Donald A. Bailey
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Hon. Donald Allen "Don" Bailey (born July 21, 1945) is an American politician and lawyer, from the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania. He was a Democratic Party member of the United States House of Representatives from 1979 to 1983, Auditor General of Pennsylvania from 1985 to 1989, and a candidate for the Democratic nomination for United States Senate and Governor of Pennsylvania. His Congressional District (PA-21) included all of Westmoreland County, Pennsylvania with a sliver of Allegheny County, Pennsylvania, prior to the 1981 redistricting.
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[edit] Early life
[edit] Early education and college football career
Bailey was born in Allegheny County and was raised there and Westmoreland County. He graduated from Greensburg High School in 1963. He received a BA from the University of Michigan in 1967. He was a member of both his high school and college football teams.
[edit] Vietnam War service
After college he entered the United States Army, serving with the 82nd and 101st Airborne Divisions in Vietnam. He was awarded Silver Star, three Bronze Stars, two with the Valor device, one for meritorious achievement, Army Commendation Medal, with "V" for Valor, Air Medal, and a second Army Commendation Medal for meritorious service.
[edit] Law school education
After Vietnam, Bailey, worked at a number of "blue collar" jobs, including as a steelworker at J. & L. Steel Corp., during which time he was a member of the United Steelworkers of America. He also graduated from Duquesne University School of Law with a J.D., in 1976, on the G.I. Bill. He was admitted to the Pennsylvania Bar association the same year.
[edit] Political career
[edit] United States House of Representatives
After a very contested primary and very close general election, Bailey was elected to the United States House from the state's 21st District in 1978. He won a reelection bid in 1980, despite the general Republican victory that year, garnering about 70% of the vote. Bailey served on the United States House Committee on Ways and Means. He was generally considered as a moderate-to-conservative Democrat.
In 1982, after redistricting by the state legislature, Bailey's district was one of two eliminated as a result of slow-growth in Pennsylvania compared to other states. Most of his district, including his home in Westmoreland County, was merged with the 12th District of fellow Democrat and Vietnam veteran John Murtha, who had been serving since 1974. Even though the primary was closely fought, Bailey lost largely because Murtha retained nearly all of his old district. Interestingly, when the Republican nominee for the seat withdrew the same year, Bailey was seriously considered as a replacement; he came in a very strong second at the Republican nominating convention held that year.
[edit] Auditor General of Pennsylvania
In 1984, Bailey won the Democratic nomination for Pennsylvania Auditor General in a hotly contested primary; he handily won in November. He was the only Democratic nominee to win statewide that year. During his tenure as Auditor General, Bailey established the first work-site child daycare facility in Pennsylvania government, established minimum education standards for state auditors, and generally modernized auditing procedures.
[edit] United States Senate and Pennsylvania Governor Races
Despite Bailey's electoral success in 1984, he lost a bitter primary battle with then Congressman Bob Edgar for the Senate seat of Arlen Specter in 1986. In a close race in 1988, he lost his reelection bid for Auditor General to then-Republican Barbara Hafer (her first statewide run).
Bailey ran for Auditor General again in 1992, and lost the Democratic primary. He also lost the Democratic gubernatorial primary to Ivan Itkin in 1998.
[edit] Legal career
Since leaving the Auditor General office in 1989, Bailey has been a full time attorney, based in Harrisburg, Pennsylvania. His specialties include civil rights. He is also quoted as calling himself, an "equal opportunity suer [1]" and does take clients litigating with both Democrats and Republicans.
[edit] Trivia
- Bailey was the most decorated[citation needed] military veteran in the United States House during the 97th United States Congress.
- As an all-star college football player, Bailey played in the 1965 Rose Bowl and North/South All Star Game.[1]
- ^ Pennsylvania Manual, Vol. 108, p. 323 (1987)
[edit] Notes
Much of the information is taken from the Congressional Biography website and the offline Pennsylvania Manual, volumes 105 (1981) and 108 (1987).
[edit] See also
[edit] References
- Donald A. Bailey at the Biographical Directory of the United States Congress Retrieved on 2008-04-04
- Lawyers Weekly
- The Political Graveyard
| Preceded by John Dent |
Member of the U.S. House of Representatives from Pennsylvania's 21st congressional district 1979–1983 |
Succeeded by Tom Ridge |
| Preceded by Al Benedict |
Auditor General of Pennsylvania 1984 - 1988 |
Succeeded by Barbara Hafer |
