Hevron declines to challenge Guidry for District A seat on City Council

Marshall Hevron, a local attorney and an organizer of the reborn Veterans of Foreign Wars post in Uptown New Orleans, has decided not to challenge Susan Guidry for the District A seat on the New Orleans City Council, he recently announced.

Guidry is facing her re-election in the spring of 2014 after a first term that has been characterized by an aggressive and sometimes-controversial support for neighborhood organizations, notably on the Tulane University football stadium but also regarding alcohol establishments on Maple Street and most recently at Jimmy’s Music Club. District A runs from Lakeview through Mid-City, down into the Audubon area of Uptown New Orleans.

The seat has been held by Republicans in the recent past, but Shelley Midura won it back for Democrats in 2006 and, after she declined to seek re-election, Guidry’s runoff victory over former Councilman Jay Batt in 2010 kept it in Democratic hands. Hevron had been a rumored challenger to Guidry from within her party, but he ended that speculation in a recent email to friends and supporters:

“Over the past few months, I have spoken to many of you about the District A City Council race. After much thought and soul searching, I have decided that I will not be a candidate for the Council in 2014,” Hevron wrote.

Hevron, a former aide to U.S. Sen. Mary Landrieu, kept the door open for a future bid for office.

“For the many people who pledged their support, I am truly grateful,” he wrote. “As most of you know, I spent my formative years in public service and I fully intend to return to public service one day. Whether I serve through elective office or some other means is yet to be determined, but I hope that I can count on your support in the future.”