If you ask Greg Davis why after 16 years as mayor of Southaven he is calling it quits, the conversation doesn't go where you expect it to, for one, he points at the media.

"To be honest with you, every time I sneezed, the news seemed to be there, and that is not healthy for my girls," he said. "That played a huge role in it. My partner never wanted me to run again, and that played an absolutely huge role in it."

 On his being indicted and his upcoming trial on charges of false pretenses and embezzlement, Mayor Davis seemed unphased.

"I can tell you the trial is Jan. 28 and 29 with the (Mississippi) State Auditor as we said before we are looking forward to the date so we can tell our side of the story," he said.

Oh his plans after leaving office, Davis made little mention of time to be spent in court.

"I am looking forward to starting a new chapter in my life where my partner and my daughters and other family members spend more time together and do things together," the mayor said. "We are eligible for retirement as of Dec. 1 and that should help the financial situation, we are looking for another job possibly. So for anyone out there we are available."

In his letter to the city of Southaven department heads (READ BELOW), Mayor Davis makes no mention of indictment or personal legal troubles, he only talks about what the city has accomplished.

"You know, honestly you go back and you look at everything that has gone on and hopefully people will take a look at the list of accomplishments that have taken place and be able to savor these more than the last 12 months," he said.

To his critics and accusers, Mr. Davis remains defiant, reiterating that his legal troubles have nothing to do with his choosing not to run again.

"My dad gave me a quote when I got into politics at the age of 23 and when I was in that first election for state representative and he found it somewhere," Davis said. " It says, 'if you can't run with the big dogs, don't get down off the porch.' I have never been afraid  to run with the big dogs. I know that God will never give me more than I can handle. Even though it has gotten heavy at times, He has helped me through it. I don't think that made the decision at all in what I am doing."

As for who he is endorsing to be the next mayor of Southaven, Mayor Davis said he doesn't endorse candidates.

"I don't endorse candidates for any offices, and I'm not going to endorse one for the office I am about to vacate," he said.

GREG DAVIS LETTER "Election Decision 2013"

Over the last sixteen years of this administration we have seen many projects and developments that I feel have helped our city move forward with controlled growth. Some of those which come to mind are as follows:

• We have more than doubled in population making us the third largest city in MS
• We have developed an award winning park system and become a destination for youth sports in the southeastern region of the US.
• We have drawn in large retail developments such as the Southaven Towne Center and many others.
• We have redeveloped our Main Street areas and have worked with developers to fill once vacant buildings.
• We have maintained a very low crime rate despite the growth.
• We have established one of the largest reserve funds in the city's history
• We gave the first and only property tax rebate in the state to our homeowners (HB 1863 2002)
• In the last eight years not only have we not increased taxes but actually reduced them.
• We have improved a fire rating to a 3 which outside of the City of Jackson is the best in the State.
• We have moved our ambulance service to paramedic level.
• We have built both a Fire and Police Training facility
• We have developed a household recycling program
• We have built the Multipurpose Arena, New Public Works Complex, New Animal Shelter, MR Davis Library, 3 New Fire stations, East Precinct, Amphitheater, Parks Building, performing Arts Center, and improved our ball fields.
• We have answered the call to open shelters for Hurricane victims
• We have gone paperless in Board meeting as well as being the most transparent local government on the web from information to the web cast of our meetings.We have computerized some of our police cars as well as a state of the art Dispatch Center.
• We have doubled both our police and fire department personnel
• In Utilities we have built 2 four MGD water plants, 3 new water towers, received a perfect 5 star rating from the state all while having some of the lowest water rates in MS.
• In the police department we started our Citizens academy, Traffic Division, decreased the size of our patrol zones, new police department bldg., Street Crimes unit, police take home car program, consolidated recording keeping among all DeSoto county law enforcement agencies, MDOT cameras monitored by our dispatch, crime stats/ real time mapping of crime via the website.

These are just a few of the highlights among many other things that this administration has done to help improve the community which we call home.

While these are important to us as a community as a whole, I have also thoroughly enjoyed the opportunity to help out the many individuals with problems to improve their personal lives regardless if it was a city issue or not.

However, after careful consideration and prayer, along with discussions with my partner and family, I feel the time has come for me not to seek reelection and allow the voters to choose who will lead them over the next four years.

I want to thank all of my department heads and our employees who work diligently every day to serve our citizens and especially Kristi my executive assistant who has kept me on track over the years.

I want to thank all of my supporters who have called and volunteered to work on a campaign as well as those who have called in support over the last year. But the time has come for me to begin a new chapter in my life where more attention can be given to those that I love.
I fully intend to continue to work diligently on projects that are important to our city such as the Senior Adult Building, the Outlet Shops Development, and the widening of Elmore and Getwell, just to name a few.

Again, thank you to the citizens of Southaven for allowing me the opportunity to serve you over the past 16 years as your mayor and 7 years as your State Representative. May God Bless each of you and our city.

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FOX13 News reporter Tom Dees contributed to this report.