succeeded children religion birth_place party office preceded parents birth_date term_start residence article_title term_end name occupation alma_mater
bryant hammett jay dardenne whitney lauren ater united methodist decatur , illinois democratic louisiana , east carroll , madison , and tensas parishes -rrb- state acting louisiana secretary of state representative from district 21 -lrb- now concordia william b. atkins fox mckeithen donald edward and ruth lavonne chapman ater 15 december 1953 1984 july 2005 ferriday , concordia parish , louisiana , usa al ater
 1992 november 2006 alan ray ater farmer ; businessman huntington high school
al ater

alan ray ater -lrb- born december 15 , 1953 -rrb- , known as al ater , is a farmer and businessman from ferriday , louisiana , who served from 1984-1992 as a democratic member of the louisiana house of representatives from district 21 in the eastern portion of his state .
he served as interim secretary of state from 2005 through november 2006 , and was praised for his handling of the new orleans mayoral primary in early 2006 , when the city was still disrupted from the effects of hurricane katrina .
