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New attack on Bailey's biography

A third question has been raised about state Rep. George Bailey's resume and biography, less than a month before the general election in which he is seeking re-election to the District 97 seat.

The St. George lawmaker told The Times and Democrat Wednesday evening that he intends to debunk the allegation, just as he has refuted the earlier accusations by members of his opponent's political party.

Bailey's biography — published in the 2003 South Carolina Legislative Manual and based on information he provided — says he graduated from Richmond Academy.

The Summerville Journal-Scene reported in Wednesday's editions that officials of Richmond Academy in Augusta, Ga., said they have no record Bailey attended the academy.

Bailey's biography in the Legislative Manual does not give a location for the school. An Internet search turned up schools with that name in several states.

State Democratic Party Chairman Joe Erwin wasted no time in pouncing on the District 97 incumbent.

"First we found out that George Bailey lied about being a college graduate. Then we found out he wasn't a Marine veteran. Now we find out the high school he's claimed to have attended has never heard of him," Erwin said in a statement.

"This is nothing but garbage!" Bailey said without providing specifics about Richmond Academy or his high school diploma. "I will prove to him that I finished high school." He said Erwin owes him an apology for calling him a liar.

Bailey said he is trying "to run a positive campaign," emphasizing "the issues that affect South Carolinians" and what he, as a legislator, can do for his constituents and for the state of South Carolina.

That's what the voters want, too, Bailey said. On the campaign trail, voters tell him "they're tired of this negative stuff." Bailey said the polls he's seen show he's leading; he declined to provide specific details.

Bailey said the Democrats "are just coming after me because they're mad at me because I left their party."

Bailey, a former Republican who switched parties and was elected as a Democrat, filed in both parties' primaries earlier this year. Democrats cried foul and demanded that his name be removed from both ballots.

Circuit Court Judge John Breeden ruled in April that Bailey could run as a Republican. He also allowed the Democrats to select a candidate of their own. The party named Lachlan McIntosh of Summerville.

The Democrats' first campaign volley against Bailey was that his biography erroneously said he had graduated from Washington and Lee University.

Bailey said he had graduated from the Lee Institute School of Real Estate. He blamed the error on a clerical mistake and said it was corrected six years ago.

Next the Democrats had pointed out that Bailey claimed in his biography that he had served in the U.S. Marine Corps Reserves.

When questioned about that, Bailey explained that he had served in the 53rd Special Infantry Reserve for two years while he was in high school, training every other weekend at the Charleston Naval Shipyard. He said he never attended boot camp or served on active duty.

Reflecting on the series of personal attacks against his integrity, Bailey said the Democrats "have gotten themselves in the gutter and can't seem to get themselves out."