From Press, Staff Reports

Gov. Haley Barbour appointed 1st District U. S. Rep. Roger Wicker to the U.S. Senate Monday.

"I am honored that Gov. Barbour felt I had the experience and qualifications to be Mississippi's next senator," Wicker said. "(His wife) Gayle and I consider it a great challenge and a unique opportunity. I look forward to making a smooth transition from one end of the Capitol Building to the other and getting the chance to work for all of Mississippi alongside Sen. Thad Cochran."

Wicker said he was moving quickly to set up new offices and add additional staff to meet the needs of constituents from the Tennessee state line to the Gulf Coast.

Wicker said he planned to continue working on economic development and job creation efforts for Mississippians and keeping a strong focus on finishing Hurricane Katrina renewal and rebuilding activities. An Air Force veteran, he also noted his efforts on the House Appropriations Committee to support a strong national defense and his ability to secure defense dollars for Mississippi active duty, National Guard and Reserve operations.

The senator also listed other issues as high-priority items including health care, job training, research funding, and continued attention to the needs of agriculture and small business.

SPECIAL ELECTIONS

Wicker, a Republican originally from Pontotoc, was appointed to fill the U.S. Senate seat Trent Lott relinquished after the Senate session closed Dec. 18. His six-year term would have ended in 2012.

First winning a seat in the U.S. House in 1994, Wicker, 56, has been re-elected six times. He served in the state Senate from 1987-94.

Barbour has said he will call a special election within 120 days for voters to decide who will take Wicker's place. The 1st Congressional District includes Webster County. Southaven Mayor Greg Davis told The Clarion-Ledger he filed papers Monday to run for the seat Wicker has vacated.

Barbour has also set a special election for Nov. 4 for voters to decide who will permanently hold the Senate seat.

Attorney General Jim Hood has disputed the election's timing, saying it should be held within 90 days after the appointment, according to statute. Hood has indicated he would file a lawsuit to settle the issue in court, if necessary.

Mississippi's other U.S. senator is Republican Thad Cochran. U.S. senators are paid $165,200 a year.

WICKER'S STATEMENT

Wicker made this statement at a news conference in Jackson announcing his appointment:

"Thank you, Gov. Barbour, for having the confidence and trust to ask me to assume this tremendous responsibility.

"I share this special moment with my family. They are with me here today. My wife, Gayle, has been my steady partner now through 32 years of marriage, including four years in the Air Force and 20 years of elective service. Along the way, she has been a small businesswoman, an educator, and most importantly mother to our three wonderful children - Margaret Wicker McPhillips, who is joined today by her husband, Manning McPhillips; Caroline Wicker, who is courageously accompanied this morning by my son-in-law to-be, Kirk Sims; and my son and future Air Force officer McDaniel Wicker.

"My father and hero, Fred Wicker, is a retired circuit judge, who also served in the state Senate and as county attorney and city attorney in Pontotoc. He and mother worked hard and instilled in me those core values that shaped me into the person I am today. I am thrilled that at age 83 and a half, he is able to be with us for this announcement.

"From all accounts, Gov. Barbour has gone through a careful and deliberate process in arriving at this moment, during which he considered the names of a large number of outstanding and talented Mississippians. I am all the more humbled by this knowledge. Several of these individuals have already contacted me to express their congratulations and best wishes, and for that I am most grateful.

"I also appreciate the words of encouragement I have received from so many of my fellow citizens since Sen. Lott made his announcement in late November.

"During this process, I can imagine that Gov. Barbour reflected on the proud list of Mississippi senators who have gone before me and walked the halls where I will now work for our state and nation - names like John Stennis, Jim Eastland, Pat Harrison and L.Q.C. Lamar. Clearly, I have a great deal to live up to.

"It is a distinct honor - and an awesome responsibility - to be named to serve in place of Trent Lott, truly one of the giants of Mississippi political history, on whose staff I served in the House of Representatives.

"And what an opportunity now to serve alongside our senior senator, Thad Cochran, who has been my friend for some 35 years. No junior senator could ask for a more capable and principled colleague. I hope he will soon resume his former position as chairman of the Senate Appropriations Committee.

"During 13 years in the U. S. House of Representatives and before that seven in the Mississippi Legislature, I feel that I have established a clear record of service and accomplishment. I hope to build on that record now in the United States Senate.

"I am a mainstream conservative in the mold of Trent Lott, Thad Cochran, Chip Pickering and Haley Barbour. I believe the vast majority of Mississippians share this philosophy.

"At the same time, I hope my constituents and colleagues view me as a pragmatic problem solver.

"I am a proud Republican who believes in the spirit of bipartisanship we remember from the late Sonny Montgomery. Some of my proudest achievements have come by reaching across the aisle - working with the late Sen. Paul Wellstone of Minnesota to fight muscular dystrophy, with my Subcommittee Chairman Chet Edwards of Texas to provide increased funding and better services for our veterans, with my in-state colleague Gene Taylor on Hurricane Katrina relief, and with mayors and supervisors both Republican and Democrat on the PUL Alliance which led to the Toyota facility being located in Mississippi. I am currently working with Rep. Bennie Thompson to provide increased tourism opportunities for the Mississippi Delta and Hills.

"One of my first priorities in the coming weeks will be to listen to the people all across our great state. As I have said, I think I know their philosophy and their hearts, but there is certainly more that I can learn."

LEGISLATIVE PRIORITIES

Wicker said his legislative priorities would include:

National Security. "Mississippi is fortunate to be able to play such an important role in defending America, whether through our military installations, shipbuilding, or other defense-related manufacturing."

Economic Development and job creation. "Key components here include education, job training and re-training, transportation, and using the research capacity of our universities and colleges. I intend to build on the successes we have already had in attracting new industry and to help spread the benefits of that success to every corner of the state.

"An integral part of our economic efforts will include paying close attention to the needs of agriculture, manufacturing and small businesses."

Katrina. "I look forward to working with the governor, federal agencies and local officials to complete the rebuilding and renewal of south Mississippi after the worst natural disaster in American history.

"Health care is one area in which I have been aggressively involved for my entire Congressional career and earlier in the Mississippi Senate. We must work for solutions to lower the cost of health care. And I will continue to promote research funding to address those problems such as stroke, diabetes, and cardio-vascular disease that plague a disproportionate number of our citizens.

"Mississippi is surely moving forward today, and I want to work in partnership with all our state and local leadership to keep this momentum going.

"Above the speaker's podium in the House chamber where I have served for 13 years is a quotation from one of our Republic's early statesmen, Daniel Webster. It was part of a speech Sen. Webster made on the fiftieth anniversary of the Battle of Bunker Hill, upon the laying of the cornerstone of the monument to that great battle:

"'Let us develop the resources of our land, call forth its powers, build up its institutions, promote all its great interests, and see whether we also, in our day and generation, may not perform something worthy to be remembered.'

"I believe this is still the calling of public service in the United States today. I look forward to working in this spirit for my state and country."

This article includes reporting by The Clarion-Ledger