State Auditor Stacey Pickering officially qualified to run for re-election as State Auditor during a press conference held today at Mississippi Republican Party Headquarters. Pickering was elected as Mississippi’s 41st State Auditor in 2007. Under his leadership, the State Auditor’s Office has recovered over $4 million in embezzled funds. To date, 64 individuals are awaiting trial, and another 70 have pled or been found guilty in a court of law as a result of investigations conducted by the State Auditor’s Office. In addition, the State Auditor’s Office has provided over 530 hours of training to elected officials and public employees since 2008.
“I am running for re-election as State Auditor to ensure you, the taxpayers, continue to have accountability and transparency in your State Government,” said State Auditor Stacey Pickering. There are more than 100 active investigations ongoing statewide in the State Auditor’s Office, and I promise to see these cases through and ensure that any individuals guilty of breaking the law and stealing your tax dollars are held accountable. When I was elected, I campaigned on the Contract for Accountability, my promises to you if I was elected State Auditor. By the end of 2010, I had completed the Contract for Accountability I campaigned on in 2007, but the State Auditor’s Office has accomplished much more than my 2007 Contract for Accountability included over the past three years. We have seen an increase in the investigative case load, along with millions of federal funds flowing through Mississippi with the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act (ARRA) and the expansion of our Hurricane Katrina Task Form to a more general fraud task force removing the limitations from its scope. I will continue the work that you expect and demand from your State Auditor’s Office in my second term.”
A seventh generation Mississippian, Pickering currently serves on the Domestic Working Group for the Office of the Comptroller General of the United States. He also serves on the Financial Management and Intergovernmental Affairs and Performance Audit Committees for the National Association of State Auditors, Comptrollers and Treasurers and is a member of the National State Auditors Association. State Auditor Stacey Pickering also oversees the accountability and transparency of the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act (ARRA) funds spent in Mississippi.