| Stacey Pickering | |
| Office: | 41st Auditor of Mississippi |
| Governor: | Haley Barbour Phil Bryant |
| Term Start: | January 10, 2008 |
| Term End: | July 12, 2018 |
| Predecessor: | Phil Bryant |
| Successor: | Shad White |
| State Senate1: | Mississippi State |
| District1: | 42nd |
| Term Start1: | January 6, 2004 |
| Term End1: | January 8, 2008 |
| Predecessor1: | Vincent Scoper |
| Successor1: | Chris McDaniel |
| Birth Name: | Stacey Eugene Pickering |
| Birth Date: | 12 July 1968 |
| Birth Place: | Laurel, Mississippi, U.S. |
| Party: | Republican |
| Spouse: | Whitney Pickering |
| Children: | 4 |
| Relatives: | Charles W. Pickering (uncle) Chip Pickering (cousin) Anderson M. Pickering (cousin) |
| Education: | Jones County Junior College Samford University (BS) New Orleans Baptist Theological Seminary (MS) |
Stacey Eugene Pickering (born July 12, 1968) is from Laurel, Mississippi, United States. Pickering has served as a Mississippi State Senator, as State Auditor of Mississippi, and as executive director of the Mississippi Veterans Affairs Board.
Pickering represented District 42, based in Jones County, in the Mississippi State Senate, to which he was elected in 2003, after incumbent state senator, Vincent Scoper, decided to retire.[1] [2] [3]
Pickering was elected state auditor in 2007, when he defeated the Democrat Mike Sumrall, 55 to 45 percent, in the general election.[4] He was sworn in on January 10, 2008.[5] In 2011, Pickering received only third-party opposition as he defeated Reform Party nominee Ashley Norwood, 76 to 24 percent.[6]
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 the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act of 2009.[7] In 2009, the United States Department of Defense honored him with a "Patriot Award" from its Mississippi Committee on Employer's 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.[8] Pickering received this same award again in May, 2013.[9]
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.[10]
Pickering resigned in 2018.[11]
Pickering served as executive director of the Mississippi Veterans Affairs Board (MSVA) from 2018 to 2022. In May 2022, MSVA issued a press release stating that Pickering and his chief of staff were both resigning.[11] Following the press release, WLBT News reported that Pickering resigned because he had an unprofessional relationship with his chief of staff.[12] [13] WLBT also alleged abuse of state time and alluded to a possible criminal probe.[12] [13] Subsequent analysis raised "significant questions about how the agency operated under Pickering, a former state auditor and legislator, and the workplace culture he cultivated."[14]
| 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 | |
|-