On Thursday, the 25th Ward Democrats voted to endorse Rodney Hubbard for state senate.

The 25th Ward is an open ward organization, meaning its members vote on who the organization will support. All the candidates running for the 5th District seat were invited to speak before the body, but only two, Hubbard and Robin Wright-Jones, appeared.

“I’m proud to have the support of the 25th Ward and also the friendship of Alderwoman Dorothy Kirner, Committeewoman Maggie Lampe, and Committeeman Norman Sutterer,” said Hubbard in a statement on his website.

The 25th Ward is the second southside ward in as many weeks to vote to endorse Hubbard. The 15th Ward voted last week.

All the candidates for the 5th District seat were invited to attend last night’s meeting and address the members, but only two did: Hubbard and State Rep. Robin Wright-Jones. State Rep. Connie Johnson did not attend.

During her speech, Wright-Jones said she was against the residency requirement for police officers. As a real estate agent, she told the southside audience, it is illegal for her to push people to buy homes in certain areas and so she thinks people should be allowed to live where they want. Besides, she said, she doesn’t believe there will be a mad rush to leave the city should all police be allowed to.

The voters of St. Louis voted overwhelmingly on two different occasions in non-binding referendums that they want police officers living in the city.

Wright-Jones also said that while she agrees, in theory, that St. Louis City should have local control of its police department, she said she doesn’t think the city government is ready for that responsibility today.

Hubbard supports local control. He co-sponsored the latest legislation to return local control to St. Louis and as the chairman of the Special Committee on Urban Affairs, he got committee approval for the bill.

“This is just an issue of fairness,” Hubbard said on his website. “Nearly every other city in Missouri has this same power. The people of St. Louis fund the police department — to the tune of one-third of the city’s entire annual budget — and the people who run the department should be selected at the local level.”

But Hubbard also stressed the importance of protecting police pensions. “Police officers do a great service to our city. They are there when we need them and their pensions should always be there when they need it,” said Hubbard.

“I made certain that language was included in the bill to clearly state that the police officers pension fund will not be touched by a change in local control,” his website says.

The 25th Ward includes the Carondelet, Dutchtown and Mount Pleasant neighborhoods.

Full Disclosure: Hubbard is a client of PubDef.net publisher Antonio D. French