OCEAN SPRINGS, MS – Mayor Kenny Holloway is blaming residents for hindering city operations by voicing opinions on social media and making public records requests to find out how officials are spending tax dollars. Additionally, the mayor says journalists have no business reporting city matters until he is first briefed.
The comments are part of a candid telephone call caught on tape last week.
“This whole city is tired and worn out and can hardly do the business of running the city because of all of this social media and all these public records requests,” Holloway said during the call.
“And it’s all politically motivated,” he added. “I could be on Washington and Porter handing out hundred dollar bills and the first one I handed out not turned the right way this group of people would be raising hell.”
This isn’t the first time Holloway has railed about residents exercising their Constitutional rights. Last year, the mayor published an op-ed in the Ocean Springs Weekly Record demanding residents “step back from the keyboard” and use Facebook for “sharing pictures of grandbabies,” rather than criticizing his administration.
Chastising the Media for Reporting the News
During the call, Holloway expressed frustration over recent media reports detailing the resignations of the city’s police and fire chiefs, which were published before he was briefed on the departures. The mayor appeared more upset about the timing of the reporting than the fact that two top department heads had simultaneously left their posts.
“It was uncalled for before you had talked to anybody that could explain what was going on,” Holloway said, scolding the reporter. He described being caught off guard while attending a lunch in Jackson, only to be approached by people asking what was happening in Ocean Springs. “I’m in Jackson at a lunch, and people are coming up to me and asking me what’s going on at City Hall. I said, ‘What do you mean? They tell me everybody is quitting and leaving.’”
Holloway accused the media of rushing the story, while dismissing the simultaneous resignations as routine career changes. “We got two guys, just so happened they’re both chiefs, and they were presented with opportunities to do something different and take care of their families better. And that’s what happened,” he claimed.
Holloway suggested that the story had caused unnecessary distress, adding, “The entire Board of Aldermen did not know about those gentlemen leaving because we were doing it real time.” Yet the reporter’s article showed otherwise, including detailed quotes from the HR director, indicating that at least some city officials were already informed.
If the mayor didn’t know about the resignations of the police and fire chiefs by the time the article was published, despite the HR department and others in City Hall being informed, it raises concerns about how involved Holloway truly is in the day-to-day operations of the city.
Expectation of Media Obedience
Holloway’s comments suggest an expectation that the media should run all stories by him before publication. “I was hoping that this kind of stuff wouldn’t pop up again,” Holloway said, referencing his dissatisfaction with the tone of recent reporting. This sort of attack on media has become the norm in Ocean Springs.
Last month, it was revealed the City Attorney and former Police Chief were financially benefitting from a traffic citation program the duo had pitched to elected officials. Despite the accurate and verified reporting, media outlets that reported the news were served with threatening letters from law firms representing City Attorney Robert Wilkinson and his business partner Josh Gregory, who also works as campaign consultant to Mayor Holloway.
In September, Alderman Jennifer Burgess told this reporter, “An attack on the mayor is an attack on all of us,” despite the fact that aldermen are individually elected representatives of specific city wards. “Just because the First Amendment says you can print something, it doesn’t mean you should.” Burgess went on to suggest media should get the green light from City Hall before publishing articles about city affairs.
Furthermore, Holloway’s office has repeatedly inquired about employment statuses of reporters and pressured editors to fire journalists who publish articles critical of his tenure.
A Pattern of Control
Holloway’s scolding of the press is part of a larger pattern of hostility toward accountability and transparency. From blaming public records requests for hindering city operations to dismissing social media criticism as politically motivated, the mayor has repeatedly shown disdain for residents and reporters who question his administration.
Last year’s op-ed, in which Holloway urged residents to “step back from the keyboard,” framed public discourse as little more than a nuisance. Now, his comments about the chiefs’ resignations and public records requests reinforce his administration’s ongoing efforts to control the narrative and suppress dissent.
As the call came to an end, Holloway offered what seemed to be a moment of self-reflection: “Hey, I’m as transparent as anybody, even if people don’t believe it,” he said. “We don’t hide anything.”
Yet, these statements came after a conversation filled with frustration over media coverage, criticism of public records requests, and complaints about social media discourse. For a mayor who expects the press to hold stories until he’s briefed and views public records requests as burdensome, Holloway’s definition of transparency may leave some residents scratching their heads.
