Southaven Mayor Greg Davis returned to public life in the North Mississippi town Monday, Jan. 30, by announcing he has “no intention of resigning,” despite a federal criminal investigation into his spending of taxpayer money and a critical review of the same expenses by the Mississippi auditor’s office.

“I felt certain questions will be answered with factual data,” Davis said in a brief press conference at Southaven City Hall in which he took no questions.

Southaven aldermen have voted to ask Davis to resign. They took the vote after Davis had left for an undisclosed location following his admission that he is gay. The admission also came with a defense of his spending, which he contends was legal and was to promote the fast-growing city.

The auditor’s office disagreed and ordered Davis to repay $170,000 for credit card charges auditors said were unauthorized.

The Mississippi Department of Transportation recently froze all funding for new transportation projects in Southaven because of the continuing investigations.

The delay in projects includes a widening of Getwell Road as well as Stateline Road.