ST. GEORGE - Two years after narrowly upsetting the veteran House District 97 representative, first-term Democratic Rep. Patsy Knight is facing a challenge from Republican former lawmaker George Bailey in the Nov. 4 general election.

So far, it’s been a quiet race in the sprawling district that stretches from the rural St. George area to the suburbs of Summerville. Both candidates, who are across-the-street neighbors in a St. George subdivision, say they’re not going to run negative campaigns in what will undoubtedly be another tight race.

The latest contest, Bailey says, will be particularly tough for him because of the large Democratic turn-out expected for presidential candidate Barack Obama.

“It’s an uphill battle for me because of the Obama factor. I fought long and hard over this,” Bailey said of his decision to run again. “It’s the right thing to do and we think that it’s doable.”

Laughing, the veteran Democrat replies that she was “out there way before Obama was.”

“I think he’s trying to inject ... At Camp Meeting, he made comments that his success would be to get all the white voters out. So, that tells you what he’s all about,” she said.

Bailey, a Republican, had squeaked by with fewer than 500 votes in his previous two elections to hold onto the seat he’d represented for 20 years. But Knight, the county treasurer and a well-known figure in state and local government, defeated him in 2006 by 190 votes -- 4,843 to 4,653.

Elected first as a Republican in 2004, 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 in 2000, Bailey returned to office two years later after defeating his one-term Republican replacement by 488 votes. Then, two years later, after Bailey filed first as a Democrat and then as a Republican, he defeated his Democratic opponent by 473 votes.

With the Summerville suburban area of the district experiencing rapid growth, Bailey says House 97 will be an entirely different area after redistricting in two years. Projections indicate that by 2010, as much as 85 percent of the district will be below Four Holes Swamp, he said.

For the St. George area to keep its base, he says, a Republican would have an advantage in the GOP-controlled legislature that draws the lines. Otherwise, St. George could be out of the district all together.

“When I was a Democrat, we jerked the Republicans around. There’s a possibility we may not even have a representative,” he said. “But I don’t think the Republicans would cut me out.”

You never know about growth, Knight responds. “You don’t know about those things: there’s no crystal ball.”

“As county treasurer elected in 1980, I see people as being independent thinkers. They look at the person,” she said. “I came in on the biggest Republican wave there was. I was the only Democratic elected county official. I give credit to people looking at individuals. ... We ought to be in there to serve the people”

Knight also questions how Bailey was “serving the people of that district,” by switching political parties more than once.

District 97 covers the western end of Dorchester County, including St. George, Harleyville and Ridgeville, and extends to the edge of Summerville. Of the 22,211 registered voters, 13,958 are white, 8,253 are black or non-white.

Rep. Patsy Knight

Running for re-election on her two-year record, Knight says there are plenty of issues to tackle in Columbia.

“We’ve still got to drill down in education to find out what the problems are,” she said. “Health care is important as generations get older. Our infrastructure, especially in our area ... the roads in Dorchester County between here and Summerville are getting terrible.”

In a district as diverse as 97, Knight says, what may seem a little thing can be a big thing to people within a community.

“What I have appreciated so much is my background as treasurer, in finances and in working with the fire departments. It’s unique,” Knight said. “After I got elected, I said I wanted to get things done around here. We’ve worked all together here. ... I don’t take ‘no’ easily when someone says it can’t be done.”

Plans for the $1.3 million Quick Jobs Center in St. George is a good example of different people working together to make progress.

“We were granted the largest grant in the state for the Quick Jobs Center,” she said.

Before jobs can be developed, she says, infrastructure must be in place.

Citing the fast-growing Knightsville area of the district, the lawmaker says that it took a year to get a blinking light at a busy intersection, but she persisted. After a community meeting and a petition drive, the light was up in three days, she says. And with a traffic light still come, she notes “at least we made progress.”

“I have shown we could do better for the people,” she said. “I don’t like grandstanding. I like action.”

“Constituent service is very important to me and I will always be available to you,” Knight said. But she tells people up front that, although she’ll help, the outcome isn’t guaranteed.

As for Bailey’s charge that she has no local contact number for constituents, Knight says she prefers to list the Columbia telephone because it’s manned by staff, without answering machines.

Also, she says, her cell phone number is printed on her web site and her campaign literature.

Questions about Bailey’s high school credentials, Knight says, were made by the Charleston Post-Courier several years ago, “way before I came in the picture.” There’s nothing wrong with not being a high school graduate, she says, it’s the deception.

According to Knight’s campaign literature, she informs voters that she has “worked hard to provide you with the honest representation you deserve. I have put your interests over the special interest groups and lobbyists and will continue to do so if re-elected.

She also pledges to “continue to work hard for you and your family by working to improve our schools, fight reckless growth and sprawl, cut wasteful spending and push for much needed reform.”

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.

George Bailey

As state lawmakers struggle to cover a budget shortfall, Bailey says his bid to reclaim the seat is not a continuation of the race two years ago.

“A lot of things have changed. Look at our economy and the times we’re going through. We’re going through trying times,” he said. “I want to work to restructure state government. People have got a low opinion of our government and it’s a low opinion on the state and federal level. I’m just as upset as Joe the Plumber. We can’t just spend, spend, spend and expect the people of Dorchester County to put out more. The government is so bloated. Enough is enough.”

Acknowledging that he “probably made some mistakes,” when it came to government reform in the past, Bailey says he’s fully on board with Gov. Mark Sanford’s effort to restructure state government.

“He’s right and we were wrong. We need to heed his beck and call,” said Bailey, citing eight separate mental health agencies in Columbia that should be placed under one umbrella for a savings of $15 million. “I’m running because I support the governor and I want to stand with him the next two years to give taxpayers a break and get government off our backs. I’ve seen the light.”

Lawmakers must be careful how state funds are spent in such key areas as education, he says.

“People are tired of putting more money in education when it’s still slipping further and further behind. South Carolina put $78 million more in education and the results only got worse,” he said. “I applaud the teachers, but it’s too top-heavy at the administrative level.”

Bailey proposes going into school districts, “one step at a time. Look at the overall policies and get the best bang for the buck.” School districts should be held accountable to the taxpayers, he says.

To further accountability, Bailey says he’ll sponsor legislation requiring that very vote be tallied, rather than taken by voice vote.

Economic development is “long overdue” in the western end of the county, Bailey says. The county is working on water and sewer and the local Council of Governments has done a study on how to provide smart growth, so “we don’t get like Summerville has got.” With respect for rural and historic areas, he says big developers should be responsible for setting aside land for schools.

Small business people, “the backbone of our country,” also need help, Bailey says.

“They always look at the big boys. They give tax breaks, but what about the little man, when he’s struggling,” he said. “Small business people today have so many hoops because of state government.”

Bailey says it’s the demand for constituent service that’s one of the largest factors in his decision to run. Even when out of office, he says, the calls for constituent help continue.

“I’m not knocking Mrs. Knight, but look in the Legislative Manual and tell me how you find her in St. George. How do you find her?” said Bailey, noting that there is no local telephone number provided. “Politics to me is to do for the people what they can’t do for themselves. ... That’s what this job is all about. ... People can find me. They know where I’m at.”

Referring to challenges to his high school credentials that were previously publicized, Bailey says that “I made mistakes in my life. Everybody, for some reason, the Democrats and Mrs. Knight, want to go back six or eight years ago and use things. There are a lot of things I could say, but I’ll stay the course.”

A native of Charleston and a 35-year resident of St. George, Bailey attended Richmond Academy and the Lee Institute of Real Estate. He owns a real estate and construction company.

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

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