Indicted City Councilman John “Duke” Franklin Jr. plans to resign from the council, Councilwoman Sally Robinson said today.

Ms. Robinson said Mr. Franklin called her this morning and said he will resign. Mr. Franklin told her he does not want to be a distraction to the council as they put together the city’s budget, Ms. Robinson said.

Councilman Manny Rico said he had heard Mr. Franklin called Council Vice Chairman Jack Benson to say he was planning to resign. Mr. Rico said Mr. Franklin had not personally called him.

Attempts to reach Mr. Benson this morning were unsuccessful.

Last week, Mr. Franklin, 49, was indicted on three felony charges: money laundering, conspiring to obstruct justice and providing false statements to federal officials.

Forty-one other people were indicted after a roundup of an alleged cocaine distribution ring.

During his tenure on the council, which began in 1998, Mr. Franklin garnered attention for his travel expenses and cell phone use. He had the most out-of-town travel expenses of any council member in 2006, according to a Chattanooga Times Free Press analysis.

He also was the most frequent cell phone user in 2006 and in 2007, his bill last year topping $1,748, according to newspaper archives.

Mr. Franklin remains involved in his family’s funeral home business, which first gained notice when his grandfather, G.W. Franklin, became the first black undertaker in Chattanooga in 1894.

Mr. Franklin’s father, John P. Franklin, was elected city education commissioner in 1971. He served four terms as vice mayor and was chairman of the city’s school board before retiring from politics in 1990.

The family ran Franklin-Strickland Funeral Home on McCallie Avenue before opening the John P. Franklin Funeral Home on Dodds Avenue in February.

See tomorrow’s Chattanooga Times Free Press for complete coverage.

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