucky, United States. It is part of the Kentucky state university system. Chartered in 1798 as the Jefferson Seminary, it became in the 19t ...

. She served as a teacher, first for first grade and later serving special needs students, and administrator in the Jefferson County Public Schools system. In 1987, Jackson founded JobCenter, an employment agency serving the disabled.

Political career

Jackson first won elected office in 1989, upsetting long-time Democratic

incumbent The incumbent is the current holder of an office or position. In an election, the incumbent is the person holding or acting in the position that is up for election, regardless of whether they are seeking re-election. There may or may not be ...

Jefferson County

clerk A clerk is a white-collar worker who conducts record keeping as well as general office tasks, or a worker who performs similar sales-related tasks in a retail environment. The responsibilities of clerical workers commonly include Records managem ...

Jim Malone. She was re-elected in 1993. In 1998, Jackson ran for and won the race for Judge/Executive; she was sworn in on January 1, 1999, and served one term. She was the last person to serve in that office before city and county governments merged in 2002; the office was largely replaced by the Mayor of Louisville Metro, though technically the office still exists in a largely ceremonial capacity. Jackson had been a staunch proponent of a

consolidated city-county In local government in the United States, United States local government, a consolidated city-county (#Terminology, see below for alternative terms) is formed when one or more city, cities and their surrounding County (United States), county (Lis ...

government.

Activism career

Jackson ran for governor in 2003, losing in the

primary election Primary elections or primaries are elections held to determine which candidates will run in an upcoming general election. In a partisan primary, a political party selects a candidate. Depending on the state and/or party, there may be an "open pr ...

Ernie Fletcher Ernest Lee Fletcher (born November 12, 1952) is an American physician and politician who was the List of governors of Kentucky, 60th governor of Kentucky from 2003 to 2007. He previously served three consecutive terms in the United States House ...

, who eventually won the seat. Jackson joined the

in 2005, the first person from outside the

WHAS-TV WHAS-TV (channel 11) is a television station in Louisville, Kentucky, United States, affiliated with ABC. Owned by Tegna Inc., the station maintains studios on West Chestnut Street in Downtown Louisville, and its transmitter is located in rur ...

corporate structure to hold the post. She was instrumental in establishing an endowment for the telethon, funded by

bequest A devise is the act of giving real property by will, traditionally referring to real property. A bequest is the act of giving property by will, usually referring to personal property. Today, the two words are often used interchangeably due to thei ...

s from people who left donations to the Crusade in their

will Will may refer to: Common meanings * Will and testament, instructions for the disposition of one's property after death * Will (philosophy), or willpower * Will (sociology) * Will, volition (psychology) * Will, a modal verb - see Shall and will ...

s. The endowment is designed to fund the day-to-day operating expenses of the organization, allowing 100 percent of the donations collected from the general public to go directly to agencies providing direct services to children with special needs. Jackson is the author of the children's book ''Mackenzie And The Baby Robin''. Released in 2004, the book has a religious message and features her oldest grandchild, Mackenzie. The book was illustrated by her cousin, Richard Wayne Thompson.

Personal life

On the web site of her gubernatorial campaign, Jackson listed her "first home" as Short Creek, Kentucky. Jackson has been married to Ralph W. Jackson since 1969. The couple has three sons, three granddaughters, a grandson, two step-granddaughters and a foster daughter. Jackson is also active in her church,

Highview Baptist Church Highview Baptist Church is a Baptist multi-site megachurch based in Louisville, Kentucky. It is affiliated with the Kentucky Baptist Convention and Southern Baptist Convention. Aaron Harvie is currently the church's senior pastor. History Found ...

. In 1980, she founded Kentucky's New Horizons, a ministry of Highview Baptist that is a social-recreation program for adults with handicaps. She has directed it ever since. In 2006, she was appointed by Governor Fletcher to the Board of

Trustee Trustee (or the holding of a trusteeship) is a legal term which, in its broadest sense, refers to anyone in a position of trust and so can refer to any individual who holds property, authority, or a position of trust or responsibility for the ...

s for the

.Press release from Gov. Ernie Fletcher: "Governor Fletcher Appoints Members to the University of Louisville Board of Trustees," July 20, 2006

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Jackson, Rebecca County judges in Kentucky Politicians from Louisville, Kentucky University of Louisville people Kentucky Republicans Women in Kentucky politics Year of birth missing (living people) Living people Southern High School (Kentucky) alumni 21st-century American women