A political newcomer and three incumbents will carry the banner for township Democrats in the June 6 primaries for Mayor and At-Large Township Council members.

Leading the ticket will be Mayor Phil Kramer, who is seeking his third term. He is joined by current Council members Kimberly Francois and Sivaraman “Ram” Anbarasan. Francois is seeking her sixth term on the Council, and Anbarasan his second.

Joining the ticket this year is political newcomer but longtime community activist Alex Kharazi, a 37-year township resident. Kharazi is running for the seat now held by Crystal Pruitt, who has decided to not run for re-election.

Kharazi, who holds a Ph.D. in mechanical engineering from the University of California at Berkeley, brings a long record of service to the Franklin community through his extensive involvement in numerous governmental and community based boards and committees.

The candidates were chosen at the Democrats’ March 9 convention.

“I am thrilled with the candidates the Committee has chosen to represent the Democratic Party in this year’s election for Mayor and at-large Council seats,” Ron Jordan, Chairman of the Franklin Township Democratic Committee, said in a press release. “Franklin Democrats have a long record of putting forth individuals that understand the issues and know how to use that understanding to craft policies and programs that effectively address the issues that matter most to our residents.”

“With their long record of service to the community, the team of Kramer for Mayor, and Francois, Anbarasan and Kharazi for Council, promise a continuation of the type of resident focused policies that our citizens have come to expect in our local government,” he said in the release

“It’s an honor to have been selected as a candidate for Township Council,” Kharazi said. “While I have been actively involved in the community for many years, I look forward to joining my running mates on the campaign trail as we continue the longstanding tradition of Franklin Democrats reaching out directly to our residents in order to focus first and foremost on the issues which matter most to them.”

“As I said to the Committee, if elected I pledge to utilize my life experience to the best of my ability in order to effectively serve the people of Franklin Township,” he said in the release.

“With the candidate selection process now behind us, we now begin our campaign where we will both highlight our record of cost effective, community – based governance, while continuing our direct outreach to our residents in order to hear their ideas as to how we can best continue to improve Franklin Township,” Kramer said in the release. “Stable municipal taxes, controlled development, expanded recreational and community programs, these are just some of the things we have accomplished and which we look to build upon in the years ahead.”

“Franklin Township’s best days still lie ahead, and I look forward to once again earning the trust of our residents to lead our community during the next four years,” he said in the release.