DESOTO COUNTY Miss. — Former Southaven Mayor Greg Davis has withdrawn his application to work as a city planner for Horn Lake, he said on his Facebook page Wednesday.
Davis approached the city about the job last year, and city alderman voted in August to bring him on as an economic development consultant in a volunteer capacity, with the possibility of a full-time position.
“Countless colleagues, friends, business owners, and constituents have voiced their support and encouragement in my application for city planner throughout the entire process and I am humbled to have been considered. I believe I am uniquely qualified in so many ways to serve Horn Lake and looked forward to devoting my full energy to that endeavor. However, since submitting my application, the process has been stagnant since September of 2017, full of false hopes and political rhetoric,” Davis wrote.
“While I am confident that my experience and knowledge would have served Horn Lake well, I have decided to respectfully withdraw my candidateship for the position of City Planner for Horn Lake by emailing the Mayor and Board of Aldermen today.”
[protected-iframe id=”8338428dbbd276cf983930a5aa297dd8-29519520-12543204″ info=”https://www.facebook.com/plugins/post.php?href=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.facebook.com%2Fpermalink.php%3Fstory_fbid%3D10212759562442685%26id%3D1196169797&width=500″ width=”500″ height=”294″ frameborder=”0″ style=”border:none;overflow:hidden” scrolling=”no”]
While he was serving as Southaven’s mayor, Davis was instrumental in laying the foundation for Southaven Towne Center, BankPlus Amphitheatre, Southaven Arena and the Penny for Our Parks tax.
Horn Lake officials had expressed interest in having Davis help bring similar developments to their city.
Davis was accused of stealing money from the city he led. He has repeatedly denied the charge but repaid tens of thousands of dollars in expense reimbursements. Some of those expenses included expensive meals, trips and purchases at an adult store in Canada.
He lost a bid for re-election as Southaven’s mayor in 2013 and in June, a jury found Davis not guilty of embezzlement and felony fraud, after a 2014 conviction was overturned.
