Percy Heckendorf was Santa Barbara County District Attorney from 1931-1942, one of the longest terms in county history. He then went on to a distinguished career in state government before returning to Santa Barbara, where he was appointed a Superior Court judge in 1960.
Heckendorf was born in Santa Rosa in 1898. In 1908 the family came to Santa Barbara where young Percy finished up his elementary and high school education. He received his BA from Stanford University in 1923 and earned his law degree there in 1926. After admittance to the California Bar, he returned to Santa Barbara and joined the firm of Heaney, Price & Postel, which today as Price, Postel & Parma is the oldest law firm in Santa Barbara.
Heckendorf secured his first term as DA in the November 1930 election and would go on to two more terms. Elected at the height of the Great Depression, he was forced to operate the office on a shoestring for several years. His salary of $3,600 was undoubtedly a major cut from his earnings in private practice.