Tense Press Conference After Majority of Aldermen were No-Shows for Ocean Springs Special Called Meeting
OCEAN SPRINGS, MS — What was supposed to be a high stakes special called meeting of the Ocean Springs Board of Aldermen never actually began Monday night. The agenda listed two competing motions — one to terminate City Attorney David Harris, and another to bring in outside counsel to review his actions — but neither ever reached the table.
Only two aldermen showed up.
Mayor Bobby Cox opened the meeting, looked out at a packed room of residents and television cameras, and immediately announced the obvious.
“We do not have a quorum,” Cox told the crowd. “No actions will take place tonight.”
The meeting had been called under Mississippi Code by Aldermen Karen Stennis and Shannon Pfeiffer, who said they believed the Board needed to confront a growing list of concerns involving the city attorney — including questions about misleading legal advice, conflicts of interest, and a fabricated vote recorded in official minutes earlier this year.
Two Motions, Zero Votes
If enough members had attended, the Board would have heard two sharply different but equally significant proposals.
The first motion, which Stennis planned to introduce, would have terminated Harris’s contract outright.
The second motion, offered by Pfeiffer as an alternative, would have directed the mayor to hire independent legal experts to determine whether Harris’s advice and conduct aligned with Mississippi law, state ethics rules, and professional standards.
Instead, the empty seats made the decision for them.
After Mayor Cox gaveled the non-meeting to a close, Stennis and Pfeiffer walked into the City Hall lobby and addressed the waiting press — turning the night into a press conference instead.
Down the road, most of the missing aldermen were present for a town Hall meeting held by State Representative Hank Zuber, which started one hour later. Aldermen Julie Messenger, Kevin Wade, Steve Tillis, and Matthew Hinton were seen at the Zuber event.
What happened during the press conference is best seen and heard in their own words.
Here are the videos from tonight’s press conference.
First Alderman Karen Stennis laid out the allegations:
Alderman Shannon Pfeiffer followed:
Well said to both alderman that showed up tonite and shame on those who were too cowardly to face the public. OS deserves better than to be represented by an attorney who misrepresents the law, and for personal gain makes it even worse. To Karen Stennis and Shannon Pfeiffer, I hope you both will continue to call this same meeting until the cowards deem it important enough to show up.
You are doing a service that is both honorable and needed for the residents of the MS Gulf Coast. I hope you continue to be successful in your efforts. Thank you for providing non partisan journalism- only the facts. This has been missing in the Journalism community for some time.
Seems the OS Secret Society believes it’s above reproach. Public infrastructure decline (water mains busting, archaic power lines, public parking insufficient) yet money keeps flowing….to whom?