Blanco wins with panel’s OK of N.O. assessesor bill

(AP) — Gov. Kathleen Blanco’s plan to consolidate New Orleans’ seven elected tax assessors into one moved forward Thursday, winning approval from a Senate committee.
It was the second time the Senate’s municipal affairs committee considered the bill by Sen. Ann Duplessis, D-New Orleans. Earlier this month, Duplessis pulled it before a vote was taken after getting tough questioning from Sens. Heulette “Clo” Fontenot, R-Livingston, and Derrick Shepherd, D-Marerro.
The panel approved the measure with a 4-1 vote, sending it to the full Senate. The chairman, Sen. Cleo Fields, D-Baton Rouge, opposed it, saying state government shouldn’t meddle in city politics.
Orleans is the only one of the state’s 64 parishes that has more than one assessor, and Blanco has said she wants those elected posts merged because they create opportunities for graft.
Testifying against the measure were three New Orleans assessors who have close relatives in the Legislature: Henry Heaton, brother of Rep. Alex Heaton, D-New Orleans; Tom Arnold, father of Rep. Jeff Arnold, D-New Orleans; and Betty Jefferson, sister of U.S. Rep. William Jefferson, D-New Orleans, and aunt of Rep. Jalila Jefferson, D-New Orleans.