It’s been a dizzying 12 hours. On Thursday night, state Rep. Bruce Franks Jr. (D-St. Louis) announced that he would be running as a write-in candidate in the April 4 election for St. Louis mayor.
Franks, who endorsed Tishaura O. Jones for mayor in the March 7 primary election, said the people weren’t ready to let the energy and movement for change that Jones built die – and many community members asked him to pick up the torch.
By a mere 888 votes, Jones, the progressive candidate, lost to Lyda Krewson, who was endorsed by the four-term incumbent Mayor Francis G. Slay. In a crowded race, Krewson won the Democratic primary with 32 percent of the vote.
“About 68 percent decided that they wanted something different,” Franks said. “That’s not what we want. I owed it to all the people who came to me and asked me to run.”
But by 9 a.m. Friday morning, Franks had decided against running because he learned that it would hurt the 78th District, which he represents, and House Democrats. After making a few calls trying to secure his replacement, he was told that it’s likely that Republican Gov. Eric Greitens would choose to leave his seat open and not hold a special election. Greitens holds that power.
In that event, the people of the 78th District would be without a representative for a year and a half, Franks said. The loss of a Democratic seat would also affect votes in the House, especially on emergency clauses, he said.
“I couldn’t have that on my conscience, even though I felt it was the right thing to do for the city to run for mayor,” Franks said. “But how good is it for the city if I’m leaving one part of the city underrepresented? And I’d end up doing the very thing I’m fighting against.”
Immediately after the election on March 7, people were calling for Jones to run as a write-in candidate in the April 4 general election. However, by state law, a write-in candidate for the general election cannot be a candidate from the primary election.
Franks became state representative of the South City district in September after beating incumbent state rep. Penny Hubbard by more than a 3:1 margin in a special election.
The special election was ordered by District Judge Rex Burlison, who ruled on a lawsuit brought by Franks claiming improper use of absentee votes by the Hubbard campaign.
“I just want to do the best job for everyone,” Franks said. “I’m not in it for politics. I just wanted something different for the city that represents everyone.”
