Political fish fry in Ocean Springs

Local elections are winding down all along the Coast. Ocean Springs residents had one last chance to mingle with their candidates.
An old fashioned fish fry hosted by the Mary C. O’Keefe Cultural Center gives candidates a last word before ballots close on Tuesday. With the countdown to June 6th in the single digits, Ocean Springs residents running for mayor and alderman embraced a chance to remind their fellow community members why they deserve the position.
Shea Dobson, who will be on the ballot against incumbent Connie Moran, says that he has a clear plan of what he wants to do if elected. “What I want to do is bring back full time leadership to the mayor’s office. I just want to get back to the basics. I want to work full time. I want to be on time. I am going to make sure we have economic development.”
Along with the mayoral race, there will be at least three new alderman elected. Roxane Samies, who is vying for the seat in ward one, felt a personal draw to get involved in this race. “This is our town and I have a business here and what could I do? I joked around. I used to go on Facebook and put little comments and doggone it, nothing would change so I had to make a decision so I did. I was sitting in my little rocking chair at A to Z and I am retired from Chevron 23 years. I came up with a lot of ideas. I’m like, man I know I can do better than that. I know I can do better than this.”
With a tight race, the house was packed with residents eager to see what these candidates will bring to the table.