State Auditor of Mississippi

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
State Auditor of Mississippi
Photograph of Shad White
Incumbent
Shad White
since July 17, 2018
Term lengthFour years, renewable, no term limits
Inaugural holderJohn R. Girault
Formation1817
Websiteosa.state.ms.us

The state auditor of Mississippi is an elected official in the executive branch of Mississippi's state government. The duty of the state auditor is to ensure accountability in the use of funds appropriated by the state legislature by inspecting and reporting on the expenditure of the public funds.[1]

To be elected state auditor, a person must be at least 25 years old and must have been a resident of Mississippi for at least five years at the time of the election.[2] It has been an elected position since the 1832 Constitution of Mississippi, which specified a two-year term;[3] prior to this, the state auditor was appointed annually by the governor of Mississippi.[4] The 1868 Constitution expanded the term to four years.[5]

The fourth Constitution of Mississippi, ratified in 1890, made the state auditor ineligible to hold consecutive terms, and barred the state auditor and state treasurer from immediately succeeding each other.[6][7] This measure was implemented as an effort to prevent collusion between the two officeholders, after a series of embezzlements and misuses of public funds during the Reconstruction era.[8] A 1966 constitutional amendment lifted the prohibitions, making the state auditor eligible to serve consecutive terms.[9] In 1986, the Constitution Committee of the Mississippi House voted to approve a proposal to limit the state auditor to a ten-year tenure,[10] but the measure was rejected by the full House after initially being passed by the state senate.[11]

Shad White is the incumbent state auditor of Mississippi as of 2021, having assumed office on July 17, 2018.[12]

List of auditors[]

Source: Mississippi Official & Statistical Register[13]

Territorial auditors (1798–1817)[]

  • Charles B. Howell
  • Beverly R. Grayson
  • Park Walton

State auditors (1817–present)[]

# Name Term of office
1 John R. Girault 1817–1819
2 John Richards 1819–1822
3 Hiram G. Runnels 1822–1830
4 Thomas B. J. Hadley 1830–1833
5 John H. Mallory 1833–1837
6 A. B. Saunders 1837–1842
7 J. E. Matthews 1842–1847
8 George T. Swann 1847–1851
9 Daniel R. Russell 1851–1855
10 Madison McAfee 1855–1859
11 E. R. Burt 1859–1861
12 A. B. Dilworth 1861–1862
13 A. J. Gillespie 1862–1865
14 Thomas T. Swann 1865–1869
15 Henry Musgrove 1869–1874
16 William H. Gibbs 1874–1876
17 Sylvester Gwin 1878–1886
18 W. W. Stone 1886–1896
19 W. D. Holder 1896–1900
20 William Qualls Cole 1900–1904
21 T. M. Henry 1904–1908
22 Elias Jefferson Smith 1908–1912
23 Duncan Lafayette Thompson 1912–1916
24 Robert A. Wilson 1916–1920
25 W. J. Miller 1920–1924
26 George Dumah Riley 1924–1928
27 Carl C. White 1928–1932
28 Joe S. Price 1932–1936
29 Carl Craig 1936–1940
30 J. M. Causey 1940–1944
31 Bert J. Barnett 1944–1948
32 Carl Craig 1948–1952
33 William Donelson Neal 1952–1956
34 E. Boyd Golding 1956–1960
35 William Donelson Neal 1960–1964
36 William Hampton King 1964–1984
37 Ray Mabus 1984–1988
38 Pete Johnson 1988–1992
39 Steven A. Patterson 1992–1996
40 Phil Bryant 1996–2008
41 Stacey Pickering 2008–2018
42 Shad White 2018–present

References[]

Constitutions
Specific
  1. ^ "Auditor: Accountability not partisan". Clarion-Ledger. June 17, 2007. p. 61. Retrieved March 19, 2021.
  2. ^ MS Const. art. V, § 134.
  3. ^ MS Const. (1832) art. V, § 20.
  4. ^ MS Const. (1816) art. IV, § 25.
  5. ^ MS Const. (1868) art. V, § 20.
  6. ^ MS Const. (1890) art. V, § 134.
  7. ^ "[untitled]". The Mississippi Enterprise. October 10, 1890. p. 4. Retrieved March 19, 2021.
  8. ^ "Amendment Would Change 1890 Constitution On State Auditor". Columbian-Progress. October 27, 1966. p. 15. Retrieved March 19, 2021.
  9. ^ "Mississippi's amendments gather heavy urban votes". Hattiesburg American. November 9, 1966. p. 1. Retrieved March 19, 2021.
  10. ^ "Treasurer succession recommended". Clarksdale Press Register. January 30, 1986. Retrieved March 19, 2021.
  11. ^ "Legislature OKs amendment to let treasurers succeed selves". Clarion-Ledger. February 12, 1986. p. 15. Retrieved March 19, 2021.
  12. ^ Pettus, Emily Wagster (July 17, 2018). "Shad White takes oath as new state auditor in Mississippi". Clarion-Ledger. Retrieved March 20, 2021.
  13. ^ "Historical & Statistical Information". 2016–2020 Mississippi Official & Statistical Register (PDF). Mississippi Secretary of State. 2017. pp. 718–719. Retrieved March 19, 2021.

External links[]

Retrieved from ""