Civil attorney Gabriel Gore, a Democrat, was sworn in as the top prosecutor for the City of St. Louis this week during a ceremony at Carnahan Courthouse in Jefferson City.
Gov. Mike Parson appointed Gore after Kimberly M. Gardner resigned.
“We congratulate Gabe Gore, one of our supporters, and wish him luck turning the ship around,” said Benjamin Singer, CEO of Show Me Integrity, a cross-partisan organization aiming to reform Missouri politics.
Gardner announced her resignation after an assistant prosecutor, James Heitman, 32, from her office was killed in a car accident.
At the time of her resignation, the deck had been stacked against Gardner who was facing a criminal contempt of court hearing and quo warranto legal proceedings aimed at removing her from office by court order.
"Restoring law and order to St. Louis and faith in the criminal justice system is no small task, but Mr. Gore is qualified, committed to the rule of law, and, like so many St. Louis families, has a personal stake in the future success of the community,” Gov. Parson said in a statement online. “He is the right man, at the right time, to do right by the people of St. Louis, and we welcome him to the job and look forward to his common sense leadership."
In August 2016, 53.4% of St. Louis Democrats voted against Kim Gardner in their primary for St. Louis City Circuit Attorney.
Most of the vote, however, was split because of three other candidates.
“Gardner won anyway," Singer told the St. Louis Record. "Kim Gardner was a prime example of how vote-splitting allows politicians to game the system, ignore the will of the people and not be accountable to do their job and solve problems.”
At the May 30 swearing-in ceremony, Missouri Supreme Court Justice Robin Ransom administered the oath of office to Gore who graduated with a Bachelor of Arts in Political Science from Missouri State University in 1991. He was taught law by former President Barack Obama when he was a student at the University of Chicago School of Law.
In the 1990s, Gore worked as an assistant U.S. attorney prosecutor. Prior to being appointed circuit attorney, he was a partner at the Dowd Bennett law firm and served on the Ferguson Commission following the 2014 controversial death of Michael Brown.
Gore is a resident of St. Louis City and has served as a member of many boards of directors including the St. Louis Community Foundation, Forest Park Forever, the Missouri Supreme Court Advisory Committee and the Missouri State University Board of Governors.