James Discusses 6th District Nomination

Former Fraternal Order of Police president David James has been nominated to run for the 6^th Metro Council District seat.The county Democratic Party selected James as its nominee Thursday night, after several hours of voting and deliberation. If elected, James would be the second police officer to serve on the council. He says he thinks the body lacks such experience currently."Sometimes there's a disconnect between the council and the police officers and the police department sometimes because they don't always speak the same language," he says.James moved to the district last year, and the party will verify that he's eligible to run before his candidacy becomes official."I'm very familiar with this district," he says. "I've worked in it and been around it my entire career. So I'm intimately knowledgeable of the district. I've lived here for a period prior to this period, too."As FOP president, James was sometimes critical of Police Chief Robert White.  He says he doesn't hold a grudge, and would try to be the voice of public safety experience on the council."Just because we had disagreements about different labor issues doesn't mean that we don't get along. So I plan on working with Chief White to make sure the community is safe," he says.The winner of the 6^th District special election this November will serve the remaining two years of Councilman George Unseld's term. Unseld died last month and independent Deonte Hollowell was appointed to fill the vacancy. Hollowell is also seeking election to the seat. The county GOP will select its candidate next week.