MISSISSIPPI LEGISLATURE
2021 Regular Session
To: Rules
By: Senator(s) Suber, Barnett, Barrett, Chism, McLendon, McMahan, Williams, Jackson (32nd), Simmons (12th), Simmons (13th)
A CONCURRENT RESOLUTION EXTENDING THE SYMPATHY OF THE LEGISLATURE TO THE BEREAVED FAMILY OF THE STATE'S LONGEST-SERVING MAYOR, DOCK GABBERT, WHO SERVED AS MAYOR OF DERMA, MISSISSIPPI, FOR MORE THAN A HALF-CENTURY, AND COMMENDING HIS LEGACY OF PUBLIC SERVICE.
WHEREAS, we join the citizens of Derma, Mississippi, and the bereaved family in mourning the passing of Mayor Dock Gabbert, 78, who passed away on December 30, 2020, following a brief battle with COVID-19; and
WHEREAS, Dock Gabbert was Mississippi's longest-serving Mayor. He had won 14 straight mayoral elections, dating back to 1969. Some years he had an opponent. He won one election by just two votes, but most of the time, he ran unopposed; and
WHEREAS, in 2014, the Mississippi Municipal League presented Gabbert with a plaque for being the longest-tenured mayor in the state. He wore that label as a badge of honor. He loved his town and did not want to give up on it; and
WHEREAS, in 1967, then 24-year-old Gabbert won a special election to fill out the remaining two years of an alderman's term on the board. It was his first taste of city government and small-town politics, but it was far from his last. Back then, the town had gravel streets, two-inch water lines and no sewer system. The city owned just one building, with a wood desk and a two-drawer filing cabinet; and
WHEREAS, in 1969, the part-time mayor's position only paid $10.00 per month. So Gabbert dipped into his own wallet to put paneling in the city building. He also had a phone installed in his name. Gabbert successfully lobbied for grants to get the sanitary sewer system installed. But the bureaucratic process took several years. As work on that project got underway, Gabbert's second term was nearing its end. So he ran again. And again. And again; and
WHEREAS, in the last 100 years, Derma has had 11 mayors. Four had terms of one year or less. Two served for 17 or more years. Only Gabbert has served more than 20. The summer of 2021 would have seen the end of his 52nd year as Mayor; and
WHEREAS, being Mayor for more than a half-century gave city projects continuity. It allowed Gabbert to find grants when available to continue to improve the town, a distinction he believed gave his beloved small town a sense of consistency; and
WHEREAS, we pay tribute and cherish fondly the memory of this most public-spirited citizen of Mississippi who leaves a legacy of enormous civic energy, and will be missed:
NOW, THEREFORE, BE IT RESOLVED BY THE SENATE OF THE STATE OF MISSISSIPPI, THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES CONCURRING THEREIN, That we do hereby extend the sympathy of the Legislature to the bereaved family of the state's longest-serving Mayor, Dock Gabbert, who served as Mayor of Derma, Mississippi, for more than a half-century, and commend his legacy of public service.
BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED, That this resolution be presented to the surviving family of Mayor Dock Gabbert, forwarded to the Board of Aldermen and the Mississippi Municipal League, and made available to the Capitol Press Corps.