Arnie Fielkow | |
|---|---|
 | |
| Member of the New Orleans City Council | |
| In office 2006–2011 | |
| Personal details | |
| Born | Arnold D. Fielkow Appleton, Wisconsin, U.S. |
| Political party | Democratic |
| Education | Northwestern University (BA) University of Wisconsin (JD) |
|
American football career | |
| Career history | |
| As an administrator: | |
| |
Arnold "Arnie" D. Fielkow is an American sports administrator, attorney, and politician serving as the CEO and president of the Jewish Federation of Greater New Orleans.[1] Until June 2017, he was the president and CEO of the National Basketball Retired Players Association (NBRPA).[2] Fielkow was formerly a Democratic politician in New Orleans. In November 2006, he won a seat on the New Orleans City Council as an at-large member, and later served as city council president.[3] He was reelected in 2010.[4] In the fall of 2011, he announced his resignation.[5]
Fielkow was born and raised in Appleton, Wisconsin, [6]. He earned a Bachelor of Arts degree from Northwestern University and his Juris Doctor from the University of Wisconsin Law School in 1981.[7]
In 1989, Fielkow was named commissioner of the North Star Conference.[8] In 1991 he was chosen for the same position with the Trans-America Athletic Conference, however before taking office he chose to take the job of deputy commissioner of the Continental Basketball Association.[9] In 1994 he became the president of the Southern League.[10]
In 2000, Fielkow joined the New Orleans Saints of the National Football League as director of administration.[11] He served as Executive Vice President of the New Orleans Saints for six years, during which he presided over all administrative/business departments, including marketing, sales, regional development, governmental affairs, community relations, business media relations and youth programs.[7] He was fired by Saints owner Tom Benson when he refused to resign and sign a confidentiality agreement. Fielkow had been vocal in opposing the concept of having the Saints play in San Antonio.[12]
Following his firing, Fielkow was elected as one of New Orleans's two at-large council positions on May 20, 2006. He has chaired a number of committees including both the city's Economic Development Committee and the council's Youth and Recreation Committee. He has also co-founded the Fleur-de-lis Ambassadorship program with Tulane University president Scott Cowen. He has been a vocal supporter of public education, including the growing number of charter schools.[7]
During the New Orleans e-mail controversies, Fielkow pledged to published 70,000 of his e-mail messages online.[13]
Fielkow considered running to succeed Ray Nagin as Mayor of New Orleans in the 2010 mayoral election, but he chose to seek reelection instead.[14] Fielkow was easily reelected to his position on the city council,[4] with Mitch Landrieu ultimately winning the mayoral race.
On 22 August 2011, Fielkow announced his resignation from the Council effective 1 October. He planned to take a more lucrative job as CEO of the National Basketball Retired Players Association.[5]
Councilmember(s) at-large (2), 2006
Threshold > 25%
First ballot, April 22, 2006
| Candidate | Affiliation | Support | Outcome |
| Oliver Thomas | Democratic | 66,374 (39%) | Elected |
| Jackie Clarkson | Democratic | 36,839 (22%) | Runoff |
| Arnie Fielkow | Democratic | 31,092 (18%) | Runoff |
| Others | n.a. | 35,060 (21%) | Defeated |
Second Ballot, May 20, 2006
| Candidate | Affiliation | Support | Outcome |
| Arnie Fielkow | Democratic | 61,420 (56%) | Elected |
| Jackie Clarkson | Democratic | 47,324 (44%) | Defeated |
Councilmember(s) at-large (2), 2010
Threshold > 25%
First Ballot, February 6, 2010 [15]
| Candidate | Affiliation | Support | Outcome |
| Arnie Fielkow | Democratic | 51,310 (35%) | Elected |
| Jackie Clarkson | Democratic | 38,904 (26.5%) | Elected |
| Cynthia Willard-Lewis | Democratic | 37,362 (25.5%) | Defeated |
| Nolan Marshall | Democratic | 13,411 (9%) | Defeated |
| Others | n.a. | 5,415 (4%) | Defeated |
