Born in Windsor to Lebanese Maronite Catholic parents who had recently immigrated to Canada from Lebanon, Francis is fluent in both English and Arabic.

He became the youngest city councillor in Windsor's history, beating a record previously held by Limoges, when he was chosen to represent Ward 5 (Riverside / Forest Glade) at the age of 25.

One of his first acts as mayor was to join the planning committee for the 2006 Super Bowl festivities in Detroit, ensuring that Windsor would receive some of the economic benefits of participating in a major tourist event.

During Francis' mayoralty, Windsor has consistently reduced municipal debt and passed six consecutive budgets with zero tax increases.

[6] [dubious – discuss] Francis announced in March 2014 that he will not run for a fourth term as mayor, and will instead take a job as executive vice-president of the Windsor Family Credit Union beginning on December 1, 2014.

[7] On July 29, 2008, Francis announced one of the most ambitious projects of his mayoral term, a waterfront redevelopment proposal which would transform a struggling section of downtown Windsor into a waterfront park by converting the block bounded by Crawford, Caron and University Avenues — an area which currently consists primarily of parking lots and a disused section of railway track — into an inland marina cut back from the Detroit River, and converting either Chatham Street or Pitt Street into a canal and adjoining boardwalk, which would extend easterly for three blocks from the marina to a spot near the Art Gallery of Windsor, and then from there back to the river at the eastern edge of Dieppe Park.

On August 7, 2008, Detroit mayor Kwame Kilpatrick, already in the midst of pending felony charges, was jailed for violating his bail conditions after travelling to Windsor on July 23 for a meeting with Francis regarding a proposed deal pertaining to the Detroit–Windsor Tunnel, which would have seen the city of Windsor take over operational control of the tunnel in exchange for a $75 million loan to the cash-strapped city of Detroit.

[11] The meeting resulted in a 14-month investigation by Windsor's Integrity Commissioner, Earl Basse, who cleared Francis of wrongdoing in his relationship with Kilpatrick.