State Auditor Stacey Pickering will resign his position in July to become executive director of the state Veterans’ Affairs board, Mississippi Today has learned.

Pickering, who was first elected auditor in 2007, confirmed to Mississippi Today that he would inform his senior staff Monday morning that he is taking the Veterans’ Affairs position, which became vacant late last year when former director Randy Reeves was confirmed as Under Secretary for Memorial Affairs in the U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs in 2017.

“We had been talking about it for a while and praying about it for a while, and given my service in the National Guard, it seemed like the perfect fit,” Pickering told Mississippi Today.

Gov. Phil Bryant would appoint a replacement to fill the remainder of Pickering’s term as auditor, which runs through 2019.

Bryant himself got his big political break in 1996, when former Gov. Kirk Fordice appointed Bryant auditor after then-Auditor Steve Patterson resigned as part of a court settlement. Bryant was at the time in his second term in the state House of Representatives.

Pickering will oversee the state agency responsible for helping service members secure state and federal benefits.

Among the duties of the state department, according to its website, is to “provide burial option for veterans and their spouses; increase number of approved (for VA funding) on-the-job and apprenticeship programs in Mississippi; develop new media products for distribution to/for veterans; and explore new long term care options for veterans.”

Prior to becoming auditor, Pickering served a single term from 2004-2008 in the state Senate. He won the 2007 statewide election for auditor by 10 points in 2007, and has served in the post since.

During his re-election bid in 2015, The Clarion-Ledger reported that Pickering was part of an FBI probe after Pickering allegedly had been using campaign funds for personal use. This included a garage door at his personal residence, a BMW car that was given to his daughter, and an RV, which he claimed was for his campaign.

Pickering called the allegations a campaign stunt from his opponent, Madison Mayor Mary Hawkins-Butler. No charges were ever filed against Pickering.

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Editor-in-Chief Adam Ganucheau oversees Mississippi's largest newsroom. He was the lead editor of Mississippi Today's 2023 Pulitzer Prize-winning "The Backchannel" investigation, which exposed the roles of high-profile players in the state's welfare scandal. During Adam's tenure as editor, Mississippi Today has won numerous national, regional and statewide journalism prizes for its journalism. Under his leadership, the newsroom won a 2023 Pulitzer Prize and was named a finalist for a 2024 Pulitzer Prize; won two Goldsmith Prizes for Investigative Reporting; won a Collier Prize for State Government Accountability; won a Livingston Award; won a Sidney Award; and was awarded the National Press Club's highest honor for press freedom.

He previously worked as a staff reporter for Mississippi Today, AL.com, The Birmingham News, and the Clarion Ledger. His work has appeared in The New York Times, The Washington Post and Atlanta Journal-Constitution. He earned his bachelor’s in journalism from the University of Mississippi in 2014.