It happened in church. “I was singing in the choir and Frank winked at me,” the Starkville artist said.
The wink, delivered in 1959 to Carole McReynolds, started what would become a partnership for her and her now-husband Frank Davis.
Frank Davis and Carole McReynolds-Davis have been partners in marriage for going on 41 years, and now they’re partners in campaigning. Davis, a city alderman for more than four years, is running for mayor.
Davis’ life, as illustrated by his marriage to his Starkville-native wife, is intertwined with the city and its residents.
Davis, 65, grew up in Leflore County but moved to Starkville in 1957 to attend Mississippi State College, a year before the school became Mississippi State University.
He lettered as a tennis player, but managed to find time for aggressive studies. At age 25, he had already received his doctorate degree from the university. He would spend the next 35 years teaching entomology at the school.
“I love this place,” Davis said. “I never thought I would stay here for my whole career, but I did.”
Davis retired from teaching in 1999, but he didn’t stop working. “I’m probably working harder now than ever before,” he said.
In 2001 the Democrat ran a successful campaign for the position of Ward 2 alderman.
One of the highlights of his career as an entomologist came a year earlier. He helped co-found a workshop at State that teaches students how to raise butterflies, moths, fire ants and crickets for research purposes. The workshop is the only one of its kind in the world.
Now he’s focusing his attention on campaigning. Davis, whose silver hair is never out of place, and his wife have been canvassing the city for months, placing their red and blue campaign signs and handing out literature. “I think he really wants to be the mayor,” McReynolds-Davis said.
At the center of his campaign is the issue of improving the aesthetics of Starkville. He wants stricter ordinances, similar to those in cities such as Madison in central Mississippi, to improve Starkville’s image. A better image will attract more students and improve the quality of life for residents in general, he said. “Curb appeal is very important.”
He also wants a comprehensive plan for downtown Starkville similar to the one developed by landscape architecture students in January. The plan calls for high-end condos downtown, which currently lacks residential areas, more trees in the area and a new city hall building. “I want a comprehensive plan done so well that we say, ‘OK, let’s put it out here on the table and keep it here … until we have completed the goals of this comprehensive plan.'”
He met with former MSU president Malcolm Portera at the beginning of his term as alderman, Davis said. They decided that a revitalization of the downtown area was a top priority for the betterment of the city as a whole.
Davis said that four years ago he joked that a person could stand at the end of Main Street downtown at night, drive a golf ball down the street toward the university and not worry about hitting anyone. But that’s not the case anymore, he said. “Once again, Starkville is alive downtown,” he said.
The change in the appearance of downtown is due largely to a mayor and Board of Aldermen who have been student-friendly over the last four years, he said. Davis said the current mayor and Board of Aldermen have invested from $350,000 to $500,000 into beautification of the downtown area since they took office four years ago.
Now students can be seen walking from Old Venice Pizza Co. to Mugshots on a Saturday night, an uncommon sight four years ago. “What that really tells me is that investment downtown really reaped economic benefits for everyone,” Davis said.
He wants to continue improving the downtown area by issuing bonds to construct a new city hall building on Jefferson Street north of Main Street. The building would house the city’s electric department, governmental offices and other facets of the city.
Davis has been a strong supporter of moving the city’s police department, which currently shares a building with City Hall, to a location at the Miss. Highway 25 Bypass near Wal-Mart. Davis would like to see the building, a former National Guard armory, demolished to make room for more parking downtown.
The push to move the police department to the new location has drawn ire from some city residents, including Alderman at Large Vic Zitta, and praise from others. Davis said the board came to the decision to issue bonds and build the new complex through much deliberation. “This has been a tremendously researched deal,” he said.
The city of Starkville has never built a municipal building, he said. “Starkville’s got to decide-do we want to be a great city or do we want to stay as-is? We’ve been as-is for 167 years.”
Davis said Starkville is at a pivotal point in its development, and that he is the right person to guide its growth.
“Our boat’s arriving and we better get on it and steer it properly,” he said. “I see a bright future for Starkville if we just play our cards right.”