Judge ousts mayor of Helena-West Helena; Franklin responds

HELENA-WEST HELENA, Ark. — An Arkansas mayor was removed from office on Monday after his latest controversy.

Helena-West Helena’s Christopher Franklin was ousted by a judge just days after he was arrested.

The now former mayor is charged with failing to pay his taxes.

However, during a hearing, the judge heard a number of other complaints against Franklin.

After the four-hour court case, WREG had the chance to talk with citizens of the town about their feelings on the verdict.

“I just thought the whole thing was to just humiliate him. Like that could have been handled totally differently,” said resident Faye Duncan-Daniel. “I’m not saying what he did was ok. I’m just saying there are different ways of doing it. Since he is a young black mayor in an all black town, they could have afforded him grace.”

“Sometimes you do wrong and they present the evidence they presented,” said resident Elijah Mondy. “There have to be consequences involved and I’m sorry that happened. It’s sad, but there have to be consequences for bad behavior.”

And the judge said bad behavior was the reason Mayor Franklin was ousted immediately, saying not paying taxes was a felony.

He added that he also didn’t like a Facebook Live video that aired last year that showed the Mayor directing derogatory comments at his daughter and niece.

During Monday’s proceedings, prosecutors also presented evidence that the mayor was involved in business agreements that the city council was not aware of.

That was something Helena-West Helena councilman Adrian Messina said happened frequently. 

“I mean, they never came to the council for permission,” said city councilman Adrian Messina. “They just did what they wanted to do.”

Following the announcement, Franklin told WREG that “the outcome was predetermined.”

He also referred us to a press release where he responded to the judge’s decision.

Arkansas Governor Sarah Huckabee Sanders will be appointing a new mayor in the coming weeks.