HATTIESBURG, MS — After serving as Southern District Transportation Commissioner since 2012, Tom King announces he will not seek reelection at the Mississippi Department of Transportation (MDOT). King is currently in his third term and serves as Chair of the Mississippi Transportation Commission. He will fulfill the remainder of his term and retire effective Dec. 31, 2023.

“After much consideration, after talking to my family and my wife and in prayer, I have decided not to seek reelection,” King said. “It’s been an honor to serve the public. I appreciate all the support that people have given me, and I’ve always been fair. If you do what’s right, you don’t have a problem sleeping, and I feel like that’s what I’ve done throughout my career.”

Prior to his tenure as Southern District Transportation Commissioner, King served as a state lawmaker for nearly 20 years. He was elected to the House of Representatives in 1993, and in 2000, he began his tenure in the Senate.

As Chairman of the Senate Highways and Transportation Committee, King authored resolutions that honored the achievements of persons throughout his district and the state. Most notably, King authored Senate Bill 3181 — the $300-million bond bill for highways and bridges and Senate Bill 3014, known as the John Paul Frerer Bicycle Act, which promotes safety for cyclists on the roadways. In 2005 he authored Senate Bill 2514 that created the Mississippi Wireless Communications Commission, which ensures the state’s emergency responders and law enforcement have the means to communicate regardless of any disaster.

“Commissioner King has served the state well for more than 30 years of his life,” said Brad White, MDOT Executive Director. “He has a legacy of accomplishments as a statesman and will certainly be missed at MDOT. I look forward to working with him in his last year as commissioner to, in his words, ‘keep Mississippi moving’ for the good of all Mississippians.”