Stacey Pickering | |
|---|---|
 Pickering in 2017 | |
| 41stAuditor of Mississippi | |
| In office January 10, 2008 – July 12, 2018 | |
| Governor | Haley Barbour Phil Bryant |
| Preceded by | Phil Bryant |
| Succeeded by | Shad White |
| Member of theMississippi State Senate from the 42nd district | |
| In office January 6, 2004 – January 8, 2008 | |
| Preceded by | Vincent Scoper |
| Succeeded by | Chris McDaniel |
| Personal details | |
| Born | Stacey Eugene Pickering (1968-07-12)July 12, 1968 (age 57) Laurel, Mississippi, U.S. |
| Party | Republican |
| Spouse | Whitney Pickering |
| Children | 4 |
| Relatives | Charles W. Pickering (uncle) Chip Pickering (cousin) |
| Education | Jones County Junior College Samford University (BS) New Orleans Baptist Theological Seminary (MS) |
Stacey Eugene Pickering (born July 12, 1968) is fromLaurel, Mississippi, United States. He has served as aMississippi State Senator, asState Auditor of Mississippi, as executive director of the Mississippi Veterans Affairs Board, and in theMississippi Air National Guard.
Pickering has served in the 186th Air Operations Group in theMississippi Air National Guard.[1][2]
For four years Pickering represented District 42, based inJones County, in theMississippi State Senate, to which he was elected in 2003, after incumbent state senator Vincent Scoper decided to retire.[3][4][5]
Pickering was electedMississippi State Auditor in 2007, when he defeatedDemocrat Mike Sumrall, 55 to 45 percent, in the general election; he served in the position for over a decade.[6] He was sworn in on January 10, 2008, and succeededPhil Bryant.[2][7] In 2011, Pickering received only third-party opposition as he defeatedReform Party nominee Ashley Norwood, 76 to 24 percent.[8]
In 2016, Pickering began an audit that found that only $3 million had been spent byGreenTech Automotive on automotive assembly equipment and parts in Mississippi, whereas it had promised to invest $60 million and create 350 jobs inTunica County.[9] While the company had promised to create 350 full-time jobs, he found that it never created more than 94 full-time jobs in Mississippi at any time.[9][10] In July 2017, Pickering demanded that GreenTech and its CEOCharlie Wang pay Mississippi $6 million, because Greentech had not lived up to its promises.[10][11] He said: "I would venture that there isn’t really much of an operation in Tunica at all. This appears to have been a game of smoke and mirrors, and a corporate entity that never had any intention to deliver on the promises it made."[11] GreenTech declaredChapter 11 bankruptcy in February 2018.[12][13]
Pickering resigned in 2018 to lead the Mississippi Veteran Affairs Board.[14][1]
Pickering served as executive director of the Mississippi Veterans Affairs Board (MSVA) from 2018, when he replacedRandy Reeves, to 2022.[2] In May 2022, MSVA issued a press release stating that Pickering and his chief of staff were both resigning.[14] Following the press release,WLBT News reported that Pickering resigned because he had an unprofessional relationship with his chief of staff.[15][16] WLBT also alleged abuse of state time and alluded to a possible criminal probe.[15][16] Subsequent analysis raised what a journalist called "significant questions about how the agency operated under Pickering, a former state auditor and legislator, and the workplace culture he cultivated."[17]
In 2009, theUnited States Department of Defense honored him with a "Patriot Award" from its MississippiEmployer Support of the Guard and Reserve (ESGR) in recognition of his extraordinary support of its employees who serve in the Mississippi National Guard and Reserve.[18] Pickering received this same award again in May 2013.[19][20] He has been awarded theKorea Defense Service Medal.[21]
In June 2012, Pickering was honored with the National State Auditor's Association's "National Excellence in Accountability Award" for his work on accountability and oversight regarding theAmerican Recovery and Reinvestment Act of 2009.[22] In 2014, Pickering received the David M. Walker Excellence in Government Performance and Accountability Award, a national award presented once every two years to three auditors from the public sector accountability community who represent federal, state, and local governments.[23]
Pickering is a nephew of former U.S. judgeCharles W. Pickering, and a cousin of former U.S. CongressmanChip Pickering.[24]
| Mississippi State Senate 42nd District election, 2003 | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| Party | Candidate | Votes | % |
| Republican | Stacey Pickering | 10,932 | 58.77 |
| Democratic | Randy Ellzey | 7,669 | 41.23 |
| Mississippi Auditor election, 2007 | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| Party | Candidate | Votes | % |
| Republican | Stacey Pickering | 399,279 | 54.97 |
| Democratic | Mike Sumrall | 327,033 | 45.03 |
| Mississippi Auditor election, 2011 | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| Party | Candidate | Votes | % |
| Republican | Stacey Pickering (inc.) | 596,395 | 75.62 |
| Reform | Ashley Norwood | 192,271 | 24.38 |
| Mississippi Auditor Republican primary election, 2015 | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| Party | Candidate | Votes | % |
| Republican | Stacey Pickering (inc.) | 183,367 | 67.74 |
| Republican | Mary Hawkins-Butler | 87,318 | 32.26 |
| Mississippi Auditor election, 2015 | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| Party | Candidate | Votes | % |
| Republican | Stacey Pickering (inc.) | 453,601 | 63.99 |
| Democratic | Jocelyn "Joce" Pepper Pritchett | 245,899 | 34.69 |
| Reform | Lajena Walley | 9,380 | 1.32 |
| Party political offices | ||
|---|---|---|
| Preceded by | Republican nominee forState Auditor of Mississippi 2007,2011,2015 | Succeeded by |
| Mississippi State Senate | ||
| Preceded by | Member of theMississippi State Senate from the 42nd district 2004–2008 | Succeeded by |
| Political offices | ||
| Preceded by | Auditor of Mississippi 2008–2018 | Succeeded by |
