Gulfport native Hugh Keating defeated Sonya Williams Barnes on Tuesday after a tense mayoral race to replace Billy Hewes in city hall. Now, the longtime attorney has his sights set on boosting the coastal city’s economy while bolstering its infrastructure.
Keating called running for mayor in his hometown a “calling” ahead of the election cycle. Come July 1, when he officially takes office, he says he is in a unique position to lead Gulfport to new heights.
“I know this city, I know its strengths and weaknesses,” Keating said Thursday. “I know its personnel. I’m ready to hit the ground running and I think we can do so. It’s going to be a seamless transition.”
While he emphasized the growth of Gulfport, now Mississippi’s second-largest city, under Hewes, Keating says even more opportunity for improvement lies on the horizon.
His focus will be working inside out, turning the city center into a thriving economic hub in order to benefit the surrounding areas.
“Growing the residential community downtown is going to be key to expanding small businesses and bringing high tech jobs to our area,” Keating said. “From there, I think it will create an economic engine that will filter out into the communities and neighborhoods.”
With growth comes growing pains, and according to the mayor-elect, that’s something Gulfport is already experiencing.
The city’s police force has not kept pace with population growth. Keating says GPD has about 50 fewer patrol officers than it needs to be able to both properly enforce the law and connect to the community.
“[Increasing the police force] will give us a chance to be proactive instead of reactive,” Keating explained. “We could grow our youth programs. The police should be your front line for building good community relations. We want to grow it to building that confidence and trust.”
Williams Barnes, also prominent member of the community after serving in the state legislature for more than a decade and working as a local business owner, says while her campaign came up short, it was a landmark rallying cry that can bring Gulfport together like never before.
“We made history. We built momentum. And we showed what real change looks like,” Williams Barnes said Wednesday. “Gulfport is ready – and I will always be ready to continue serving this community.”
