New MS auditor appointed, sworn into office

MISSISSIPPI (WMC) - Mississippi now has a new State Auditor.

Shad White, 32, was sworn-in at the Capitol Tuesday morning.

"I'm excited to get to work on behalf of the people of Mississippi. I told my staff this morning that I believe that as iron sharpens iron, so too does one man sharpen another," White said. "My goal in these early days is that my staff and I will sharpen one another in order to do the best possible job for those who have trusted us to watch their money. I'll bring every ounce of energy and whatever talent God gave me to meet this new responsibility."

He replaces Stacey Pickering, who resigned the elected office to head the state Veterans Affairs Board.

Governor Phil Bryant appointed White to fill the remainder of Pickering's term, which ends in January 2020.

The governor says White quickly built an impressive resume as an attorney and director of the Mississippi Justice Institute.

White's biographical information (as provided by Office of the State Auditor) can be found below:

Shad White grew up in Sandersville, Mississippi – population 731 – in a blue-collar family. His father and grandfather were oilfield pumpers, and his mother and grandmother were teachers. On the weekends, his father was music minister at their small country church, and his mother played the organ. Today his father serves as mayor of their small town.

After attending public school, Shad earned his undergraduate degree in economics from the University of Mississippi. He studied as a Rhodes Scholar at the University of Oxford, earning a master's in economic history. Shad holds a law degree from Harvard Law School, where he learned the meaning of fighting values that might be unpopular. While there, Shad served as President of the Federalist Society, a conservative legal association, and brought speakers to campus to defend the legality of public prayer, the morality of work and free enterprise, and the importance of traditional moral values.

In 2011, Shad served as Director of Policy to then-Lt. Gov. Phil Bryant. Shad later practiced law in the private sector, served as a special prosecutor in Rankin County, and served as Director of the Mississippi Justice Institute. At the Mississippi Justice Institute, Shad filed and led cases against public officials when they violated Mississippi's open government and ethics laws. He has also taught as an adjunct professor at the University of Mississippi, earned a certificate in forensic accounting from the University of North Carolina at Charlotte, and previously worked as a fellow at a national think tank on state policy.

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