ST. GEORGE – Two of the best-known and longest-serving political figures in the St. George area – District 97 Rep. George Bailey and Dorchester County Treasurer Patsy Knight – are duking it out in the Nov. 7 general election.

For the third consecutive election year, Bailey, the Republican incumbent lawmaker, is once again in the fight for his political life. Each of his last two elections was won by less than 500 votes.

This time, it’s Knight, a well-known figure in county and state local government affairs for the past 25 years, who is the Democrat trying to unseat the 20-year veteran lawmaker.

Both sides, who are also across-the-street neighbors in a St. George subdivision, predict a close race. That’s about all the two agree on. Pick any issue – taxes, education, growth, you name it – and the two offer decidedly different opinions.

“Patsy’s got name recognition,” Bailey said. “Only two things bother me in the race. One, she didn’t relinquish the treasurer’s seat; and, two, it takes time to build up seniority in the House and relationships in the House. I’ve got 20 years. People can judge me on the job I do and we are the Republican-controlled (government) ... I’ve brought home more grant money this year; my Republican friends help me.”

Bailey’s seniority didn’t begin until two years ago, when he won back the seat after being out of office for one term, Knight counters.

“He’s used the fact he has a lot of seniority. His seniority broke two years ago,” she said. “He’s just playing the party card.”

Knight says that she doesn’t know if a special election would be necessary for the treasurer’s office, should she win the House seat. According to an Orangeburg County election official, the governor would probably appoint a replacement.

As to why she didn’t relinquish the office to run for the House, she says, “I very well could have and then he could step down as a House member. What makes us any different?”

Bailey also maintains that, as “long as I stay in the Legislature, the Republican Party will work with me. But, I have often said, if I’m beat or step down, this seat will probably go to Summerville. I don’t think the Republican Party will come after me, like the Democrats have the last two times.”

Working with people across party lines, Knight says she’s like Strom Thurmond, who used to say he ran all the time. If politicians are truly public servants, she argues, then party shouldn’t matter.

“Why would that make a difference if they’re there for the betterment of the people? I don’t say I’m only going to serve Democrats when people come to pay taxes,” the treasurer said. “We serve the people of the county and the state. It shouldn’t matter what party, just so they pay taxes.”

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. After losing his bid for a Senate seat, Bailey returned to office two years later after defeating his one-term Republican replacement by 488 votes. Then, two years ago, after Bailey filed first as a Democrat and then as a Republican, he defeated Democrat Lachlan McIntosh, who is now the executive director of the state party, by 473 votes.

Now, seeking a new two-year term, Bailey is running on his record of service during 20 of the past 22 years in the Legislature.

Knight has served as county treasurer since winning election in 1980.

In June, Bailey easily defeated GOP primary challenger John Mondo. Knight had no 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 21,683 registered voters, 13,506 are white, 7,807 are black and 370 are designated “other.”

n George Bailey

Proud of his efforts to provide tax relief, Bailey says that, as he campaigns, he has come to realize that many people are not aware of what the Legislature did last year on property tax relief. That, he says, is the message he wants to get out.

“After people pay their taxes this year, starting next year, due to the legislation we passed – and, I was a sponsor of – they will no longer pay the operating costs of the schools, which will be about 65 percent of their tax bills,” he said. The General Assembly approved a plan to replace the portion of the property tax that pays for school operations with a penny sales tax.

“Property tax relief was my big issue and it will continue to be next year. I along with others tried to get legislation to completely eliminate property taxes ... My plan is to continue to give property owners tax relief.”

Along the lines with property tax relief, Bailey says, the school districts have to become accountable.

“With 86 school districts running around in the state, we voted 104 to 6 to streamline funding for education. By no means is that a cut; it just makes them more accountable,” he said. “We have a runaway financial situation in our schools and the burden is on the taxpayers. Schools should be no different from your home or business. They should be more accountable. That’s one of the issues we’ll work on next year.”

With a Legislative Audit Council report due soon, Bailey says the Department of Transportation, along with restructuring of government in general, is also expected to be a big issue next year.

“I don’t look for it to be a good report,” he said. “That brings up restructuring of government as the governor talks about. I support restructuring because it streamlines our government and saves money from duplication of work.”

Pledging to work to bring more money into the county for infrastructure, Bailey says the gasoline tax might be an option.

“In the 20 years I’ve been in the legislature, I didn’t vote for a tax increase,” he said. “The Department of Transportation has got to show how they’re going to spend this money and where it’s going to be spent. That’s all I’m going to say about the DOT. This is not carte blanche to spend it.”

Bureaucracy in the DOT, as well as education, are causing problems, the lawmaker says.

“I fully support the superintendent of education coming under the governor’s office. I applaud all the good teachers we have in our system today ... but something is wrong with the way our system works,” he said. “It’s not right for us, the Legislature, to be putting so much more, more, more money and still get no results in a lot of our school districts.”

Comparing education to a home budget, Bailey says the taxpayers are not getting a bang for their buck.

A supporter of charter schools, Bailey says a charter school board is being formed. Instead of taking their requests before local school boards, charter school founders would go before the state.

And there is the issue school choice.

“I didn’t fully support school choice last year,” he said. “But, you may rest assured, that (I) will watch it very closely when I go back, if I go back. As little as people know, about 70 percent of my House district is in School District 2 and they’re doing a wonderful job. On the other hand, School District 4 seems to be falling further back. SAT scores just dropped 78 points at Woodland (High School). That bothers me...The school board is supposed to be handling the problem, but it’s always a 3-2 vote...I’d like to ask the question why we’ve had 11 superintendents in 14 years.”

In fast-growing Dorchester County, growth is a top issue at every level of government. To pay for growth, Bailey urges construction fees that could be used for schools, highways, libraries or fire protections.

“I asked the attorney general for an opinion if the Legislature could impose an impact fee and his answer is no. That’s a job for county council or a city government. So, I made a trip to Jasper County and they charge a construction fee,” he said. “Here in Dorchester county ... we need to come up with a managed growth plan. In my opinion, we are going to have to charge these large developers some type of fees ... These developers come in here and are making millions and leaving us with terrible problems on the backs of taxpayers. It’s time they step up to the plate.”

In Jasper County, since February, the construction fees have generated some $280 million, says Bailey, adding “Imagine what we can do with $280 million.”

Issues aside, Bailey says it’s his constituent service, accessibility and networking that are key. And, with his wife, Ann, serving as a “second legislator from District 97,” and a “first responder,” he says, she’s the first contact constituents make.

“Serving in the legislature means a lot to me because it gives me an opportunity to help people when they need help. That’s my slogan, ’People Not Politics,’” he said. “Being in politics for 20 years gives you a chance to meet people, whether at the Medical University or Carolina or Clemson. When people come to my door, I can pick up my Rolodex and call anybody who can help these people. Most important is the relationships I’ve built up with these agencies.”

After serving his first term as a Republican, in a Republican-controlled Legislature, Bailey praises the county’s all GOP delegation and stresses that’s it’s better for Dorchester County that he’s a part of the team.

“Yes, we are the majority and that’s not going to change,” he said.

A native of Charleston and a 35-year resident of St. George, Bailey graduated from high school and 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.

n Patsy Knight

“I offer proven experience, honesty and integrity and that’s what I stand on,” said Knight, of her qualifications for office.

As treasurer of the South Carolina Association of Counties since the mid 1980s, and, as a member of the SCAC legislative committee, Knight says she’s already been directly active in legislative issues. And knowing first hand the importance of local government having a voice at the state level, she says, that’s the reason she decided to run for office. In fact, the treasurer says, it’s an option she had been considering before her late husband’s illness.

“We need to offer local government experience. We’ve been short changed for a while,” she said. “We need some new representation and ideas and thought patterns to move our state forward. And, there are tremendous communications needs that are lacking on the state level...He’s been there long enough. He should have turned things around.”

Proud of her accomplishments in the Treasurer’s Office, Knight notes that she is responsible for getting a satellite office in Summerville and has been a staunch supporter of promoting better technology to serve the taxpayers.

As county treasurer for 25 years, Knight says that there’s “nobody that feels taxation any more than I do.”

“I don’t set it. I just collect them,” she said. “Nobody feels the pain more than I do because I’m on the front line.”

Knight also argues that the Legislature’s 15 percent cap on property, passed this year, “only helps the rich and not the people in the middle class.” If your next-door neighbor had a beach house that appreciated 50 percent in value and your own little home increased 10 percent, the value of his beach house would be capped at 15 percent.

Also, Knight argues that it’s not tax relief that lawmakers have provided, but a tax shift.

“You have to get the money from somewhere. In 1995, (lawmakers) gave tax relief, but they funded it with one time money,” she said. “Nothing is free.”

Knight says the key is to spend state funds more wisely.

“Really, what are we getting?” she asked. “They say reduce taxes. What does that taxpayer want to cut out first? Our state needs to move ahead in technology and infrastructure. The platform I’m running on its to spend more wisely our money and don’t be wasteful.”

Public education is a key issue of her campaign, Knight says, and one she differs with Bailey over.

“He’s for vouchers. Why not join in and strengthen what we’ve got? It’s something to sacrifice children’s education for a number of years to see whether it would work or not,” she said. “Are you just saying to heck with it?”

While she “has no problem with private schools,” Knight says she does have a problem with taxpayers’ money going to private schools, primarily due to accountability issues.

“Who’s going to account for that state money? How is the transportation being done? The last mailout (Bailey) had was something abut bureaucracy and the school board members,” she said. “Well, what do you do when you go to the voucher system? How accountable is that? And, what happens if you have school aged children?”

Calling for officials to “buckle down” and do an analysis of the issue, Knight says it would be too risky for parents to turn over their children to a system in the throws of change.

As treasurer, Knight says she’s already watching how taxpayers’ money is being spent. Dorchester County, she says, was the first in the state to offer a decal and registration and tax receipt all in one, through a partnership with the Department of Motor Vehicles. That saved people money and provided better, quicker service.

However, Knight says she opposes the Republican’s restructuring plan, favored by Bailey, to streamline state government by making some elected offices directly under the governor.

“I don’t go along with that. It takes the voice of the people away,” she said. “And, it would put more bureaucracy in it, if you get somebody at the top not worth a toot.”

The issue of growth, Knight says, is not a new one.

“He’s been in there and growth just didn’t start,” she said. “His last mailout said he’s the only candidate who had the answers,” she said. “You have city annexation and county zoning and they all need to come to the table. No one person alone has all the answers. We need to sit down and work together.”

Calling for “smart growth” and economic development, Knight says that, if elected, she’ll schedule community meetings throughout the district.

Confident that she’ll carry “a lot of Republican voters,” Knight says that Republicans want “fair and honest representation, just as much as anyone else and I don’t think that we have been getting that. I believe in representing the people as a whole.”

A native of Conway, Knight has been a Dorchester County resident since 1954. The high school graduate has also taken courses in real estate and continuing education studies through the S.C. Association of Treasurers and Tax Collectors. Active in church affairs at Indian Field United Methodist Church, she was also a charter member of the St. George Rotary Club and American Business Women’s Association.

Knight is a widow, with two children.

T&D Government Writer Tucker Lyon can be reached at tlyon@timesanddemocrat.com or by calling 803-533-5545.

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