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In the [[Governor|gubernatorial]] primaries held between December 1959 and January 1960, the Kirkpatricks worked actively in southwest Louisiana for former Governor [[Jimmie Davis]], who defeated the [[mayor]] of [[New Orleans]], deLesseps Story "Chep" Morrison, Sr. (1912-1964), in a hotly contested runoff election. Davis asked Kirkpatrick to serve as his Director of Public Works to succeed [[Lorris Wimberly]] of Arcadia in Bienville Parish in north Louisiana, who had once been [[Speaker]] of the Louisiana House.  

In the [[Governor|gubernatorial]] primaries held between December 1959 and January 1960, the Kirkpatricks worked actively in southwest Louisiana for former Governor [[Jimmie Davis]], who defeated the [[mayor]] of [[New Orleans]], deLesseps Story "Chep" Morrison, Sr. (1912-1964), in a hotly contested runoff election. Davis asked Kirkpatrick to serve as his Director of Public Works to succeed [[Lorris Wimberly]] of Arcadia in Bienville Parish in north Louisiana, who had once been [[Speaker]] of the Louisiana House.  

As the  head of DPW, Kirkpatrick was also chairman of the Red River Authority and the Sabine River Authority. He worked with [[Texas]] and without federal funds to establish the popular Toledo Bend Reservoir, a popular destination for [[fishing]] and boating on the Louisiana-Texas boundary. The project, which emphasizes [[conservation]] and stewardship of natural resources, was completed in 1966, two years after Kirkpatrick had left DPW.<ref name=bm/> State Representative [[Cliff Ammons]] of Many in Sabine Parish, pushed to passage the bill to create Toledo Bend and the constitutional amendment to provide for its funding.<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.lahistory.org/resources/dictionary-louisiana-biography/dictionary-a/|title=Ammons, Cliff|publisher=Louisiana Historical Association, ''A Dictionary of Louisiana Biography'' (lahistory.org)|accessdate=December 24, 2010}}</ref>​

As the  head of DPW, Kirkpatrick was also chairman of the Red River Authority and the Sabine River Authority. He worked with [[Texas]] and without federal funds to establish the popular Toledo Bend Reservoir, a popular destination for [[fishing]] and boating on the Louisiana-Texas boundary. The project, which emphasizes [[conservation]] and stewardship of natural resources, was completed in 1966, two years after Kirkpatrick had left DPW.<ref name=bm/> State Representative [[Cliff Ammons]] of Many in Sabine Parish, pushed to passage the bill to create Toledo Bend and the constitutional amendment to provide for its funding.<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.lahistory.org/resources/dictionary-louisiana-biography/dictionary-a/|title=Ammons, Cliff|publisher=Louisiana Historical Association, ''A Dictionary of Louisiana Biography'' (lahistory.org)|accessdate=September 26, 2019}}</ref>​

In the summer of 1960, Kirkpatrick was a delegate to the [[Democratic National Convention]] in [[Los Angeles]], [[California]], which nominated the [[John F. Kennedy|Kennedy]]-[[Lyndon B. Johnson|Johnson]] ticket, an easy winner of the ten [[electoral vote]]s in Louisiana.<ref name=pg>Political Graveyard on Internet: http://politicalgraveyard.com/bio/kirkpatrick.html</ref> Kirkpatrick was Democrat for the rest of his life even as his state developed a [[two-party system]]. Political records show that he donated in 1979 to the last campaign of [[U.S. Senator]] [[Russell Long]] of Louisiana.<ref>[http://webcache.googleusercontent.com/search?q=cache:2peXMOPU90EJ:www.city-data.com/elec2/80/elec-BATON-ROUGE-LA-80.html+Claude+Kirkpatrick+of+Louisiana&hl=en&ct=clnk&cd=10&gl=us Campaign contributions list from Louisiana on Internet]</ref>

In the summer of 1960, Kirkpatrick was a delegate to the [[Democratic National Convention]] in [[Los Angeles]], [[California]], which nominated the [[John F. Kennedy|Kennedy]]-[[Lyndon B. Johnson|Johnson]] ticket, an easy winner of the ten [[electoral vote]]s in Louisiana.<ref name=pg>Political Graveyard on Internet: http://politicalgraveyard.com/bio/kirkpatrick.html</ref> Kirkpatrick was Democrat for the rest of his life even as his state developed a [[two-party system]]. Political records show that he donated in 1979 to the last campaign of [[U.S. Senator]] [[Russell Long]] of Louisiana.<ref>[http://webcache.googleusercontent.com/search?q=cache:2peXMOPU90EJ:www.city-data.com/elec2/80/elec-BATON-ROUGE-LA-80.html+Claude+Kirkpatrick+of+Louisiana&hl=en&ct=clnk&cd=10&gl=us Campaign contributions list from Louisiana on Internet]</ref>