Franks appointed to LPPJ after missing deadline
After legal complications with the National Guard caused Marvin Franks to miss his window to take the oath of office and officially claim his seat as District 3 Lincoln Parish Police Juror, the police jury appointed him to the position Thursday — but only until a special election is held in November.
Franks, a warrant officer with the Guard, won the District 3 election in a November 2019 runoff.
However, after the election, the Office of Special Counsel in Washington, D.C. overruled earlier verdicts by the Lincoln Parish Clerk of Court and the Louisiana Secretary of State’s office and declared that Franks’ running for the position was in violation of the federal law commonly known as the Hatch Act, because the election was a partisan race.
Franks, who was already in the process of retiring and being discharged from the Guard, attempted to accelerate that process in time to take the oath of office by the Feb. 12 deadline, but was too late.
However, according to an email chain released by Franks between him and Hatch Act Unit Deputy Chief Erica Hamrick with the OSC, the only violation was in running for office, not in holding the office.
“OSC has concluded that it would not be problematic for you to be appointed to the vacant police juror position,” Hamrick’s email reads.
The Secretary of State’s office declared the District 3 seat vacant on Feb. 13, and in keeping with state law, the police jury held a special meeting Thursday to call a special election for Nov. 3, the day of the U.S. presidential election, and appoint someone to the position in the interim.
After hearing multiple public comments on the matter, the jury eventually voted to appoint Franks back to the position. He will serve through the remainder of 2020, until the winner of the November election takes office in January of 2021.
Franks said Thursday he plans to run in that election.
District 12 Juror Annette Straughter made the motion to appoint Franks, making an argument that was echoed by many jurors around the table.
“Mr. Franks made it through the primary and won the runoff,” Straughter said. “The constituents of District 3 said yes. We are 12 people sitting around this table. Who are we to deny them and say no?”
Some jurors at first expressed concern that the federal government could act against the police jury if they appointed Franks to the position. But the jury’s legal counsel, Assistant District Attorney Lewis Jones, said he talked to the OSC and was assured the jury has the right to appoint whomever it wants.
“He’s asking y’all to appoint him to an office that, according to what they told him, he shouldn’t have run for,” Jones said. “But that’s really between him and the (federal) government. That doesn’t affect your ability to appoint him. They can’t remove him from the police jury. Any repercussions will be between him and the federal government.”
In the same email chain, Hamrick told Franks the OSC was already closing the file on his case, indicating no action would be taken against him.
Roughly two dozen attendees showed up to the meeting. When asked to stand if they supported Franks’ appointment, all but a handful stood. One who did not was Keith Canterbury from Simsboro, who gave public comment.
“I know Mr. Franks and have nothing against him, but this thing has been messed up from the very beginning,” Canterbury said. “He shouldn’t have been on the ballot to start with because of this. Now he’s going to be appointed, and I think we should have some say-so in that.”
Lucius McGehee, who lives on Foxxwood Drive, spoke for those who stood with Franks.
“The voters spoke and voted him into this position,” McGehee said. “One person, a bureaucrat in Washington, decided he couldn’t serve, not the voters of District 3. That same bureaucrat says he can be appointed. We know that doesn’t make a bit of sense, but that’s the way the law is.”
Franks said Friday he received his official discharge orders from the Guard, which will be effective Feb. 28. He plans to take the oath of office that day. He will reportedly retain the position of finance committee chair, which he would have been assigned had he sworn in on time.
Nine jurors voted in favor of appointing Franks. District 1 Juror Theresa Wyatt abstained, citing confusion about the circumstances, and District 4 Juror T.J. Cranford voted against the appointment.
“I have nothing against Mr. Franks, and I’m glad he’s here with us,” Cranford said after the meeting. “I believe we should have notified the public more that the seat is vacant. Maybe a week, to give people an opportunity to understand. Then we could have appointed anyone who expressed interest, instead of just automatically getting Mr. Franks in the position.”
Vice President Logan Hunt reminded jurors that the appointment was only for the rest of 2020, and that District 3 would have its chance to decide if it still backs Franks.
“The will of the people was to vote Mr. Franks in,” Hunt said. “If that will changes, they’ll have every opportunity at a special election in November.”
After the meeting, Franks said the situation has humbled him, but he is still looking forward to serving the parish.
“I understand and have no ill feelings toward anybody’s opinion,” he said. “I understand perfectly — it’s a very complex situation… Now I’m ready to jump in and start tackling the big burdens in the parish.”
