One of four Republicans will win mayor’s race in Ocean Springs. One issue stands out
Turnout for Ocean Springs municipal elections is likely to be high, given the vigorous debate over whether the city is losing its small-town charm to development.
Incumbent Mayor Kenny Holloway is being challenged in the Republican primary by Alderman at-Large Bobby Cox, Jon E. Hitchcock and Dennis G. McGrevey. The winner of the race will become mayor because no independent or third-party candidates are running.
Municipal primaries will be held April 1 across the state. If no candidate receives a majority of votes, primary runoffs are scheduled April 22. The general election is June 3.
In Ocean Springs, the Republican party will hold the only competitive primary. No Democrats are running for mayor or the Board of Aldermen. The only candidate without an opponent is Republican incumbent Kevin Wade in Ward 3, who has secured his seat for another four years.
With Cox running for mayor, four Republican candidates have stepped into the race for alderman at-large. The winner of the primary will face an independent in the general election, as will the winner of the Ward 1 alderman’s race.
Races in wards 2, 4 and 6 will be decided in the Republican primary, with two candidates running for each of the seats. Ward 5 will not have a contested primary, with the Republican incumbent and an independent vying for the seat in the general election.
Each mayoral candidate discussed with the Sun Herald their plans if elected and how they would approach governing. Summaries are below, with candidates in alphabetical order.
Bobby Cox
Listed on the ballot as Robert E. “Bobby” Cox Jr., he has served on the board for 13 years. Cox, 55, grew up in Ocean Springs and owns the barber shop his father used to run.
If elected, Cox said, he would give up full-time barbering and let others at Cox’s Barber Shop do most of the work. He said that he had no intention of running for mayor, but residents started asking him two years ago to enter the race and have kept after him.
“I thought it was time for me to step up or step out,” he said. Cox said the city will continue to grow, but, as mayor, he would listen to constituents to guide growth. Cox wants to see development in the newly annexed eastern area of the city.
“I don’t know how much more growth you can continue to get in the downtown area,” Cox said, “so I think you need to spread out.”
Property at Pine Drive and Government Street won’t be developed until contamination from an old optics plant is cleaned up, he said, but the city can’t stop a developer from building a hotel there because the land is zoned for one. He doesn’t think the location is ideal because of the congestion and parking shortage downtown.
He said that he’s a “parks and recreation guy” who wants to see adjacent city property on Pine Drive used for green space and recreation once public works moves, which is the current plan.
Cox also wants to see historic buildings in Ocean Springs preserved rather than torn down. And he does not support a pier, marina or event center on the city’s Front Beach property, where the city is moving ahead with plans for a bulkhead. He supports adding a shade structure and leaving the rest as green space.
Jon E. Hitchcock
Hitchcock, 62, is a retired shipbuilding manager who worked his way up from pipe fitter helper at Ingalls Shipbuilding, and also worked at the former VT Halter Marine, both in Pascagoula. He still works as a contractor for shipbuilding organizations.
He said that he started attending Board of Aldermen meetings about nine months ago, after he retired, and noticed something he found striking: The administration seems to respond to what developers want without listening to residents’ concerns. He said that he was always taught to put customers first and, in government, residents are customers.
“There were a lot of things occurring that the residents really didn’t want to see happening,” Hitchcock said. As mayor, he said, he would support developers working within existing codes rather than granting them variances, which is what he believes residents would prefer. He wants to constrain, or eliminate, city regulations for Planned Unit Developments, which offer more leeway than standard zoning districts do.
He also wants to push for more high-wage industries and businesses rather than relying on tourism to drive the economy.
“We’ve got professionals in Ocean Springs and our economic development model should not be based on low-wage, transactional industries,” he said. The city has new opportunities with annexation to bring in business to Sunplex Industrial Park, he said, and to work with Jackson County on projects.
He also thinks the annexed area would be a better home than downtown for a hotel and convention center and that no development should be allowed on the contaminated property at Pine and Government until it’s cleaned up. And he wants to see some of the parking on Government Street eliminated because traffic is too tight along the commercial strip.
Hitchcock said the city also needs to respect residents’ property rights, criticizing a previous plan to declare some downtown homes “blighted” and in need of redevelopment. And he said a new comprehensive plan should be scrapped in favor of updating the current plan.
Kenny Holloway
The mayor is listed on the ballot as John K. “Kenny” Holloway. Holloway, 64, has served for four years and is seeking a second term to complete projects his administration started, including relocation of public works, conversion of the 14 acres for ball fields and recreation.
He also wants to see the city’s new comprehensive plan completed and a hotel and convention center built at Government Street and Pine Drive. He said that he’s been assured the property is safe for construction by an environmental attorney, John Brunini with Butler Snow in Jackson.
Although he’s been accused of making “backroom deals” with developers, Holloway said it’s part of his job to meet with people who want to do business with the city. He also said that he can’t control what developers do on private property zoned for what they’re proposing, which would include the hotel property.
As mayor, he said, he’s brought in $32 million from the state in three years. He also touted the city’s $4.5 million cash balance at the end of fiscal year 2024. He said the balance was around $2 million when he took office.
Holloway, who also has a real estate company, added: “People think that our growth is running away and that development is running away in Ocean Springs. I disagree with them. It’s steady. It’s smart. We’re not messing up the charm of downtown.”
While some complain that downtown is turning into “a mini Bourbon Street,” Holloway disagrees, saying other cities would love to have the traffic — and tax money — the businesses generate. But he does believe downtown is almost built out.
He said police officers have been added in the annexed area but about $15 million in utility work will need to be completed over the next five years.
“We promised those folks services and utilities,” he said. “It’s not going to be cheap. We’re going to have to have a mayor who can go get funds.”
Dennis G. McGrevey
McGrevey, who is semi-retired from a home repair business, said he’s running for mayor because he wants to change the way the city is being managed.
“I’m just not happy with what’s been going on downtown and all the development that’s going on,” the 63-year-old said. “It gets wilder and wilder downtown.”
“ . . . The town I grew up in was nothing like it is now.”
McGrevey joined other candidates in saying that he wants to find a way to shift development east, where the city has room to expand in the newly annexed area. While he can’t stop development, he said, he wants the Planning Commission and city departments to keep a closer eye on proposals and ensure that they meet existing codes and regulations.
“It’s kind of like this: If you want to develop here, that’s fine, go through the avenues,” he said.
While McGrevey understands the city needs to expand its tax base to cover expenses, he believes businesses and restaurants will approach the city about locations and can be encouraged to consider options other than downtown. He likes the downtown boutique hotels but would like to see hotels, and even an amphitheater for concerts, built to the east.
A hallmark of McGrevey’s administration, he said, would be advisory committees set up to make recommendations on major issues, such as plans for the contaminated private property at Government and Pine. He said suggested the city might consider buying the 4.8 acres for a park and green space once it’s cleaned up.
Advisory committees could be appointed to bring recommendations to the mayor and board, he said.
He would prefer to leave the city’s waterfront property as is, saying he has talked to environmental people who say a natural shoreline is the way to go.
