If a St. Louis Alderman is elected to replace St. Louis Circuit Attorney Kim Gardner, he promises to conduct official court business on the record.
“I think that's an important thing,” said St. Louis Attorney and Alderman Mike Gras. “Besides just rebuilding the office itself, we need to rebuild the community's trust in it. A big way to do that is ensuring that one of our priorities is to make sure that everything that happens, happens on the record.”
Gras, who has been in private law practice for a number of years, has delayed announcing his official candidacy due to the turmoil around Gardner’s departure and the death of assistant prosecutor James Heitman, 32.
“I was going to file last week and then he died,” Gras told the St. Louis Record. “Kim Gardner resigned shortly after that and with the governor set to appoint a replacement, it doesn’t seem like the right time given the recent developments."
Gov. Mike Parson, a Republican, has yet to appoint a temporary replacement but Gras has not ruled out the opportunity.
“I've made calls into the governor's office and to people who know the governor and have expressed my interest,” he said.
If appointed by Gov. Parson, Gras, a Democrat, would serve until Jan. 1, 2025, and could also run for the office in the August 2024 primary election.
Another potential appointee is Judge Michael Noble, according to media reports.
As previously reported in the St. Louis Record, Noble scheduled indirect criminal contempt of court hearings for Gardner and assistant prosecutor, Chris Desilets, after Desilets failed to report to an April 10 court hearing involving the alleged shooting of an 11-year-old girl in Oct. 2020.
Whether Gras is appointed or elected, he believes his experience as an alderman has contributed to his preparedness to be the city’s next top prosecutor
“The community knows me,” he said. “The Democratic Central Committee unanimously appointed me to fill the vacancy on the board of Alderman. I have good relationships with all the elected officials in the city.”
Legally, Gras has broad diverse experience. He currently serves as a municipal prosecutor in St. Louis County and while a law student, he was a Missouri State Public Defender’s Office intern defending clients facing the death penalty.
"We have to actually get cases to trial," he said. "It's not just the victims, and it's not just justice delayed but these defendants haven't been convicted of a crime, and they are sometimes stuck in jail for years, two years, awaiting trial. The constitution promises people a speedy trial, and we're not delivering that right now."
A married father of two children, Gras received his undergraduate and law degree from Saint Louis University and has represented clients in personal injury, employment discrimination, pharmaceutical mass tort, and class action cases for more than 13 years.
"I'm the type of lawyer to whom you can hand a file or a pleading that morning and I can walk into court and argue something an hour later," Gras added. "Right now, we need lawyers that know how to sort through a lot of cases."