- The longtime Coast attorney and community leader will seek the Republican nomination in the 2025 municipal election.
Gulfport Mayor Billy Hewes (R) recently announced that he will not seek re-election next year after serving three terms as the city’s chief executive.
READ MORE: Hewes won’t seek re-election as Gulfport Mayor
On Tuesday, a well-known Coast attorney – Hugh Keating – stepped into the political spotlight, filing campaign organization paperwork to run for the mayor’s office in Mississippi’s second largest municipality.
Keating will seek the Republican nomination in 2025 to be Gulfport’s next Mayor. While he has not formally announced his candidacy, Keating told Magnolia Tribune his focus will be on the city reaching its full potential.
“I have always believed in the principle of service above self, and that drives my desire to serve the people of Gulfport as your next Mayor,” Keating told Magnolia Tribune. “My focus will be on building our city to reach its full potential when it comes to growing the economy, tourism offerings, public safety, community relations, infrastructure enhancements, and an overall quality of life for families that is second to none.”
Current Mayor Hewes said Keating has a long history of civic involvement in the city, something that will serve him well.
“We are fortunate to have had his decades of service to our community, and the fact that he has made the decision to seek the office of Mayor represents even more opportunity for confidence, stability, and continued growth in Mississippi’s second largest city,” Hewes said.
Keating is Vice-President/Treasurer, Director and Shareholder of the law firm Dukes, Keating, Hatten, McRaney and Blum. He received his B.A. from the University of South Alabama and earned a Juris Doctorate from Mississippi College School of Law. He is a past president of The Mississippi Bar and was appointed by former Governor Phil Bryant to serve on the Judicial Appointments Advisory Committee for the Second Supreme Court District in 2017.
In addition, Keating has served on various community boards and commissions, including the Gulfport School District Strategic Planning Committee, Mississippi Gulf Coast Chamber of Commerce, Blue Ribbon Commission on Public Trust Tidelands, Gulfport Rotary Club, and many others.
According to paperwork filed with the City Clerk’s office establishing the Friends of Hugh Keating political committee, former Mississippi Republican Party chairman Frank Bordeaux will serve as the candidate’s committee chairman. Bordeaux said he is “110% behind” Keating.
“I don’t know who’s going to run against him; I don’t know if anyone will,” Bordeaux said. “I’ve seen Hugh my entire life, since childhood, invest his time into the city of Gulfport, whether it was youth sports or digging in and working hard for our city. He’s committed time, he has institutional knowledge in the city, but more importantly he has a passion for the success of Gulfport, the Coast and the state.”
Municipal elections will be held next Spring, with the new terms beginning in July 2025.
Frank Corder
