Jackson Jambalaya

Southaven Mayor Greg Davis refused to step down today, said people are trying to use his homosexuality against him, and took no questions in a very short press conference today. WREG reported:

"Southaven Mayor Greg Davis says he is not resigning.

Davis made the statements in a very short press conference held at Southaven City Hall.

Davis says some have used his announcement that he is gay against him, "It deeply hurts that some have taken that very personal struggle and manipulated it and twisted it maliciously into something that was never intended."

Davis has not been seen in weeks, his attorney says he has been seeking medical treatment.

The State of Mississippi originally ordered Davis to repay $170,700 in expenses billed to the city unless he could provide specific receipts.

The $170,000 comes from several years of receipts which state auditors say are not appropriate.

Questions about his expenses arose last April when Davis spent two weeks and more than $27,000 at Psychological Counseling Services in Scottsdale, Arizona." Link to video

Meanwhile, that little story about the city purchasing ten acres for $1.9 million from the Mayor's cousins is now on hold. The story on WREG (some of which looks very familiar) has some new revelations as the reporter took my advice and looked at the settlement statement:

"Southaven aldermen say a plan to buy 10 acres of land for a new senior center are on hold.

It comes amid concerns from some people that the planned sale is a sweetheart deal between the sellers and Mayor Greg Davis.

On one side of the deal is the buyer, the city of Southaven, and the embattled mayor.

The seller is a limited liability company. Two of its members are the mayor’s distant cousins, DeSoto County Chancery Court Clerk Sluggo Davis and his son, former State Senator Doug Davis....

But Sluggo Davis insists everything is above-board when it comes to the agreement that the city purchase the ten acres for a proposed senior center. In December Southaven’s Board of Aldermen followed the mayor’s recommendation and voted to buy the property for $1.95 million. Mayor Davis told the board the land was appraised at $2.6 million.

“No, we have not seen the appraisal,” admitted Alderman Ronnie Hale. He was one of two aldermen who voted no on the purchase which is set to close in mid-2012.

With Mayor Greg Davis now under federal investigation for his spending of taxpayer money, Hale says the sale will not go through until aldermen see that appraisal.

“The fact that we've been lied to in the past it's just not prudent for us to move forward on the project until we know all the details,” said Hale.

Adding fuel to the fire, the county’s most recent appraisal in 2006 valued the land at $315,000.

Sluggo Davis said he and a partner, Alvin Gilless, bought the ten acres for $1.3 million in 2005. A settlement statement provided by Davis backed-up his claim.

WREG On Your Side Investigators asked him about the $2.6 million appraisal cited by the mayor. Sluggo Davis said he’s never had the land appraised, never seen the appraisal, and doesn’t know who did it.

So does he believe the property is worth what the mayor claims?

“It's been on the market and hadn't bought it,” said Davis.

Southaven’s city administrators said he didn’t have a copy of the appraisal either.

We asked DeSoto County Tax Assessor Parker Pickle why the county’s appraisal is $1 million less than what Davis paid. He was unaware of the sale price." Rest of story and video

Here's some advice for the city: pay someone to appraise the property. The appraisal should be done by the buyer or lender, never the seller. As for the Mayor, no one is attacking you for being gay, they are attacking you for your endless attempts to steal public money, set up sweetheart deals with your family and friends, and the general smell of corruption around you that grows stronger and stronger. You're the one that made Jay Leno, not your critics.

earlier post

JJ reported last week the details of a questionable land deal in Southaven between the city and the Mayor's cousins. Former Senator Doug Davis and Chancery Clerk W.E. Davis are members of an LLC that is selling a ten-acre tract of land to the city for $1.9 million. The land was assessed at only $315,300 in 2006 and a deed of trust was issued on the property by the LLC in 2005 for $200,000. Earlier post

JJ pointed out Saturday the former Senator never disclosed on his statement of economic interest his membership in the LLC as required by law. Failure to disclose such ownership is punishable by a $10,000 fine per violation. The Senator did not disclose his ownership in his 2009 filing. JJ reviewed the statements for W.E. Davis and discovered Mr. Davis did not disclose his ownership in EADS LLC in 2009 as required by law although his filings in 2010 and 2011 do show his membership. The Secretary of State's website states Mr. Davis has been a member of the LLC since 2006.

Updated with GIS map and tax assessment information.

The Southaven Board of Aldermen voted 4-2 on December 6, 2011 to purchase a ten-acre tract of land from EADS LLC for $1.9 million to construct a Senior Citizen Center. Just one little problem with the transaction- the Mayor's two cousins, Desoto County Chancery Clerk E.A. "Sluggo" Davis and his son, former State Senator Doug Davis, are the sellers. The minutes state:

"Next, Mayor Davis reported on the real estate contract to purchase the 10 acres for the Senior Adult Building and Park Expansion, north of Fire Station 4 on Getwell. The price is $1.95 million dollars. The appraisal came in at $2.6 million dollars. He stated that he recommends that the City go ahead and enter into an agreement to purchase this land. Alderman Guy made the motion to sign the contract to purchase the 10 acres of land. Motion was seconded by Alderman Huling. Mayor Davis opened the floor for discussion. Mayor Davis reported that the contract calls to close the deal sometime mid next year (2012)." Minutes

The minutes are silent on the identity of the seller but the Commercial Appeal reported:

"Aldermen voted 4-2 Tuesday evening to approve a contract to buy 10 acres for $1.9 million from EADS LLC, a Hernando-based limited-liability company of which DeSoto County Chancery Court Clerk W. E. "Sluggo" Davis is an officer/director, according to public records.

Davis is a cousin of Southaven Mayor Greg Davis, but the mayor said by e-mail that he didn't know if his cousin was involved in the company's operation, adding that he felt it wasn't a conflict of interest since the mayor did not vote on the matter." Article

It should be pointed out the Mayor did not recuse himself from the discussion of the purchase but instead recommended the purchase. Longtime readers of this blog know what happened next: The Kingfish checked the land records. Needless to say, the transactions surrounding this particular tract of land contain some troubling details.

W.E. Davis and Alvin Gilless purchased the land on April 26, 2005 from Billy Todd Homes. The warranty deed does not mention the true purchase price but the partners issued a deed of trust to Billy Todd Homes for $200,000 on the same day. The loan was paid off and satisfied two years later. Davis, Gillis, and the other partners transferred the land to EADS, LLC on January 12, 2006. The settlement statement for the transaction will reveal the true purchase price EADS LLC paid for the property. The Desoto Tax Assessor's website states the appraised value of the property is $315,300.

These documents and the Secretary of State's office do not list Doug Davis as a member of EADS LLC. However, a deed showing a transfer of another tract of land from EADS, LLC to W.E. Davis on February 7, 2008 lists five members of the LLC and their signatures: Alvin Gilless, A. Edward Gilless, Angela G. Campbell, W.E. Davis, and Douglas E. Davis (the former Senator). The deed states each one is a "member". The former Senator did not mention any ownership or connection to EADS LLC in his statement of economic interest he is required to file with the Ethics Commission each year he was in office. Failure to list such ownership, if it indeed exists, is punishable by a $10,000 fine.

Editorial Comment: That was the news, now for the opinion. The media, the State Auditor, and even the FBI are apparently no deterrence to this out of control Mayor. It is simply mind-boggling Mayor Davis would even think of completing this transaction after the disgrace he brought to the City of Southaven and himself. At a minimum, the Mayor should have recused himself from any discussion of purchasing land from his cousins. Unfortunately for Southaven residents, Mr. Davis's moral compass disappeared in Canada as he repeatedly proves himself unfit for office.

Then there is the transaction itself. Odds are EADS LLC purchased the land for $200,000. However, in the middle of a real estate bust, the Davis family expects us to believe the land somehow appreciated up to 1,000% in five years. Yes, there is an appraisal for $2.6 million but appraisals are not exactly hard to manipulate- if one is so inclined. It is also a little unusual for the assessed value to be 16% of the sales price or 12% of the appraised value.

What is more troubling is not one single member of the Board of Alderman thought there was anything wrong with purchasing land from the Mayor's cousins nor did they ask to see the settlement statement when EADS LLC or the original partners purchased the land. Apparently it is too much to ask for the city attorney to perform an actual title search.

The Auditor and FBI should expand their investigation from sex toys and gay sex shops to sweetheart land deals with family members as the corruption of Mayor Greg Davis is unfortunately not an isolated gene in the Davis family. As a chancery clerk and former senator, the other Davis's are certainly familiar with terms such as "conflict of interest" and appearance of impropriety". One can only imagine how many other landmines the Davis family has set for Southaven.





Davis listed as member of LLC:


Sale of land to Davis & Gilless from Billy Todd Homes in 2005


Deed of trust for $200,000


Transfer of 10 acre tract from partners to EADS LLC