Doug Franklin, Warren mayor, to run for re-election to a second term

By Ed Runyan

runyan@vindy.com

WARREN

Doug Franklin, Warren mayor since 2012, announced he will run for re-election to a second term this year.

Franklin, a Democrat, is a longtime Warren official, serving as a Warren councilman for 14 years and service director for eight years before being elected Warren’s first black mayor in 2011.

His announcement Tuesday was given before a large crowd at the Best Western hotel on North Park Avenue downtown, the same place where he announced his first run for mayor a little more than four years ago.

Franklin said it was by “God’s grace I had the opportunity to serve the city I love and grew up in,” but said it’s been a challenging three years.

During that time, more than 1,000 jobs were lost at RG Steel, and about 180 more left when the General Electric Ohio Lamp plant on North Park Avenue closed.

That was on the heels of the Great Recession of 2008 and the housing crisis that hit while he was service director.

Those setbacks took their toll on cities such as Warren, but the city “not only survived, but we were able to experience some real progress,” he said.

He pointed to the move of Laird Technologies and its 150 employees from Sharpsville, Pa., to a building on North River Road in the city that formerly housed operations of Delphi Packard Electric.

Franklin noted that Laird brought high-tech jobs to the community, and the Tech Belt Energy Innovation Center will be ready for occupancy soon with its $3.2 million high-tech investment in the community.

He said the city was able to demolish 300 vacant houses and carry out $10 million worth of capital improvements to roads and buildings and the purchase of the former Gibson Building. The city sold bonds to pay for the projects.

Franklin said he is running for another term because “my job is not done,” noting that the city’s progress “means nothing if it doesn’t extend to every family in Warren.”

Atty. Dan Letson introduced the mayor.

“We have an honest man, a caring man and we need to keep him there,” Letson said. “Doug keeps his promises in a quiet way.”

Franklin will run in the May 5 primary. He’s the only person so far to publicly announce his candidacy.