Stacey Pickering

Stacey Eugene Pickering (born July 12, 1968) is from Laurel, Mississippi, United States. He has served as a Mississippi State Senator, as State Auditor of Mississippi, as executive director of the Mississippi Veterans Affairs Board, and in the Mississippi Air National Guard.

Mississippi Air National Guard Pickering has served in the 186th Air Operations Group in the Mississippi Air National Guard.

Mississippi State Auditor

Pickering was elected Mississippi State Auditor in 2007, when he defeated Democrat Mike Sumrall, 55 to 45 percent, in the general election; he served in the position for over a decade. He was sworn in on January 10, 2008, and succeeded Phil Bryant. In 2011, Pickering received only third-party opposition as he defeated Reform Party nominee Ashley Norwood, 76 to 24 percent.

In 2016, Pickering began an audit that found that only $3 million had been spent by GreenTech Automotive on automotive assembly equipment and parts in Mississippi, whereas it had promised to invest $60 million and create 350 jobs in Tunica County. In July 2017, Pickering demanded that GreenTech and its CEO Charlie Wang pay Mississippi $6 million, because Greentech had not lived up to its promises. 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."

Pickering resigned in 2018 to lead the Mississippi Veteran Affairs Board.

Mississippi Veterans Affairs Board

Pickering served as executive director of the Mississippi Veterans Affairs Board (MSVA) from 2018, when he replaced Randy Reeves, to 2022. WLBT also alleged abuse of state time and alluded to a possible criminal probe.

Awards

In 2009, the United States Department of Defense honored him with a "Patriot Award" from its Mississippi Employer 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. Pickering received this same award again in May 2013. He has been awarded the Korea Defense Service Medal.

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. 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.

Personal Pickering is a nephew of former U.S. judge Charles W. Pickering, and a cousin of former U.S. Congressman Chip Pickering.

Elections