Eddie Favre, ‘the Mayor in Shorts,’ remembered for his love of Bay St. Louis

The mayor of Bay St. Louis when Hurricane Katrina struck in 2005 saw the city through its worst disaster — wearing shorts and flip-flops as he traveled the country to raise funds for his city and raise awareness of the devastation suffered by the Mississippi Gulf Coast.

He even wore a tuxedo with the pants altered into shorts for a gala event in Washington, D.C. in 2006, vowing to not wear long pants until Bay St. Louis has fully recovered from the storm. He finally put on long pants again in 2011 — not because he felt that Bay St. Louis had recovered from Katrina, but because he was subpoenaed in a court case. Sun Herald reporter Anita Lee saw the then-former mayor in long pants at the Harrison County Courthouse.

“We’re not quite there,” Favre said at the time, “but I didn’t want to offend the judge.”

Favre, the brother of current Bay St. Louis Mayor Mike Favre, began his career in public service in 1980 as city clerk for Bay St. Louis. He then served the city for 20 years as mayor, deciding not to run again in 2009. He retired briefly before heading back into public service as Hancock County administrator in 2016. He retired again in 2022, citing health reasons.

The city honored Favre with a Bronze Star on the sidewalk in front of Hancock Whitney Bank on Beach Boulevard in October 2022.

In addition to his work as a public service, Favre was a fixture in fundraisers that included cooking. He cooked in competitions to help raise money for Hope Haven, the American Cancer Society and other charities.

Kay Kell, who worked as city clerk from 1989 to 1996, said working for Favre was an adventure.

“What I liked was that he was not afraid to make big, bold moves that nobody else ever thought of,” Kell said.

She said Favre became upset with Kell because she wanted to bring computers into the city clerk’s office, where Favre, the former city clerk, preferred to do his budgets on paper.

Kell said she told Favre she’d enter everything into the computer and he could still work on paper.

“He sat across from my desk with his feet up and I was putting numbers into the computer and he had the total in his head faster than the computer could calculate it,” Kell said. “He was the smartest man I’d ever worked with.”

Kathleen Koch, a Bay St. Louis native and former CNN correspondent who is now the founder and executive director of LeadersLink, covered the Coast’s recovery after Katrina, spoke to Favre on February 6 and shared some of the conversation.

They talked about their time working together after Katrina. Favre was Koch’s guest at the 2006 Washington correspondents dinner, where he wore the now famous shorts tuxedo.

“I wouldn’t trade it for anything. Way up in DC with that tuxedo and the shorts,” he said.  “We did what we had to do.  Hopefully it worked out for everyone.”

Favre talked about how easy everyone made it easy to put the work in after Katrina and how he had no regrets about how he went about helping the city after the storm.

“I don’t really.  It was like the song. ‘My Way. ‘ It may not have been the best way, but it was what it needed to be.  It was OK.”

Finally, Koch asked him if he was nervous about his declining health. “No, I’m not. At first we were hopin’ and prayin’ for miracles,” Favre said. “Save me.  Heal me. The main thing at the end was getting back home.”

He went on to tell Koch that doctors in Baton Rouge told him that to be able to go home, they needed to stabilize his blood pressure without medication. The next morning when he woke up, his pressure was stable. “All of it has been good,” he said.

Koch called Favre a natural leader. “He cared so deeply about helping people — and not just the residents of Bay St. Louis.  After he led the city’s successful Katrina recovery, I asked him if he would volunteer through my nonprofit LeadersLink to share what he’d learned with other mayors whose cities experienced disasters.” Koch said.

“Eddie didn’t hesitate.  He traveled to the Jersey Shore to encourage mayors whose towns were devastated by Superstorm Sandy.  He helped mentor the mayor of Denham Springs, Louisiana, after floods inundated that city in 2016.  And he shared what he knew in a disaster leadership documentary on our website.  Eddie had a way of connecting with people and helping them through the most difficult times with courage and optimism.  He was such a kind soul and I will miss him so much!”