Embattled former Southaven Mayor Greg Davis hired for tourism role in Sardis, Mississippi

• Greg Davis hired by Sardis as tourism director
• Consulting role will pay $30,000 a year
• Davis was acquitted of fraud and embezzlement while Southaven mayor

Former Southaven Mayor Greg Davis has a new role in municipal government as tourism director and community project manager for Sardis, Miss.

Aldermen in Sardis, about 50 miles south of Memphis in Panola County, voted to hire Davis after meeting with him Wednesday morning.

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Sardis Mayor Lula Palmer confirmed the hire. She said the position has a base salary of $30,000 with annual renewal by aldermen.

The job is a consulting position and is not classified as a full-time city employee. Davis said he will try to help the city improve its image by making suggestions on planning policy and codes, working with the city's Main Street program and building marketing ideas.

"I'm real excited," Davis said. "It's a new challenge. ... It's a whole different type of development." 

Despite his problems as Southaven mayor, Davis oversaw the Memphis suburb's emergence as a thriving economic engine for DeSoto County and its growth into one of Mississippi's largest cities.

Legal problems ultimately led to his defeat by current Mayor Darren Musselwhite.Davis was found not guilty of embezzlement and fraud last June by a Lafayette County circuit court jury in Oxford, reversing a 2014 conviction of the same charges in DeSoto County.

Davis has since tried to climb his way back into a public service role, and he said Wednesday he thinks the Sardis job is a step in that direction.

"They (Sardis aldermen) seemed excited, which made me excited," said Davis, adding that aldermen did not question him about his past during the interview. 

Palmer said the city had four candidates for the job that is expected to begin about June 1, and aldermen interviewed the top two picks. She said aldermen decided on Davis because of his experience.

Palmer, who declined comment on whether she supported the hire, said the city was aware of Davis' problems.

The Sardis job follows an ill-fated consulting role last year with Horn Lake. Davis helped the city prepare its budget, but Horn Lake Mayor Allen Latimer killed the idea of future employment of Davis.

Davis is manager of an Olive Branch liquor store, and he said he expects to continue in that job while consulting for Sardis. He said he also has been accepted for admission by Mitchell Hamline School of Law in St. Paul, Minn. Davis said he will enroll in a hybrid program that is a mixture of online study and intense classroom work.

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The former mayor brushed off lingering criticism by many of his past problems, invoking the words if not the name of former Memphis Mayor Willie Herenton.

"They're are gonna be haters out there," Davis said. "They're never gonna go away."