ST. LOUIS, Missouri — Governor Mike Parson said "politics did not play a role" in his decision to appoint corporate attorney Gabe Gore to take the helm as the top prosecutor in the city of St. Louis on Friday.
Parson claimed he was unaware of Gore's party affiliation as a Democrat.
Gore stepped into the role with eager applause from city leaders, police, and politicians in both major parties. He promised to recruit new prosecutors to fill vacant roles, and said he will eventually decide whether he might run for the job beyond next year's election.
"My sole focus right now is starting the work to build a high-performing circuit attorney's office," Gore said. "That is essential work.
"I can't be distracted from that. And so that's that's where my focus is going to be. The question of whether I'll run or not is something I'll consider."
Candidates seeking the job have until March 26, 2024, to file paperwork to run in the primary.
Mayor Tishaura Jones and several faith leaders in the community had initially said they wanted a "caretaker" to step into the office, not a candidate who would enter the job and simultaneously campaign to keep it.
Now that Gore is on his way in, Jones seems more open to him staying awhile. When she was asked if she could see herself voting for him to serve a full term, Jones responded, "Yes, absolutely. Gabe Gore is a true public servant."
State Rep. Steve Butz (D-St. Louis), who has said he's considering a run for mayor in 2025, also supported Gore staying in the office beyond next year.
"I think he should consider a run for office," Butz said. "But right now, as he said, he'd leave that decision off to the future. But clearly, he'd be a leading candidate."
Should Gore seek election in 2024, he would have no shortage of comeback storylines.
A judge recently described that office as a "rudderless ship of chaos." Before she resigned her post, former Circuit Attorney Kim Gardner compared it to the Titanic.
Other candidates who want that job will be watching closely. Defense attorney David Mueller, who fashions himself as a progressive candidate, said he'll judge Gore by how many defendants get their day in court compared to how many of the accused remain in jail awaiting trial.
"Recently, the [City Justice Center's] population has ballooned with people waiting in a cell to be charged with a crime or released," Mueller's campaign said in a statement. "We can't say we closed the Workhouse if it simply moved to the CJC."
Missouri House Speaker Dean Plocher (R-Des Peres) credited Republicans for pushing Gardner from her perch.
"This was a win that would not have happened but for the Missouri legislature stepping in," Plocher said.
Some legislative Democrats, who were initially skeptical of GOP motives to oust Gardner, eventually supported the coordinated effort to remove her.
"We needed a change in the office," Rep. Sarah Unsicker (D-Shrewsbury) said.
Unsicker, who plans to run for Attorney General in the 2024 Democratic primary election, said she supported Attorney General Andrew Bailey's legal proceedings to expel Gardner.
"At first, when I heard about that, I was afraid that it was political, mostly because it was a Republican going after a Democratic prosecutor; but also because this is not the only prosecutor's office in the state that needs to be looked at, and I have some concerns with a few others," Unsicker said.
While Gore may face questions from a skeptical public, he already enjoys support from a key constituency among C-suite executives.
As a partner at the politically-connected law firm Dowd Bennett, Gore's client list has included high-powered corporations like Anheuser-Busch, Emerson Electric, Monsanto, Laclede Gas Company, and the City of St. Louis.
Gore becomes the second Dowd Bennett partner to take a key role in St. Louis city government in recent years. Mayor Jones appointed former partner Sheena Hamilton as the City Counselor in 2021.
Gore also received praise from the city's new police Chief Robert Tracy.
"I see so much hope now," Tracy said. "I see so many things in this city that we can get to where we need to be."
Tracy also enjoys financial support from big business. In addition to his $175,000 government salary with the city, Tracy receives $100,000 in additional income from the St. Louis Police Foundation.
The payments are funneled through the nonprofit, which reported $6.7 million in assets in 2020 tax documents.
While the nonprofit donors are not publicly disclosed, several of the foundation board members have included top executives from some of the most well-known companies in St. Louis, including Enterprise, Stifel, the St. Louis Cardinals, BJC HealthCare, Nestle Purina, Centene, and Fields Foods.
Gore and Tracy's financial ties to some of the city's heavyweight corporate executives raised questions about the loyalties and allegiances of the top law enforcement officials in a city racked with violent crime.
"You can look at the things that I've done in service to the community and you won't find any connection to me pursuing anything other than things that I thought were important for the community," Gore responded. "That's what I'm doing here.
"That is my only goal and focus in pursuing this."
Parson said the question about Gore's ties to the firm was one he considered himself. The governor argued that walking away from a lucrative career demonstrated a bent toward public service.
"To give up that and to be able to do this says a lot for the character of somebody," Parson said. "He's putting the City of St. Louis before a high-profile law firm and money."
Progressive voters and labor groups in the city have expressed general distrust towards big businesses, donors, lobbyists, and corporate clout and influence over government in recent elections.
"I think he's the right guy at the right time, and I think it's not going to be about a law firm. It's going to be about the Circuit Attorney's office," Parson said.
As the newly-appointed Circuit Attorney of the 22nd Judicial Circuit, Gore will inherit a demoralized staff of assistant circuit attorneys swamped with a crushing caseload and a flood of public scrutiny.
Gore, a former assistant U.S. attorney, has tried cases in federal court, but will soon encounter the learning curve of trying to prosecute criminal cases in Missouri state courts.