Governor Phil Bryant has said that he will announce a replacement for State Auditor Stacey Pickering Friday, July 6th at 10:00 a.m. Pickering recently announced that he will be serving as the Executive Director of the Veterans Affairs Board and will start July 15th.
Pickering has served as Mississippi ‘s 41st State Auditor since 2007 and has overseen the recovery of over 26 million dollars of misspent, embezzled or misappropriated tax dollars. Most recently, Pickering served as the national president of the National State Auditor’s Association.
“We have been working this past week and even earlier looking for that individual,” said Governor Phil Bryant. “There has probably been a pool of 10 at least that could do the job and I think that we are down to about four that I think all have the qualifications to be a good state auditor. It is the toughest decision that I have had to make so far, but we will make it quickly.”
Bryant added that he wants to select someone who will continue in the job as State Auditor for a number of years and not just use it as a stepping stone to a higher office.
“The State Auditor’s job is one that is about long-term goals,” Bryant said. “Stacey has done a remarkable job and I want a new auditor to realize that it is not that stepping stone for another political office, it can be at some point in the future, but they need to dedicate themselves to being State Auditor.”
Bryant himself served as State Auditor from 1996-2008 and said it was one of the most difficult tasks of his career up to that point.
