Greg Davis, the mayor of Southaven,
Mississippi, has become the first elected official in the state to
come out gay, Memphis CBS affiliate WREG reported.
According to gay GOP group Log Cabin
Republicans, no elected official in Mississippi had previously
announced that he or she is gay.
“When we heard about Mayor Davis, we
checked our records and other records and did find that yes indeed,
he turns out to be the first,” said R. Clarke Cooper, executive
director of Log Cabin Republicans.
Davis acknowledged he's gay last week
after an audit revealed a purchase at gay mens sex shop Priape in
Canada. City officials have demanded Davis repay roughly $170,000
from improper charges.
“At this point in my life and in my
career, while I have tried to maintain separation between my
personal and public life, it is obvious that this can no longer
remain the case,” Davis told The
Commercial Appeal. “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.”
Only 2 states, South Dakota and Alaska,
remain without an elected official coming out gay.
In 2008, Davis, a Republican, ran
unsuccessfully for Congress on a conservative platform.
Davis and his wife Suzann of 19 years
divorced in 2010. They have 3 daughters.