Former state legislator Alex Heaton dies at age 48 Times Picayune 05-25-2010 Submitted By NOVA ************************************************ Copyright. All rights reserved. http://usgwarchives.net/copyright.htm http://usgwarchives.net/la/lafiles.htm ************************************************ Alexander "Alex'' Heaton, a three-term state lawmaker from New Orleans and heir to a Carrollton area political family whose influence spanned nearly a century, died Friday. He was 48. A spokesman for the Orleans Parish Coroner said the cause of Mr. Heaton's death has not been determined, but foul play is not suspected. Toxicology tests will be conducted and the results will be available in about three weeks, said John Gagliano, the coroner's chief investigator. When Mr. Heaton won a special March 1995 election to fill the vacant 95th District seat in the state House, he became the latest in a long line of family members to hold public office in the city. His great-uncle was elected to the 7th District assessor's seat from Carrollton in the 1920s, and a family member has run the office ever since. Mr. Heaton's father held the job for many years, and his brother, Henry F. Heaton, now holds it. Another of Mr. Heaton's brother, the late E. Henry Heaton Jr., was a state representative from 1980 to 1988. During nearly 13 years in Baton Rouge, Mr. Heaton was a low-key lawmaker who sponsored little major legislation in representing a district that includes Carrollton, Hollygrove, Gert Town, Mid City and parts of Uptown, including Audubon Park and Tulane and Loyola universities. Nonetheless, he never faced a serious challenge at the polls, winning without opposition in 2003. Term limits barred him from seeking re-election in 2007. Mr. Heaton focused much of his legislative attention on crime-fighting issues, winning recognition from the Victims and Citizens Against Crime organization for his efforts. He served on the House Criminal Justice Committee, which oversees criminal law, gaming and the tobacco and liquor industries. During his final term, Mr. Heaton filed 11 bills, far fewer than most legislators. In 2007, his final year in the Legislature, Mr. Heaton was hit with a conflict-of-interest charge by the state Ethics Board for opposing legislation to abolish the assessor job of his brother. State law bans public officials from participating in transactions involving a governmental agency in which any immediate family member has an economic interest. After Mr. Heaton left the Legislature, a state appeals court ruled in 2008 that the ethics board had overstepped its authority in leveling the charge. House members observed Heaton's death Monday with a moment of silence. State Rep. Ernest Wooton of Belle Chasse, who served with Heaton, said that it is "a hard thing to lose a friend, and hard to lose a colleague. I hope his soul rests in peace." Before he ran for the state House, Mr. Heaton worked as a probation officer for Orleans Parish Criminal District Court and as a corporate salesman for Bekins Van Lines. He was a graduate of De La Salle High School and attended Loyola University and Our Lady of Holy Cross College. Mr. Heaton is survived by a daughter, Holli Mary Heaton; his mother, Janet Kramer Heaton; two sisters, Bridget Schommer and Rebecca McGuire; and his brother, Henry F. Heaton. A funeral Mass was held Monday.