Mississippi mayor's gay sex shop purchase billed to city
Sun. December 18, 2011 8:39 PM by GoPride.com News Staff
greg davis and his family
photo credit // southaven.com
Southaven, Miss. -
Greg Davis, the mayor of Southaven, Mississippi, ended up telling a newspaper reporter he was gay after he was asked about charging the city $67 for purchases made at a gay sex shop.
Up to this weekend, Davis was known publicly as a straight, married, "family values" conservative Republican.
But state auditors have been trying to get him to repay $170,000 they said he improperly charged to his city-issued credit cards. (He's paid back $96,000 so far.) And the newspaper got the receipts for the purchases through a Freedom of Information Act request.
The receipts show a purchase for $67 at Priape in Toronto. Priape's website says the company is "Canada's premiere gay lifestyle store and sex shop."
Davis told the Commercial-Appeal reporter, when confronted with the receipt, that he is gay.
"While I have performed my job as mayor, in my opinion, as a very conservative, progressive individual -- and still continue to be a very conservative individual -- I think that it is important that I discuss the struggles I have had over the last few years when I came to the realization that I am gay," Davis said.
Davis still plans to stay in his role as mayor. There are no criminal charges related to the expenses charged on the credit cards.
Davis unsuccessfully ran for Congress in 2008 on a Republican, conservative, "family values" platform.
He and his wife Suzann have been married for 19 years. They have three daughters and the mayor's biography says they are "active members of Heartland Baptist Church in Southaven."
Up to this weekend, Davis was known publicly as a straight, married, "family values" conservative Republican.
But state auditors have been trying to get him to repay $170,000 they said he improperly charged to his city-issued credit cards. (He's paid back $96,000 so far.) And the newspaper got the receipts for the purchases through a Freedom of Information Act request.
The receipts show a purchase for $67 at Priape in Toronto. Priape's website says the company is "Canada's premiere gay lifestyle store and sex shop."
Davis told the Commercial-Appeal reporter, when confronted with the receipt, that he is gay.
"While I have performed my job as mayor, in my opinion, as a very conservative, progressive individual -- and still continue to be a very conservative individual -- I think that it is important that I discuss the struggles I have had over the last few years when I came to the realization that I am gay," Davis said.
Davis still plans to stay in his role as mayor. There are no criminal charges related to the expenses charged on the credit cards.
Davis unsuccessfully ran for Congress in 2008 on a Republican, conservative, "family values" platform.
He and his wife Suzann have been married for 19 years. They have three daughters and the mayor's biography says they are "active members of Heartland Baptist Church in Southaven."