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WASHINGTON — Rep. Julian Dixon, a senior member of the Congressional Black Caucus who represented his west Los Angeles district for 22 years, has died. He was 66. 

Dixon died Friday morning at Daniel Freeman Marina Hospital in Marina del Rey, hospital spokeswoman Zan Dubin said. She wouldn’t release the cause of death, but Democratic lawmakers said he apparently suffered a heart attack. 

Rep. Charles Rangel, D-N.Y., said Dixon had recently informed his colleagues that he was undergoing minor surgery. 

Los Angeles Urban League President John Mack said Dixon’s wife told him her husband had gone in for bladder surgery and was scheduled to be released from the hospital at noon Friday. 

“That makes it all the more stunning and shocking,” said Mack, who had known Dixon for 20 years. “I’m sure there weren’t any strong warning signs, or the doctors wouldn’t have performed the surgery.” 

He checked into the hospital Sunday and remained there until going into cardiac arrest shortly after 4 a.m. Friday, said Dion Morrow, a retired Los Angeles County Superior Court judge who knew Dixon for 40 years. 

He was with Dixon’s wife, Bettye Lee Dixon, on Friday. 

Morrow recalled his friend and neighbor as someone who preferred to work hard but out of the limelight. 

“He was a very friendly, easygoing guy,” he said. “He was very intelligent, but he didn’t flaunt it.” 

A strong advocate of civil rights causes, Dixon’s legislative career also covered a broad range of subjects that included intelligence, defense, congressional ethics and federal management of the District of Columbia. 

“I’ve never known a more gentle, conciliatory, wonderful human being than I’ve known in Julian Dixon,” said House Democratic leader Dick Gephardt of Missouri, who led a somber procession of lawmakers to the House floor to pay tribute to Dixon. 

Dixon was the ranking Democrat on the House intelligence committee and a key member of the panel that determines defense spending, a position he used to promote federal aid for communities hit by base closings and other defense cuts. 

As the House ethics committee chairman, he led the investigation in 1989 into then-House Speaker Jim Wright’s book sales that prompted Wright to resign. 

He also was known for his efforts to boost the economic standards of his district and maintain the nation’s commitment to civil rights. NAACP President Kweisi Mfume called him “a man of quiet strength and dignity.” 

State Assemblyman Herb Wesson said Dixon was a mentor who taught him humility and the importance of accepting responsibility for his actions. 

“He was the person that helped guide me through this political maze,” said Wesson, D-Los Angeles.  

“The things I learned from him are how I conduct myself.” 

Dixon was long regarded as Congress’ leading supporter of Los Angeles’ commuter rail system. 

“Without Julian Dixon, there wouldn’t have been a Metro Rail here,” said Metropolitan Transportation Authority spokesman Marc Littman. “He’s long been a champion of not just Metro Rail, but other transportation projects in Los Angeles ... He really led the charge to improve transportation.” 

Following the 1992 riot after the first trial arising from the Rodney King beating, Dixon moved to provide emergency money for damaged businesses. He also led efforts to help his community after the 1994 Northridge earthquake. 

He chaired the Congressional Black Caucus in the 1980s and more recently worked to pass legislation to establish a memorial to Martin Luther King in the nation’s capital. 

“Steady as a rock. Dependable. Friendly. You could always go to him for help,” said Rep. Maxine Waters, D-Calif. 

Dixon was born in Washington, D.C., in 1934 and had long been involved in House panels that oversee federal funding for the nation’s capital. 

He received a bachelor’s degree in 1962 from California State University, Los Angeles and a law degree from Southwestern University in Los Angeles in 1967.  

He served in the Army from 1957 to 1960 and in the state Assembly from 1972 to 1978. That year he was elected to the first of 11 terms in the House. 

He won re-election in November with 84 percent of the vote. 

Dixon is the sixth member of Congress to die in the two-year session about to end. Two senators – John Chafee, R-R.I., and Paul Coverdell, R-Ga. – and three other House members died. 

Gov. Gray Davis ordered the flag over the state Capitol lowered in Dixon’s honor. His successor in the solidly Democratic district is expected to be chosen in a special election next year. 

He is survived by his wife and a son, Cary Gordon Dixon of Santa Barbara. 

Associated Press Writer Judy Lin contributed to this report.