A Louisiana lawmaker whose constituency includes Grand Isle died Thursday after battling COVID-19.
State Rep. Reggie Bagala, R-Lockport, was 54.
Bagala’s son, Tristan, announced his father’s death through a post on Facebook. He is the first member of the Louisiana Legislature to die from the disease caused by the novel coronavirus.
Politically, Bagala established himself while working as the Lafourche Parish administrator from 2014-17 and then serving as the Parish Council’s auditor for the next two years.
A Louisiana lawmaker whose constituency includes Grand Isle has been put on a ventilator to assist his breathing as he battles the new coronav…
He won a three-way race on Oct. 12 for the state House of Representatives 54h District seat, which was previously held by Jerry “Truck” Gisclair. The district is based in Lafourche but also encompasses Grand Isle on the southern tip of Jefferson Parish.
As Bagala embarked on his first term this year, he filed a bill authorizing the creation of license plates commemorating the LSU football team’s national championship victory in January. He also continued working for Lafourche’s government as the community services director under Parish President Archie Chaisson.
Through former state lawmaker Marty Chabert, Bagala’s family announced on April 1 that he had contracted COVID-19, which can cause serious respiratory issues. The next day, Chabert said the staff at Ochsner St. Anne Hospital in Raceland had put Bagala on a ventilator to assist his breathing.
Bagala’s son kept supporters apprised of his father’s condition through updates on Facebook. Tristan Bagala provided a worrying update late Wednesday, saying that his dad was in “seriously critical condition,” with a high fever and the ventilator working at maximum capacity.
After his father’s death Thursday, Tristan Bagala paid tribute to him.
“He was a profoundly honest and decent man, who loved unceasingly — his family, his culture, his LSU Tigers, his friends, and his home here on Bayou Lafourche,” he wrote. “Our (small) slice of the world will not be the same without such a pillar of our community and an example of the values we hold dearest.”
House Speaker Pro Tem Tanner Magee, R-Houma, said Thursday on Twitter, “This breaks my heart. He was so excited to serve. And he was a genuine person who loved people. I wish I could (have) served with him longer.”
Chaisson added that Bagala’s death was “one more example of the horrible losses our community is feeling because of this horrible disease.” The illness had led to the deaths of more than 700 Louisiana residents as of Thursday, state officials said.
Bagala is one of at least two state House members to be diagnosed with COVID-19. Ted James, 37, a Baton Rouge Democrat, said late last month that he had been hospitalized with pneumonia after testing positive for the virus. By Wednesday, he told WAFB-TV, he was back home recovering.
The Legislature adjourned for two weeks last month in an effort to slow the spread of the pathogen, which is highly contagious. But the body reconvened March 31 for a session scheduled to last until June 1.
In addition to his son, Bagala is survived by his wife, Marissa Bagala, who serves as the principal of St. Mary’s Nativity School in Raceland. Details on funeral arrangements weren’t immediately available.
A Louisiana state lawmaker whose district includes Grand Isle is recovering at a hospital after testing positive for the new coronavirus, a pr…
