OCEAN SPRINGS, MS – Tension erupted Tuesday night inside Ocean Springs City Hall as Mayor-Elect Bobby Cox turned sharply toward outgoing Alderman Mike Impey during a surprise vote to reinstate civil service protections for top city officials.
“I’m very disappointed in you, man,” Cox said. “This is something you’re doing on your way out the door.”
With just weeks remaining before a new administration takes power, Impey introduced a last-minute motion — without public notice or inclusion on the agenda — to reverse years of policy and reclassify department heads, assistant directors, and lead personnel as civil service employees. The change would give them job protection and limit the ability of incoming leadership to remove or replace them.
Cox, who is currently Alderman-At-Large, defeated Mayor Kenny Holloway in the Republican Primary Election and will become mayor on July 1. He blasted the move as political maneuvering, saying, “That’s seven years of attrition that we worked to get done… and we’ve had absolutely no issues.”
Despite the heated exchange, the motion passed 3–2, with one abstention and one absence. The city attorney is now tasked with drafting the ordinance changes in time for the next board meeting — one of the last few before the new board is sworn in.
What Civil Service Protection Means — and Why It’s Controversial
Civil service status prevents employees from being fired, demoted, or disciplined without cause and due process. It exists to protect government workers from political retaliation and ensure stability within departments.
All regular full-time employees in Ocean Springs are, and will remain, under civil service protection. The current debate applies only to upper-level roles — department heads, their assistants, and certain supervisory positions — which had been excluded from those protections since Shea Dobson was mayor.
Cities often leave top-level management positions outside the civil service system because those roles are expected to carry out the policy vision of elected leaders. It’s a matter of accountability and flexibility.
Giving civil service protection to those roles, critics argue, is like telling a newly elected President of the United States that he can’t choose his own cabinet members. It locks in leadership, even if voters demanded change.
That’s exactly what concerns Cox.
“Obviously, this is being thrown out at the last hour before the new administration comes in,” he said. “I think there is motivation behind this, and it’s not good.”
Impey, who lost his bid for re-election in April to Julie Messenger, shrugged off the criticism.
“Well, sorry about that,” he said.
Listen to the fiery exchange here:
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Critics Say Timing Isn’t Coincidence
Although Impey introduced the motion during the “Aldermen’s Forum” — a portion of the meeting not reserved for official action — GC Wire was notified two weeks ago that Impey was planning the move. That would have given the city enough time to place it on the agenda and allow for public comment, but no such effort was made.
In the audience, several residents speculated the move was aimed at protecting City Clerk Patty Gaston, whose position is one of several currently excluded from civil service coverage. Gaston has come under scrutiny in recent months for combative interactions with residents and reporters. Late last year, Gaston was allegedly responsible for a property tax clerical error that resulted in the School Department being shorted a half million dollars of their annual budget.
Ocean Springs Municipal Code Section 2-30 establishes civil service protections for employees, but specifically states the section “shall not apply to the positions of arts and culture coordinator, executive assistant to the mayor and board of aldermen, assistant public works director of field operations, public works director, assistant public works director of administration and finance, building official, deputy building official, planning/grants administrator, city clerk, deputy city clerk, city planner, parks director, parks superintendent, and human resources and risk management director.”
Reinstating civil service protections to those currently excluded positions could effectively shield Gaston and others from removal by the incoming administration.
The Vote
- Ayes: Mike Impey (Ward 6), Rickey Authement (Ward 2), Ken Papania (Ward 4)
- Nays: Kevin Wade (Ward 3), Kenny M. Cox (Alderman at Large / Mayor-Elect)
- Abstained: Rob Blackman (Ward 5)
- Absent: Jennifer Burgess (Ward 1)
Politics at Play
Ward 5 Alderman Rob Blackman, who will face James Lewis in the June 3 general election, appeared visibly conflicted when it came time to vote. He hesitated, audible to those in the room, before finally saying, “I abstain.” His indecision showcased the political sensitivity of the issue — particularly for those still on the ballot.
This was not the first time Blackman declined to weigh in on high-stakes matters. In 2023, he quietly left the room moments before a critical vote to expand the city limits through forced annexation — a measure that directly affected his own ward.
Meanwhile, Alderman Rickey Authement, who lost his re-election bid in the Republican Primary to Karen Stennis, reversed course from his earlier position. During the Dobson administration, Authement voted to strip civil service protection from upper-level positions — the very protections he now helped restore.
This marks the second major flip-flop by Authement since his election loss. Earlier this year, he made a public motion to replace City Attorney Robert Wilkinson, citing undisclosed conflicts of interest. But after being defeated at the polls, Authement submitted a letter to a state oversight committee claiming Wilkinson had disclosed those conflicts to the board — contradicting his previous public statements.
With a new mayor and aldermen set to take office July 1, the window to finalize these changes is closing quickly. Whether the ordinance amendment is completed before the political handoff — or undone shortly after — remains to be seen.
You have to question motives for anything an outgoing administration is doing in a rush manner in the closing days. In this case are they just trying to mess with the new administration as a sort of “revenge”, knowing that they can undo any actions in the same manner or is it an attempt to garner loyalty from those higher ranking members of city government who may have details of past actions that may not reflect positively on the outgoing politicians? For whatever reason it was done, it was done in the same way and with the lack of notice and transparency that caused the voters to show just how unhappy they were with the way they do business.
The city needs leadership with the courage of their convictions, who inform the public and accept timely input and who work in the interests of the public they serve.
The people of Ocean Springs wanted a change and voted for it. Reinstating that civil service classification will undo some of the changes that may come and is contrary to what the people of Ocean Springs want. As your Mayor Elect stated, this issue was decided previously why bring it up now? If people are not doing a good job, why should they be protected from losing that job?