Hood will not defend Medicaid suit

This will be called partisan politics. Everything that comes from the AG is called partisan politics. You want to know why? Because he's "the last man standing" among statewide Democrats.

First, the issue at hand: Hood's decision not to represent the state against claims that Gov. Barbour's latest Medicaid plan is in someway improper.

Hood's reasoning is sound:

"Due to the specific issues involved in this case, we would not be able to raise defenses that could conflict with the powers of my other two clients — the legislative and judicial branches,” Hood said.

Hood's office does not represent Gov. Barbour. He represents the state as a whole. And it must be his office's opinion that if he represented the governor -- that would be the executive branch -- then he would be doing a disservice to the Legislature or the courts -- that would be the legislative and judicial branches, accordingly.

Now, on to another tidbit.

If you look at the 2007 elections, you'll notice an interesting point: Jim Hood won more votes than any other candidate running. Here's a ranking of statewide vote-getters:

1. AG Hood: 440,017
2. Treasurer Reeves: 436,833
3. Lt. Gov. Bryant: 431,747
4. Gov. Barbour: 430,807
5. SOS Hosemann: 425,228
6. Insurance Comm. Chaney: 414,718
7. Auditor Pickering: 399,279
8. Ag Comm. Spell: 371,191

From where I'm sitting, I see a man who is admired for doing the right thing, for being tough and for not being scared to make tough calls.

I also see a GOP attack machine that is dead set on making sure he doesn't win re-election in 2011, or better yet, beating ol' Phil for the top spot.

State Auditor's Department about Auditing

We should all appreciate the fact that the Democratic candidate for State Auditor, Mike Sumrall, is committed to improving and promoting the State Auditor's office.

Staffing is Sumrall's main concern because he says some of the more experienced auditors have resigned. "Staffing is the key problem," Sumrall said. "The staff they have is young and inexperienced."

Sumrall also said he wants to make sure auditors know how to do a complete audit, not just parts of one, and he wants employees to be trained in different departments.

"I want to create a cross-training program so we can use people in different areas," he said.

Sumrall added he would like to see employees in the auditor's office get extra pay when they get an advanced degree or certification. He said those incentives are added to and taken away from the budget, but he wants them to be restored.

While fraud prevention and prosecution is important, if auditors aren't trained to find fraud, we'll miss a critical piece to that puzzle. Mike Sumrall proves, once again, he's got the experience and not just the rhetoric to be our next State Auditor.

Click here to read the complete story.

Republican Candidate For Auditor Stacey Pickering

Mike Sumrall in Downtown Jackson on Labor Day

Mike Sumrall is the only candidate running for State Auditor who is qualified.

I said so before the primary, I said so before the runoff and I'm saying so now.

He's a good man with experience in state and local governments in auditing and bookkeeping.

He's the only one with an accounting degree. He is the only one with experience. He is the candidate we need.

Hopefully his qualifications will outweigh the Pickering name in the general election.

John Goodman Details The Differences Between Sumrall and Pickering

From PearlMississippiCPA:

Stacey Pickering is totally unqualified to be State Auditor. He is a media consultant and a part-time public relations person (Wonderful. That is really one bippy of a great qualification--making people look good and saying groovy sound bites.). He knows as much about accounting and auditing as my cat Bueller does. If he is elected, he'll be bored stiff as State Auditor. And you can rest assured he'll play politics with the job just as his predecessors after Hamp King have. In four years, he'll be looking to move up the political totem pole. (That should be interesting, since his cousin Charles plans to run for governor in 2011. You can get two of them for the price of one. Goody goody.)

Mike Sumrall recognizes the need for drastic changes in the Office of State Auditor. The number of staff is at an all-time low. He wants to have cross-training of auditors so that they can do school audits, agency audits or county audits. The investigative division has more staff than any time in the history of the agency yet it takes more than three years to complete investigations. (You can thank Phil the Pill Bryant for the surplus of investigators. Bryant used to be a fire investigator but knows as much about accounting and auditing as my cat.)

Read the full post at PearlMississippiCPA.

Vote for Mike Sumrall

There are many reasons why you should vote for Mike Sumrall including but not limited to his long and deep experience doing the kind of work that is necessary for the job of State Auditor.

Dr. Todd Brand is a very intelligent man and I'm sure that a doctorate in Community College Leadership will help him get about any job he'd like to have, but I really think now is the time to choose Mike Sumrall. Allow me to spell out some reasons.

1. He is very, very qualified. The web page details his pertinent work experience He is the most qualified out of the 3 remaining candidates (Sumrall, Brand, Pickering).

2. He not only has experience, but has shown competence and vision. Years before computers became the norm he saw where technology was going so he went back to school to study computer science so he would be prepared to meet that challenge. Between his knowledge of audits at various levels and his knowledge of automating processes using technology he would be an excellent fit for State Auditor today.

3. He didn't say the following:

"(Bryant) has done an outstanding job leading the audit department, but he has faced a shrinking budget for the last three fiscal years."

Defending the current Republican candidate for Lt. Governor's failed tenure as Auditor is not a quality I want in a Democratic nominee. The Auditor's office was given money to investigate the beef plant fiasco and he gave most of it back. With people (finally) going to jail, shouldn't they have been a little more thorough?

4. He's from South Mississippi. This may count against him elsewhere, but I'd like you to think about how few of our statewide candidates are from the Coast. I think he is one of two running statewide from the Southern region. We deserve representation too.

Mike Sumrall is a man of good character and a friend to the people of Mississippi and seeks the office so that he may serve the people just as he has done for the last 20 years. He deserves your vote and support. Vote for him tomorrow, Tuesday the 27th.

John Goodman on the State Auditors Race

Let's look at the record since 1984, when long-serving State Auditor W. Hamp King stepped down. He was the last State Auditor who kept politics out of the Office of State Audit (hereafter abbreviated as OSA). His successor, Ray Mabus (1984-1988), used it as a successful launching pad for Governor. After him came Pete Johnson (1988-1992). He was elected as a Democrat, became a Republican in late 1988, and unsuccessfully ran for the GOP gubernatorial nomination in 1991. After him came Steve Patterson (1992-Nov. 1996), who was going to use it for an eventual run for Governor or Lt. Governor. And finally, Phil Bryant (Nov. 1996 to present) used the OSA as a launching pad for his run for Lt. Governor. All of those four auditors used the OSA as a political fiefdom.

Mike Sumrall knows the inner workings of the OSA. It is true he is NOT a CPA. But he is the ONLY candidate with an accounting degree. He has twenty-three years auditing experience with the OSA, three years as County Administrator and CFO of Forrest County and two years as business manager of Pike County Schools. As you can see, he has experience in state, county and school audits and financial accounting. Add it up: That's twenty-eight years of accounting and auditing experience of government.

...

If you are a Democrat, please vote for Mike Sumrall on August 28th. As a CPA, I can tell you he is the most qualified man to run for State Auditor in decades. At long last, the man and the office have met. Mississippi desperately needs Mike Sumrall as our State Auditor.

Read the entire post at PearlMississippiCPA

How I Would Vote In The Republican Primary

Governor: Frederick L. Jones (Because he hasn't attacked his opponent's family or attempted to kick thousands off of Medicaid)

Lt. Governor: People supporting Ross and Bryant have both accused me of being biased in favor of the other candidate. Sorry folks, I am biased but it is favor of Jamie Franks. Write in Jamie Franks.

Auditor: You've got 1 choice and his last name is Pickering.

Secretary of State: Write in Englebert Hosemann if only for the commercials.

Attorney General: Vote for the candidate with the best scowl: Al Hopkins.

State Treasurer: You've got 1 choice and he's the incumbent.

Commissioner of Agriculture and Commerce: Vote for the guy who switched parties last decade instead of this one. (Max Phillips)

Commissioner of Insurance: Ronnie English is not a serious candidate leaving you to vote for Mike Chaney and his rubber chicken.

(I've brought this up again for people who said they had trouble finding it)

Jacob Ray At The Neshoba County Fair

I missed his speech, but caught up with him later where he consented to answering why he would be the best State Auditor.

This was recorded in the heat of a hot, hot Neshoba county Summer day.

Stacey Pickering At The Neshoba County Fair

He is the Republican candidate for State Auditor.

July 10th Update: State Auditor Edition

Candidate's Name: New Donations This Period : Expenses This Period : Current Cash On Hand

Stacey Pickering (R): $25,100.00 : $22,870.55 : $169,135.42
Jacob Ray (D): $900.00 : $7862.27 : $$2,414.06
Mike Sumrall (D): $6,925.97 : $4134.89 : $3,122.49