Greg Davis (politician, 1966)

Greg Davis

Charles Gregory Davis (born February 22, 1966 in Memphis , Tennessee ) is an American politician . From 1997 to 2013 he was Mayor of Southaven in DeSoto County in northern Mississippi - the fourth largest city in the state. In the 2008 congressional election , Davis was a Republican Party candidate for Mississippi's first congressional electoral district.

Life

Davis grew up in Memphis, Tennessee, and studied civil engineering at Mississippi State University in Starkville . After graduating, he worked as an engineer and in consulting.

The devout Baptist was married to Suzann Davis from 1991 until their divorce in 2010 and has three daughters: Kendyl, Allie and Macy.

Career

From 1991 to 1997 Davis was an MP in the Mississippi House of Representatives , where he worked on the budget and health committee; he succeeded John Grisham and was replaced by Wanda Taylor Jennings. In 1997, Davis became the new mayor of Southaven, inheriting Joe Cates.

2008 Roger Wicker after the resignation of Trent Lott in the Senate of the United States appointed. Davis ran for the vacant seat in the United States House of Representatives and competed against three competitors in the primary . In the subsequent runoff election , he finally prevailed against the former mayor of Tupelo , Glenn McCullough , and was a Republican candidate for the by-election on April 22 of the same year. In the by-election for the first congressional constituency of Mississippi, Davis came second after Democrat Travis Childers ; since none of the candidates could achieve the required majority of votes that would have been necessary to win the final seat, there was a runoff on May 13, 2008, which Childers was finally able to win with 53.7 to 46.3 percent. Childers held the seat until the general election on November 4, 2008, which took place parallel to the 2008 presidential election , and was able to defend it again against Davis with 54 to 44 percent of the vote.

After the Memphis newspaper Commercial Appeal was able to prove through the Freedom of Information Act (FOIA) that Davis had paid for orders at a sex shop in Toronto with public money , Davis publicly admitted to being gay on December 15, 2011 :

“At this point in my life and in my career, while I have tried to maintain separation between my personal and public life, it is obvious that this can no longer remain the case. While I have performed my job as mayor, in my opinion, as a very conservative, progressive individual - and still continue to be a very conservative individual - I think that it is important that I discuss the struggles I have had over the last few years when I came to the realization that I am gay. The only apology I would make to my supporters if they are upset is the fact that I was not honest enough with myself to be honest with them. But I have lived my life in public service for 20-plus years, and in order for me to remain sane and move on, I have got to start being honest about who I am. "

German translation:

“At this point in my life and career, while I have (always) tried to separate my personal and public life, it is clear that this can no longer be the case. While I have filled my job as mayor, in my opinion, as a very conservative, progressive personality - and I continue to be a very conservative personality - I feel it is important to talk about the (inner) struggles that I have had in recent years when I realized I was gay. The only excuse I would give to my supporters, if they are upset, is the fact that I haven't been honest enough with myself to be honest with them. But I've lived my life in the public service for over 20 years, and in order to stay healthy and keep going, I need to figure out who I am. "

In December 2012, Davis was charged, among other things, with embezzlement and false undocumented testimony ; he was arrested and released on bail for $ 3,500. On June 4, 2013 Davis lost the mayoral election to Darren Musselwhite, who replaced him on June 28, 2013 after a total of four terms. In July 2014 Davis to 30 months imprisonment in the state prison and a fine of convicted of more than $ 17,000; In 2017, he was acquitted on all counts on appeal .

Individual evidence

1. ↑ djournal.com : 2008 Voter's Guide
2. ↑ Man accused of luring Southaven mayor from wife (en) , The Associated Press. October 20, 2012. Retrieved June 13, 2019. 
3. ^ Commercialappeal.com: Southaven mayor hopes to represent First District in Congress
4. ^ Clarion Ledger: Election '08: Field set for congressional races
5. ↑ Clarion Ledger, Mississippi - County Vote Results, April 22, 2008
6. ^ Clarion Ledger: Childers wins 1st District for Democrats
7. ↑ Kirsten Boyd Johnson, Wonkette : Mississippi Mayor Outed After Visiting Gay Sex Shop With City Credit Card, December 16, 2011 . Accessed: December 17, 2011.
8. ^ The Commercial Appeal: Southaven Mayor Greg Davis' expense receipts prompt frank revelation, December 16, 2011
9. ↑ Yahoo News: Mayor Reveals He is Gay ... After Visiting Gay Sex Shop on City's Dime, December 17, 2011 . Accessed: December 17, 2011.
10. ↑ Jackson Clarion-Ledger : Mayor of Southaven Greg Davis indicted, December 18, 2012 . Retrieved on: December 23, 2012.
11. ↑ WREG-TV: Southaven incumbent Mayor Concedes Race, 4 June 2013
12. ^ Gulf Live: Former Southaven mayor Greg Davis sentenced to thirty months in state prison, July 10, 2014 . Retrieved on: September 12, 2014.
13. ↑ WREG Memphis: Former Southaven Mayor Greg David found not guilty in fraud, embezzlement retrial, June 20, 2017 . Retrieved on: September 28, 2017.