Pickering: I am staying'

By Staff
from staff reports
July 2, 2003
WASHINGTON U.S. Rep. Chip Pickering said today he will continue to serve in Congress and will turn down a higher-paying job with a Washington-based telecommunications trade group.
Pickering, the Republican 3rd District congressman, said he enjoys serving the people of the 3rd District a job he has held since being elected in 1997.
Pickering had been considering a job as president of the Cellular Telecommunications and Internet Association which pays more than $1 million a year in salary and benefits.
Pickering, 39, married and with five sons, earns $154,700 annually as a congressman. When he announced he was considering another job, top Republican leaders began lobbying him to stay.
Betty Lou Jones, a member of the Lauderdale County chapter of the Mississippi Republican Women, said she was pleased with Pickering's decision.
Meridian Mayor John Robert Smith, also a Republican, said he wasn't surprised by Pickering's decision.
Pickering, now in his fourth term in Congress, filled the seat once held by former U.S. Rep. G.V. "Sonny" Montgomery. Pickering had just won re-election last fall, defeating Democrat Ronnie Shows.
Pickering recently bought a farm in Madison County and plans to move his family there. He said he spent the past week discussing the job possibility with his family.
Staff writers Steve Gillespie and Penny Randall contributed to this report.