Carrollton looks to fill vacancy left by death of former Mayor

By Gary Scott on October 26, 2016 at 9:41am

A Greene County city is still reeling after the loss of a former mayor earlier this month.

Francis “Gene” Baker passed away on October 14th at the age of 70. In addition to his 12 years of service in the United States Army and 40 years working for Olin, Baker was dedicated to public service in Carrollton.

Baker served on the Carrollton School Board for four years, was the mayor for 12 years and up until his death, was serving a term as alderman.

Carrollton’s pro-tem Mayor Earl “Joe” Harness Jr. expressed gratitude for Baker’s service to the town.

“Taking the good and the bad, I think he’s had more good than bad. He’s been cooperative, he’s been available. He wasn’t afraid to get his hands wet. Overall, I’d say he was a good representative,” says Harness Jr.

Baker was also active as an American Legion Commander and a member of the Carrollton Lions Club.

Harness says replacing Baker as an alderman will be discussed at tonight’s council meeting.

“We hope to get back to a full council, with six aldermen and a Mayor. We’re going to approach the council for a motion to elect an active Mayor, not necessarily me, and then after we get an active Mayor, we’ve got three gentlemen who’ve spoken up for interest to serve as an alderman,” Harness Jr. says.

According to Harness, two of the three alderman candidates will serve out the terms of Baker and Suzy Keller, which expire in April of 2019. The other alderman seat will be filled until the spring of 2017.