At 10:30 AM, just 90 minutes before the start of the 2025 Ocean Springs Candidate Forum, Leigh Coleman of the Ocean Springs Weekly Record received a text from Ward 6 Alderman Mike Impey informing her that he was bailing.
“I am very disappointed Leigh,” the text message read. “I just received notice that Brian Rose is going to be announcing the candidates… this reeks of bias.”
This is the same Mike Impey who cheered alongside me when I exposed scandalous behavior by Congressman Steven Palazzo in 2017 and 2018. The same Mike Impey who supported the efforts of Chris McDaniel’s team when they exposed his incumbent opponent’s past. The same Mike Impey who was a keynote speaker at a protest I co-organized to address the draconian 2020 lockdown rules of Governor Tate Reeves.
There were many politicians over the years my friends and I exposed. And Mike Impey was along for the ride. He attended dozens of political events hosted by myself and colleagues. Impey was a supporter of our efforts – likely because he benefitted from the exposure.
Until it hit home.
Expose the corruption of his colleagues and pals – pals he now benefits from – and all of a sudden Impey claims bias.
How I Got Involved in the Forum
Several weeks ago, Leigh Coleman told me she was planning a candidate forum and said she wants to put together a diverse team of people in the community to help plan and execute. She said the more people with different views the better.
She told me she had invited the Ocean Springs Lions Club and the Chamber of Commerce to be a part of the planning. She invited Doug Walker and Ellen Hall to the team, as well as members of The Record’s editorial team. It was exactly what she had set out for – a group of people who have very different political views.
Leigh and I spent hours on the phone each day talking about how to make it a fair and informative event. We held Zoom meetings where a group of us went through potential questions submitted by readers. I wrote the press releases. I designed the invitation graphics. It was a group effort that was coming together nicely.
Her plan was to have me welcome the crowd, lead the Pledge of Allegiance, introduce the candidates, and then turn it over to Doug Walker to ask the questions to candidates.
I specifically brought up the possibility that some candidates might be uneasy if I am involved. After all, I have been exposing some pretty shady things happening within the city. But Leigh stayed firm, telling us in one meeting, “It’s the media’s job to tell the truth. Just because some don’t like the truth isn’t our problem.”
The First Sign of Trouble
Leigh’s resolve was a welcome stance. She had previously been known to allow city officials to push her around and dictate her actions, so I was glad to see her taking a more mature and firm route this time.
The day before the forum was to take place, we had our final Zoom meeting. We started with a list of nearly 40 submitted questions and narrowed them down to a little more than a dozen questions – questions that we all agreed none of the candidates would get in advance. We finalized the setup and made a plan to meet at the Civic Center around 11:00 AM the following morning.
About an hour later, my phone began to blow up. Several candidates reached out to Ellen Hall asking her about a curious text message they received.
“Thank you for your patience – Please do not share,” the message from Leigh Coleman read. “As stated, we may not get to all questions, but nothing outside these will be asked.”
Attached to the texts were screenshots from our group’s last Zoom call that included the original list of questions. Some candidates were rightfully afraid they would be accused of cheating, while others were angry they did not receive the questions in advance.
It was the beginning of what many on Facebook would later describe as a “shit show.”
I immediately called Leigh demanding an explanation. She defended her actions by saying those questions were not for the forum and were merely for articles she was writing for The Record. But the text message itself contradicted that excuse. I explained the only way to fix this is to make sure the same text went to every candidate right away. Leigh, while still maintaining no wrong doing, said she would make sure of it.
Frazzled by this turn of events, our group decided to meet up an hour earlier to ensure all candidates were in receipt of that original set of questions. Doug asked Ellen to print out 20 copies and have them available to hand out as the candidates arrived.
The Boycotting Begins
With the first disaster fixed, although still weighing on us, we began the setup on Saturday morning.
Chairs were being arranged on the stage. City employees were helping to get microphones in order. Candidates were starting to arrive and set up their tables in the back of the room. Leigh was nowhere to be found. Eventually, she called claiming car trouble. We continued working.
Around 11:20, just forty minutes before the event was set to start, we noticed a couple of candidates packing up their materials. Someone mentioned the event is cancelled.
At that same time, my phone rings. It was Leigh. “Leave the building immediately or I will call the police,” she said. “Find Ellen Hall and tell her the same. I cancelled the forum.”
I smiled at the ridiculousness of what I was hearing. I put the call on speaker phone and asked her to repeat so Doug could hear. She did. Doug and I left.
‘Okay, Tell them the Plan’
Fifteen minutes after the absurd phone call and abrupt cancellation of the event, I’m home. Stripped down to my plaid boxers and awaiting the pop of two strawberry toaster strudels, I was settling in for a relaxing day of Netflix and laundry.
Then the phone rings.
“Please come back,” Leigh said. “It’s back on. I made a mistake. I freaked out.” She explained how she had received text messages from a few incumbents who were complaining because they heard I would be welcoming the audience.
Imagine telling voters you are tough enough to lead a city, but afraid to appear at an event where a reporter you don’t like is leading the crowd in the Pledge of Allegiance.
The absurdity just kept coming.
I gave Leigh the benefit of doubt, as I often did. I got dressed, left my strudel in the toaster, and headed back to the Civic Center.
When I arrived, I was told Doug Walker would not be returning. Leigh asked if I would read the questions. I immediately questioned the fairness of the situation, as many of the candidates did not show up after being told the event was cancelled – and others had already left. We discussed with the candidates who were still there and they wanted the show to go on.
But what was the new format? I suggested Leigh speak with the remaining candidates backstage and come up with a quick game plan.
Out front, audience members were beginning to take their seats. Backstage, the tiny room we met in was a thousand degrees. Leigh began a speech about the newspaper and the beauty of public forums. After several minutes, I interjected. “Leigh, I think everyone just needs to know the new plan and what we are all supposed to be doing,” I said.
“Okay, tell them,” she responded.
Huh? I don’t have a plan. Ten minutes ago I was in my underwear.
I winged it. I nervously told everyone they would gather on the floor. I said I would introduce everyone by name, at which time they would walk up the stairs and take their seats. “Where do we sit,” one candidate asked. I told them their names were on the chairs. Nope, I was informed.
While I was gone, someone had dismantled the labeled horseshoe setup of chairs and arranged them in three rows. That won’t work, people won’t see the candidates in the back rows. Some volunteers began moving the chairs back to their original places.
As this is happening, I see a woman escorting some candidates to the stage. I sharply asked, “What are you doing? We are ten minutes from starting and that will be embarrassing for the candidates to be sitting there silently.” The woman, who I did not know, got very upset. Almost immediately after, I apologized for my curt tone and explained it was a must to stop it immediately. “You don’t know me,” she responded. Alrightythen. I smiled and moved on.
It was becoming clear, Leigh had delegated the same authority to multiple people.
I’m standing in the back of the room when one candidate says to me, “I think you just got fired.” I smiled and said, “Thank God!” I confirmed Leigh had decided at the last second to go a different direction and I headed for the car.
‘Come Back, Come Back!’
As I’m driving away, Miss Leigh calls again, telling me the candidates are all on stage and there’s no plan.
At this point, every bone in my body wants to keep driving while laughing, but I caved. I turned around and rushed back. When I walked through the front doors, I see all the candidates seated and a man delivering the benediction. I quickly make my way to the side of the stage and ask what the new format was. “Each candidate will deliver two minute speeches – no questions,” Leigh says. Okay, simple enough.
I’m flustered. I’m hot. I’m unprepared. But I walked up and welcomed the crowd. I addressed the elephant in the room: “When they say beware of the Ides of March they aren’t kidding.” A few in the audience laughed. I moved on.
“We live in the greatest country on earth, where we are allowed to have opposing visions, debate those ideas, and elect leaders to represent us,” I said. I told the crowd we may not agree on all issues, but the one thing we all have in common is that we all share a love for Ocean Springs.
I led the crowd in the pledge and praised all the candidates for having the courage to want to lead. I then explained to the room each candidate would be given two minutes to share their vision and then we would have a giant meet and greet off stage.
“Let’s get started with our first candidate,” I said. Then, a voice from behind. “No, you will not be introducing the candidates. I will be doing that,” she said. I smiled, turned to the woman behind me, and told the crowd, “My mistake, this young lady will be taking over.”
Well that was embarrassing, but whatever. Roll with the punches.
I couldn’t stop thinking about my toaster strudel and Netflix. I wish I had followed the lead of Doug Walker and stayed gone.
Mayor Holloway’s Hero Statement
It had been a rough week for Mayor Kenny Holloway.
After a softball report from the Sun Herald about the Hanshaw Road Bridge Closing, GC Wire published the embarrassing truth that city officials knew the bridge was failing for years. The Sun Herald followed up with a much more detailed article than their first. It was not flattering to the mayor.
Social media was on fire. Residents were demanding answers. On top of that, the mayor had received some ego deflating boos at a forum on Friday – especially when he told the crowd, “We aren’t Mayberry anymore and we’re not going back.”
So, it was no surprise to many when Holloway latched on to whatever excuse necessary to avoid coming to Saturday’s forum.
“A Message from Kenny,” the professionally designed graphic stated on his Facebook page. Below it was a wordy dissertation about why he chose to boycott the forum.
He did have a point when he complained about the confusion of being told the event was cancelled, then back on. But then he diverted.
“Beyond the confusion, we also learned that this event included individuals and groups, groups such as SaveOS and GC Wire, whose goal is not honest debate, but division,” he wrote.
The mayor has consistently grouped anyone who criticizes him as being a part of the civic group SaveOS. It’s a sound PR stunt: create a boogeyman and then lump anyone who criticizes in with them.
While that strategy may work for a while, it eventually falls apart when every day citizens who voice their concerns get told they are part of a group they may not have even heard of. It’s a tired plan that seems to only still work within the confines of his own echo chambers.
Holloway went on to write about how GC Wire twist narratives and reports in bad faith. My favorite phrase he used was “misrepresented facts.”
Here’s the thing — facts cannot be misrepresented. Something either happened, or it didn’t.
Did he or did he not sign an open ended contract with a campaign donor that resulted in paying that firm over 1141 percent more than what was originally told to taxpayers? He did.
Did he or did he not get caught in multiple lies about the Securix program in Ocean Springs? He did.
Did he or did he not chastise residents for criticizing his administration online and tell them they should only use Facebook for sharing pictures of grandbabies? He did.
Did he or did he not lie to the public about not knowing a heavily traveled bridge was on the brink of collapse, despite years’ worth of warnings from state officials? He did.
These facts are not misrepresented. They are simply facts – facts he doesn’t want voters to know about, so he labels them with fancy words.
Mayor Holloway doesn’t give his side of the story. He doesn’t point out specifically what is incorrect about the reporting. Because he can’t. He resides to just using blanket statements like “misleading,” “twisted,” and “bias.”
The Public is Smarter than Some Want them to Be
Shortly after Holloway’s Facebook post, Alderman Mike Impey followed suit with a similar excuse for not attending. Impey’s post specifically named me, the same person he used to share stages with when we were calling out people he didn’t personally benefit from. Impy has hitched his wagon to Kenny Holloway, because he believes he can ride the coattails of someone more popular. Perhaps he should change his name to Mike Simpey.
Ocean Springs is an amazing place. Many folks were born and raised here, while others have made it our home for decades. Its charm is undeniable and its people are resistant to silly campaign rhetoric, because they know the truth always reveals itself in the end.
For months, Holloway and his crew have tried to control the narrative, gaslight the public, and drown out the truth. But there’s one thing they didn’t count on — Ocean Springs voters aren’t as dumb as they hoped.
Something tells me when residents vote on April 1st, Mayor Holloway and crew will be getting a big dose of charming reality.
