Greg Davis, Mississippi Mayor, Reveals He Is Gay After Audit Reveals Visit To Adult Store

An embattled Mississippi mayor has come out after an investigation revealed that he used city funds to cover personal expenses including a visit to a gay adult store.

The Tennessee-based publication The Commercial Appeal prompted the revelation from Southaven Mayor Greg Davis, after receipts provided by state auditors showed that Davis had spent thousands of dollars worth of liquor, expensive dinners and even a personal vacation, in addition to a charge for $67 at Priape, a store in Toronto that is described by its website as "Canada's premiere gay lifestyle store and sex shop." Davis is said to have made the visit to the shop during a recruitment trip in Canada.

"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," Davis said. "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."

You can listen to a recording of Davis' full disclosure here.

Davis, a Republican who ran unsuccessfully for Congress in 2008 on a conservative platform, has been under a criminal investigation for allegedly misusing $170,000 on both city-issued and personal credit cards -- $96,000 of which he has reportedly has repaid so far. "These expenses submitted by Mayor Davis as official events and purchases on behalf of the city are a betrayal of the public's trust, and I intend to pursue the recovery of this money to the fullest extent of the law," State Auditor Stacey Pickering told Fox News in November. "Clothing purchases, family counseling and personal meals and entertainment are in no way authorized expenses for the city and should not be paid for on the taxpayers' dime."

Take a look at other gay sex scandals below:

Comments

[Jerry Foley]

07:30 AM on 05/11/2012

My question is a little bit different. Well here it is. Why or for what is a mayor going from a Southern USA city going to Canada on a recruitment trip? Is the employment in the USA already quite high, so why could he not find what he needs closer to home?

[Oriana Hill]

08:32 AM on 02/01/2012

The citizens of Southaven need to have their voices heard. It's time for Southaven to move forward and regain it's confidence! Greg Davis needs to resign from office in order for our city to reclaim it's good spirit. By staying in office he is destroying the good morale and trust of the Southaven citizens. He knows in his heart he has done wrong. I feel he needs to step down because he misspent the $170,000 of taxpayers money and he cannot come up with a plausible explanation. He is holding us back because there are $850,000 in (Mississippi Department of Transportation) funds we are being denied because of him. Sign and share the petition! http://www.change.org/petitions/mayor-of-southaven-mississippi-resign-from-the-mayors-office

[hnnbar]

12:25 AM on 01/06/2012

Well Greg I'm glad you finally came out ; however, just like any other human being you'll have to pay the piper.

[RepublicanDepression]

12:56 AM on 12/26/2011

Stop picking on the Republicans!

This Republican being outed as a right-wing gay man is NOT news!

After all, if it happens all the time, it really can't be called news any more, right?

[townshedtheyounger]

10:24 PM on 12/22/2011

My family used to live next door to his parents. I am a Democrat but that never made me like the family any less. They were outstanding members of our community. I don't care if he is gay, most of us couldn't care less. What I care about is the lying and using money that is not his to carry on his secret life. My mother in law goes to church with him. I had his WIFE as my teacher in high school. It's all very sad and disheartening. His family seemed perfect and indestructible. It kinda goes to show that no one is perfect. I hope his children will not get caught up in this crazy mess and I hope they have a Merry Christmas. The worse part is, he is a really nice guy. This is all just pretty horrible. Kind of glad I don't live in Southaven anymore.

[greysells2]

05:24 PM on 12/22/2011

Why are conservative gays such a train wreck? Can't they be conservative AND gat at the same time? If not, why are they conservatives in the first place?

[RepublicanDepression]

12:59 AM on 12/26/2011

If they were gay and out, they would not be self-loathing gays. Then they would not feel obsessed with persecuting their own kind (Roy Cohn, J Edgar Hoover, Haggard, Larry Craig, etc) and they would not have to be Republicans.

[Jay from Ottawa]

01:48 PM on 12/21/2011

It doesn't take a genius to know that certain things should be purchased with cash. Is the man so used to using government backed plastic that he doesn't remember what paper money looks or feels like ?

I would expect those in government to have a little foresight.

[SonnyBono]

08:24 AM on 12/20/2011

A closeted gay Republican politician spending public funds like a drunken sailor - please wake me when there is something new to report. The only real news is that he didn't trot out his minister who would express forgiveness for his "lifestyle choice" or contact Marcus Bachmann about the possibility of praying away the gay. Mayor Davis visited the adult store in Toronto during a "recruiting trip" in Canada - what was he recruiting? I can only assume that there is a definite lack of world class curling players in Mississippi and I'm sure there are not too many really good hockey players so maybe that's it.

[Shannon Barber]

11:29 PM on 12/19/2011

It's all those years of conservative religious repression coming out(pun intended). Always the righties They are a laughing stock and I couldn't be happier.

[piceaglauca]

09:14 PM on 12/19/2011

The fact you are gay is not really the issue except maybe in Mississippi but I don't really know that. However, when you put yourself out there you better tell people up front so that they can make a transparent public decision. To say you are a conservative mayor is far from the truth.

"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," Davis said.

Not when you are creeping behind your electorate. Resign.Repaying doesn't vindicate yourself. Spend some time in jail. As for the gay stuff, Penn State tried to cover it up and look where they are. The Catholic Church is still trying to cover it up. Be up front, be honest, and the world will open a door. The only door you have open to you right now is a jail door.

[Ian Llangan]

11:07 PM on 12/19/2011

As for the "gay" stuff - there was NONE at Penn State. Ditto the Roman Catholic Church.

"Gay stuff" falls under the rubric of how INFORMED, CONSENTING ADULTS may be involved with one another.

However Penn State was about paedophilia and child molestation - which has NOTHING to do with "gay" - NADA - but EVERYTHING to do with abuse of power.

[rylo]

12:50 AM on 12/20/2011

Thank you. Now if only I can explain this concept to my husband.

[piceaglauca]

10:04 AM on 12/20/2011

Thanks for the side line comment. Stick with the issue. Which is doing things you shouldn't be doing.

[RepublicanDepression]

01:01 AM on 12/26/2011

LOL! piceaglauca does not know the difference between consensual adult sex and pedophilia.

Kinda scary.

Do your neighbors know that you don't know the difference?

[sf girl]

02:21 PM on 12/19/2011

"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."

Huh? "a very conservative, progressive?" How does that work?

[colpy]

09:50 PM on 12/19/2011

Kinda like the old Progressive Conservative Party, which my old friend used to call the "Forward-Backward Party" :)

Just trying to cover all the bases.

[greysells2]

05:26 PM on 12/22/2011

I never met a "conservative, progressive". What do they look like?

[RepublicanDepression]

01:02 AM on 12/26/2011

Like Mitt Romney.

Conservative one day, progressive the next, tea party one day, OWS the next, etc.

[Nick Tarlton]

04:36 AM on 12/19/2011

When will these guys learn. I will never understand using a government credit card in a place like this. Do they not know this will come out? It shows to me a total lack of judgement and character. If you are ignorant enough to do this then you deserve to get caught. Even if you were going to defraud your city...one would think it would be smart to pay for your own sex shop visits.

[Tony frm Banff]

08:24 PM on 12/19/2011

Notice its the republicans that always seem to be not the brightest bulb in the pack.lmao

[CONSERVATIVEONLY]

10:45 AM on 12/20/2011

That's because you can't find a light switch! LOL

[tibi]

09:25 AM on 12/20/2011

Agreed. Have to wonder if, deep down, he wanted to get caught.

[persuter]

12:58 AM on 12/19/2011

I hope his being gay doesn't overshadow the fact that he stole thousands of dollars from taxpayers.

[greysells2]

05:28 PM on 12/22/2011

Being gay is not at all the end of the world. Being a dishonest, hypocritical politician who stole from the taxpayers is serious stuff.

[persuter]

02:08 AM on 12/23/2011

That's what I meant. Seems ridiculous that the story here is that he revealed that he's gay... rather than the embezzlement of funds.

[MediaWatchDawg]

07:24 PM on 12/18/2011

Confucius say closeted politicians run risk of being mothballed.

[333111xyz]

06:35 PM on 12/18/2011

These gay conservative politicians are clearly some of the most internally tortured people within our borders. Although it is clear that they have done a disservice to themselves by supporting a social conservative platform, when the gay community denies them access to support they obviously need, we miss out on an opportunity to educate them. I think that once someone has been out of the closet for a long time, they lose some of the ability to empathize with those that are coming out, especially in such a public way. The gay community ought to reach out and give people opportunities to grow instead of rejecting them in the same way that main-stream society did to the gay community in the first place.

[Ian Llangan]

11:10 PM on 12/19/2011

Don't worry about him. He's kinda cute in a "mid-life, 40s married dad" kinda way. I'm sure once he's out of office he'll have entrée into gayland no problemo. (Well, once he's finished paying back all those credit card expenses anyway!)

[Shannon Barber]

11:33 PM on 12/19/2011

You must be straight- and deeply ignorant. If I am right, first, no straight person gets to tell us what we should and should not do. Secondly, I have zero desire to do anything but laugh hysterically at anyone who has been caught with his pants down- literally- while voting against my rights. We owe people like this NOTHING, and how dare you suggest otherwise. They have earned every bit of ostracizing and scorn we heap upon them by doing everything they can to deny us our rights. Hypocrites of the highest order. They made their beds. Let them lie in them.

[rylo]

12:54 AM on 12/20/2011

It always amazes me how the loudest gay bashers end up being gay. This guy probably campaigned on the typical conservative "family values" platform.

[333111xyz]

04:01 AM on 12/20/2011

First off, I'm not straight. Second, althought I understand your anger and frustration (believe me, I do) it's important to understand why he did what he did. Closeted socially conservative politicians are victims of oppression too and they're only reacting to internalized self-hatred because of that oppression, and after being outed in such a public way they need support too. That way, they can learn from their mistakes and attempt to correct them (or at least apologize). When the gay community turns its back on someone who is clearly suffering in a way that we can relate to, that person is only going to learn to hate themselves more and repeat the same patterns.

If you want to pile scorn on these people if it makes you feel better, fine. But know that you're not doing that person or the gay community any favors.