Stacey Pickering

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title: "Stacey Pickering" type: doc version: 1 created: 2026-02-28 author: "Wikipedia contributors" status: active scope: public tags: ["living-people", "1968-births", "21st-century-members-of-the-mississippi-legislature", "baptists-from-mississippi", "jones-county-junior-college-alumni", "mississippi-national-guard-personnel", "republican-party-mississippi-state-senators", "new-orleans-baptist-theological-seminary-alumni", "people-from-laurel,-mississippi", "military-personnel-from-mississippi", "samford-university-alumni", "state-auditors-of-mississippi"] description: "American politician" topic_path: "philosophy" source: "https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Stacey_Pickering" license: "CC BY-SA 4.0" wikipedia_page_id: 0 wikipedia_revision_id: 0

::summary American politician ::

::data[format=table title="Infobox officeholder"]

Field	Value
name	Stacey Pickering
image	Stacey E. Pickering.jpg
caption	Pickering in 2017
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
birth_place	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](new-orleans-baptist-theological-seminary) (MS)
::

|name = Stacey Pickering |image = Stacey E. Pickering.jpg |caption = Pickering in 2017 |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 = |birth_place = Laurel, Mississippi, U.S. |death_date = |death_place = |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 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 Senate

For four years 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.

Mississippi State Auditor

::figure[src="https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/6/6c/Stacey_Pickering_speaking_at_the_Neshoba_County_Fair.jpg" caption="Pickering speaking at the [[Neshoba County]] Fair in 2013"] ::

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. 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."

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

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Mississippi State Senate 42nd District election, 2003
Party
Republican
Democratic
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Mississippi Auditor election, 2007
Party
Republican
Democratic
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Mississippi Auditor election, 2011
Party
Republican
Reform
::

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Mississippi Auditor Republican primary election, 2015
Party
Republican
Republican
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::data[format=table]

Mississippi Auditor election, 2015
Party
Republican
Democratic
Reform
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References

References

1. "Mississippi Senator Vince Scoper Announces Plans for Retirement".
2. (2003-01-16). "16 Jan 2003, 17 - The Times of South Mississippi at". Newspapers.com.
3. "Our Campaigns - MS State Senate 42 Race - Nov 04, 2003".
4. Mississippi Secretary of State. "Total Votes Reported by County for the 2007 General Election".
5. [https://www.clarionledger.com/story/news/politics/2018/06/25/pickering-resigning-auditor-veterans-post/730646002/ "Stacey Pickering resigning as auditor to take veterans post,"] ''Clarion Ledger''.
6. Byrd, Shelia. (January 11, 2008). "7 statewide officials take oath of office". Hattiesburg American.
7. Mississippi Secretary of State. "Official Tabulation of Vote for State Office of Auditor".
8. 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.[https://www.baconsrebellion.com/where-did-140-million-in-greentech-money-go/ "Where Did $140 Million in GreenTech Money Go?,"] ''Bacon's Rebellion'', October 27, 2021.
9. Josh Gerstein (November 28, 2017). [https://www.politico.com/story/2017/11/28/greentech-automotive-lawsuit-terry-mcauliffe-262771 "Chinese investors sue McAuliffe, Rodham over green-car investments ,"] ''Politico''.
10. [https://journalrecord.com/2017/07/06/mississippi-demands-6-4m-back-from-electric-car-maker-ceo/ "Mississippi demands $6.4M back from electric car maker, CEO,"] ''The Journal Record'', July 6, 2017.
11. GreenTech declared [[Chapter 11]] bankruptcy in February 2018.Ned Oliver (February 27, 2018). [https://richmond.com/news/local/government-politics/greentech-the-electric-car-company-once-led-by-mcauliffe-files/article_bf83ede4-ae12-5561-ad3b-b0a29c2b0984.html "GreenTech, the electric car company once led by McAuliffe, files for bankruptcy,"] ''Richmond Times-Dispatch.''
12. Yerak, Becky. (28 February 2018). "GreenTech Automotive Files for Bankruptcy". The Wall Street Journal.
13. Mitchell, J.T.. (May 16, 2022). "Stacey Pickering officially resigns from state VA board". SuperTalk Mississippi Media.
14. [https://www.clarionledger.com/story/news/2022/05/17/ex-mississippi-auditor-stacey-pickering-resigns-state-veterans-affairs/9803921002/ "Former Mississippi state auditor Stacey Pickering resigns from state Veterans Affairsm"] ''Clarion Ledger''.
15. LeMaster, C. J.. (June 9, 2022). "3 On Your Side Investigates: State of Affairs".
16. Bonelli, Cam. (June 10, 2022). "Veterans 'affairs'?".
17. Journal, TAYLOR VANCE Daily. (July 30, 2022). "Internal documents reveal months of concerns at embattled state Veterans Affairs board".
18. (10 March 2009). "Pickering Honored by DOD for Extraordinary Support of Employees Who Serve".
19. (8 May 2013). "Auditor Stacey Pickering Receives Second Patriot Award".
20. [https://www.djournal.com/stacey-pickering-wins-patriot-award/article_c208dc15-c085-5ec3-ae00-626513556b61.html "Stacey Pickering wins Patriot Award,"] ''Daily Journal''.
21. [https://www.clarionledger.com/story/magnolia/faith/2017/09/29/auditing-morale-stacey-pickering-deploys-south-korea-chaplain/709773001/ "Auditing morale: Stacey Pickering deploys to South Korea as chaplain,"] ''Clarion Ledger''.
22. (27 June 2012). "State Auditor Stacey Pickering Wins National Award for Excellence in Accountability".
23. (25 August 2014). "State Auditor's Work Recognized with National Award". Mississippi Office of the State Auditor News.
24. [https://www.mississippifreepress.org/veterans-agency-director-stacey-pickering-resigns-but-reasons-unclear/ "Veterans Agency Director Stacey Pickering Resigns, But Reasons Unclear,"] ''Mississippi Free Press''.

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