As a Commissioner and later as Mayor, Cox was a leader in the effort to discourage college students from spending spring break in the city.
"[3] Edgewood Elementary principal Collins Plummer moments later requested clarification of the earlier comment by Mayor Cox.
Mr. Cox then proceeded an attempt at backtracking by stating that the comment was an old cliche which no longer held true due to advances in rights and opportunities for minorities during his lifetime.
Notably, former mayor and congressman E. Clay Shaw, Jr., a far less divisive figure than Cox in ensuing years, opposed this ordinance.
In 1981, while serving as a city commissioner, Cox attracted controversy when he suggested pouring Kerosene in trash cans to prevent the homeless from rummaging for food.
[1] Although he later said that he has meant to say bleach, as he did not want to kill anyone, "his comment captured for many the official attitude toward the scruffy souls whose presence marred the city's image".