Remembering AJ Holloway

As family, friends, and South Mississippi residents prepare for tomorrow’s visitation and funeral service, News 25’s Toni Miles give us a look at the legacy A.J. Holloway leaves behind.

“He always said do it bigger and do it better.” Words many would agree Biloxi’s longest serving mayor would live up to during his unprecedented 22 years of serving as Biloxi’s mayor, a hometown and home grown Biloxian, AJ Holloway, was at the city’s helm when gaming was legalized in the 1990s. Biloxi Spokesman Vincent Creel said, “When he first took office, this city was broke. We were on the verge of bankruptcy. He was able to get our financial house in order using gaming revenue. He was able to oversee the growth of the city.”

Including tripling the size of the Biloxi police and fire departments, building a 10 million public safety center, and new fire stations, but another great challenge would arise in 2005: Hurricane Katrina. Holloway rode out the wind, rushing water, and fury of Katrina at Biloxi City Hall as the storm roared ashore then led the battered city through its years of healing and recovery while looking to the future and beyond the home plate as plans for MGM Park got underway.  Mayor Holloway said in 2014 “I think we’ll have a very good attendance at the baseball games we have. Of course, we’ll be using that stadium for other things such as concerts, rodeos.”

It was here on the Coast, at a hometown Mardi Gras parade in 2015, where Holloway would suffer a medical emergency that would eventually lead to him resigning as mayor. Biloxi Mayor Andrew ‘FoFo’ Gilich said, “He was a force. He was something. It’ll probably be hard to replicate what his life meant to the Coast.”