OCEAN SPRINGS, MS – The City of Ocean Springs withheld crucial campaign finance information from the public this week, redacting key details from the annual report of Mayor Kenny Holloway at the direction of City Attorney Robert Wilkinson’s team.
The issue came to light after GC Wire submitted a public records request, asking for Holloway’s 2024 annual report of campaign donors and spending. However, upon reviewing the document, donor addresses and disbursement details were redacted, making it impossible to determine where Holloway’s campaign contributions originated or how the money was spent.
Wilkinson’s Team Ordered the Redaction
Campaign finance reports are crucial public records that allow voters to know who is financially supporting their elected officials. Under Mississippi law, donor and expenditure details are not exempt from public record request disclosure.
In response to the city’s redactions, GC Wire contacted authorities in Jackson, where Assistant Secretary of State Elections Division Kyle Kirkpatrick confirmed that redacting donor addresses was improper. “All that information should be available to the public,” Kirkpatrick said. “We publish all that information. The itemizations are a requirement and should include who and where the donor money is coming from.”
After receiving confirmation from the Secretary of State’s Office that the redactions were unlawful, GC Wire contacted City Hall, where Deputy City Clerk Vicky Hupe confirmed that Wilkinson’s team had ordered the redactions.
“When I received your request, I forwarded it to the city attorney,” Hupe said. “He then told me to send you a redacted copy.”
After alleged unreported conflicts of interest related to the Securix saga, the Board of Aldermen voted unanimously last week to begin searching for a replacement of the Wilkinson team as City Attorney. The redactions in Mayor Holloway’s campaign finance report add to growing concerns about transparency in Ocean Springs government.
Ethics Commission Previously Ruled on the Matter
The Mississippi Ethics Commission has already ruled that redacting public records like these violates state law. In a 2023 ethics ruling (R-23-007), the commission found that a Clark County Circuit Clerk wrongly redacted campaign filings under the guise of protecting privacy. The ruling specifically stated that:
- Candidate campaign reports are public record.
- Government officials cannot create their own exemptions to public records law.
- Transparency in campaigns is a vital public interest.
The Ethics Commission ruled that the clerk must release unredacted reports, setting a legal precedent that also applies to Ocean Springs. This ruling directly contradicts the Wilkinson team’s actions that deliberately instructed the city to withhold public information.
City Reverses Track, Officials Respond
After pushback, Ocean Springs officials reversed course by eventually releasing an unredacted financial report for Mayor Holloway’s campaign. The information ultimately revealed the majority of Holloway’s 2024 campaign donations came from outside Ocean Springs, raising questions about the reasoning behind the initial redactions.
(Residents can view a full copy of Holloway’s unredacted 2024 campaign finance report at the end of this article.)
A representative from the mayor’s office was asked if Holloway or any members of his campaign played a role in the decision to redact the donor and expenditure information. “Mayor Holloway did not make any decisions,” the representative wrote in an email. The mayor’s office stated it is now standard policy to involve the city attorney “to ensure that staff fulfills all public records requests appropriately.” Yet, in this instance, that oversight failed to uphold appropriate transparency.
When asked about the legal basis for the decision, the representative stated, “You’ll need to ask the city attorney about his decision.”
Attorney Will Norman, who works under City Attorney Robert Wilkinson, later took responsibility for instructing the city clerk’s office to withhold donor addresses, claiming it was done out of “an abundance of caution” and not at the direction of any official.
“I assist the clerk’s office with processing records requests,” Norman said. “I told the clerk’s office to redact any sensitive bank account information and phone numbers or physical addresses to err on the side of caution so as to not include any potentially exempt items. Not at the direction of anyone but myself. That was sent to you. You disputed that it shouldn’t be redacted. I agreed. The unredacted version was sent to you immediately.”
The correction was indeed immediate. It was so quick that it raised questions about whether the city knew the redaction was unlawful in the first place. Was this truly a cautious mistake, or was it an attempt to withhold public information that fell apart the moment it was challenged? Additionally, how often are public records improperly withheld under the guise of “erring on the side of caution,” and how many residents simply accept the first response without pushing back?
Ocean Springs residents may never know the answers to those questions, but the public now may be motivated to not always accept the first answer given by city officials.
Election to be Settled in Primary
Kenny Holloway was elected to serve as mayor of Ocean Springs in 2021. He faces challenges from Alderman-at-Large Bobby Cox (R), Jon Hitchcock (R), and Dennis McGrevey (R).
Since there are no Democrat challengers, the mayor’s race will be decided in the Republican Primary Election, which is to be held on April 1st.
Kenny Holloway 2024 Campaign Contributions and Expenditures – Use the up and down arrow keys to scroll through pages.
Mayor-Kenny-Holloway-2024-Annual-Report
