-- This is the fifth and final installment in a series of articles on local races in the June 13 political primaries.

ST. GEORGE — District 97 Rep. George Bailey of St. George figures his big hurrah campaign will come in the November general election, when the veteran Republican lawmaker will most likely be meeting the Dorchester County Treasurer in a high profile re-election bid.

First up, however, is the matter of a GOP primary challenge from John Mondo, a Harleyville truck driver, making his third bid for public office.

Although a heavy favorite, the 20-year incumbent says he’s campaigning full throttle.

“It’s just like I’d campaign against anybody,” Bailey said. “I’m doing direct mailing, surveying and calling, just like it were a biggie.”

Admittedly a long shot, Mondo says his “whole purpose” is to provide voters with an alternative to the incumbent. And, he figures, there’s always a chance to find the heavy favorite napping.

“It’s worse than a long shot,” he said. “The odds of me winning are probably a lot less than the $1 billion lottery.”

With different campaign issues and styles, the two candidates seem barely in the same race.

Bailey is concentrating his campaign around the issue of property tax relief. Mondo is primarily concerned with school consolidation efforts.

Mondo filed to run against Bailey in 2004, but withdrew after Bailey switched parties. He also was the third-place finisher in the GOP primary for the District 97 seat in 2000, the year Bailey opted to run for the state Senate as a Democrat.

Mondo has also sought a seat on the local school board.

Elected first as a Republican two years ago, Bailey began his political career with the GOP but then was elected as a Democrat for 18 years. Seeking a new two-year term, he has served in the Legislature for 20 of the past 22 years.

The winner of the Republican primary will face Dorchester County’s 25-year veteran Treasurer Patsy Knight, who has no Democratic primary opposition.

District 97 covers the western end of Dorchester County, including St. George, Harleyville and Ridgeville, and extends to the edge of Summerville. Of the 20,951 registered voters, 12,973 are white, 7,638 are black and 340 are designated “other.”

George Bailey

Proud of his long years of service and his record of constituent service, Bailey says that, no question about it, property tax relief is overwhelmingly the number one issue in District 97.

And, so, he says, that makes property tax relief his number one priority and the core of his re-election campaign.

“In 2006, the House sent a bill to the Senate and that bill eliminated 85 percent of the taxes on your permanent home. We set aside money in the budget to do this,” he said. “It also eliminated sales tax on groceries.”

He added that “Sooner or later, the state has got to be held accountable. We have to stand up and say enough is enough. ... We pay $300 to $500 a month to rent our homes from the government. Even $100, that could go toward medicine. People can’t afford medicine and groceries because of taxes.”

Aside from property tax relief, Bailey says his constituent survey shows the other main issues are economic development and job creation, plus the continuation of the restructuring of state government that “Gov. Sanford wants to do and Carroll Campbell started.”

In his 20 years in the Legislature, Bailey says, he has never seen greater cooperation than exists between local and state government working together on the Interstate 95 Corridor.

“I’m blessed. County Council, and especially the five members from the Summerville area, are ready to create economic development on the western end of Dorchester County,” he said.

He noted “a $70 million bond issue to put sewer and water throughout the county,” and said “We’ve got to have the infrastructure and I’m excited about that.”

The restructuring of state government is also going well, the lawmaker says.

“We passed 14 of the governor’s 16 bills. They say we don’t work with him, but we do. If he’s re-elected, he’ll put so many agencies under one umbrella that will save money and do a better job,” he said. “We have bloated government and I applaud the governor. If we just learn to work together ...”

As for education, Bailey says the state is fully funding its obligation, something he’s excited about. Consolidation, the other education issue, just “didn’t fly,” he says. “I don’t believe in tax and spend,” said Bailey. “If we do away with school taxes, it won’t be an issue. Until we do that, that won’t be an issue.”

A native of Charleston and a 35-year resident of St. George, Bailey graduated from the Lee Institute. He owns a real estate and construction company.

Bailey is a member of St. George Memorial Baptist Church, the St. George Lions Club, the Trident Chamber of Commerce, and the Masons and Shriners. He is married and the father of five children.

John Mondo

It’s not so much consolidation of the two Dorchester County school districts that concerns Mondo, but the way that Bailey went about the initiative.

According to Mondo, “no one knew anything about it. ... School District 2 didn’t know anything about it.”

“I can’t let Mr. Bailey continue to do things in the dark,” he said. “He said it was a campaign promise and he implied that children were being deprived of education and that’s garbage. ... It’s more to why he’s trying to consolidate it than just for the children.”

In his 2004 re-election bid, Bailey repeatedly raised the issue of a feasibility study to look at the consolidation of Dorchester County’s two school districts. Also, at the start of the 2005 legislative session, the lawmaker reiterated his plans for the study.

It doesn’t matter, Mondo says, that the consolidation idea has been dropped.

“We don’t know where it sits right now, in all honestly. I was told we’re in a stalemate,” he said. “I’m not opposed to any consolidation. I’m opposed to consolidation for the reasons that Mr. Bailey says do it.”

Mondo cites the need for parental involvement in education and stresses his concern over long bus transit times, especially for Ridgeville area students who have to travel across the county to St. George-area schools. That, he says, contributes to discipline problems and poor achievement.

Also, Mondo proposes that all bus drivers be hired by the state and not individual school boards.

Calling taxes “atrocious,” Mondo says he’s opposed to any tax increase, including efforts to raise the sales tax by 2 cents to offset property tax reductions.

“I’m opposed to adding any tax. I’d freeze taxes at what they are now,” he said. “I’d do a complete audit of every dime and be accountable of every penny and then lower it gradually. That’s the only way to lower taxes without them jumping back up.”

A former deputy sheriff, Mondo says that, with his “strong background in law enforcement,” he’d favor more training for law officers and those dealing with terrorists’ acts and harsher penalties for those convicted of crimes against children and women.

Lastly, Mondo cites the need for conservation and “controlled growth, not uncontrolled like in Summerville and Mt. Pleasant.”

With careers in the U.S. Navy and in law enforcement, Mondo says his background in public service is an excellent qualification for office.

“I feel fairly certain, that with (Bailey’s) background in real estate, I think my military background and law enforcement would be equal to that,” he said. “My biggest thing is I don’t think he’s been serving us properly. We need somebody else.”

A native of Maryland, Mondo grew up in south Florida. He has an associate’s degree in law enforcement from Miami-Dade Community College, plus paralegal continuing education courses. For the last 20 years, he and his family have lived in Harleyville. He drives his own truck.

-- T&D Government Writer Tucker Lyon can be reached at tlyon@timesanddemocrat.com or by calling 803-533-5545. Discuss this and other stories on-line at TheTandD.com.

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