Former SC lawmaker Jimmy Bales, ex-Richland County educator, dies at 86
Former South Carolina Rep. Jimmy Bales, a former Richland County educator and county government leader who represented his Lower Richland House district for 22 years, died Saturday on his 86th birthday.
He died at home surrounded by family, his obituary said.
“Jimmy was a man of few, yet ever powerful words. He was the loving patriarch of the family, always providing encouragement and support to everyone in the family. He was also a true public servant, endeavoring to improve all lives he touched,” Bales’ obituary said. “He will be greatly missed.”
Born Sept. 25, 1935, Bales was a native of Rose Hill, Virginia, and a United States Army veteran who came to Fort Jackson in 1955.
He received his bachelor’s degree from Columbia College, a master’s from East Tennessee State University and a doctorate in education from the University of South Carolina in 1975, his legislative biography said.
Passionate about education, Bales worked as a teacher and became the principal of Lower Richland High School during desegregation, and was director of Richland 1’s Career Education for the school district, his biography said.
In the early 1960s, Bales was a probation officer in the Richland County Family Court and served as a trustee on the Palmetto Richland Memorial Hospital board. He also was a residential home builder and a farmer, dabbling in cattle and horse farming on his Eastover property.
Bales served on Richland County Council before he was elected to the House of Representatives in the late 1990s, a “dream” made possible by fellow councilwoman Bernice Scott and her activism group, the Reckoning Crew, and friends including Howard Campbell and Larry Koester, Bales’ obit said.
House Speaker Jay Lucas, R-Darlington, House Minority Leader Todd Rutherford, D-Richland, and state Rep. Jackie Hayes, D-Dillon, were among that class of legislators elected at the same time as Bales.
In remarks one year ago, as Bales’ long House tenure came to a close, Lucas noted Bales was among the “infamous” election class of 1998, a “unique” group of mostly Democrats that would slow down Republicans’ takeover in the chamber.
It didn’t take the freshman class long, Lucas said Monday, to know Bales was a natural fit for chairman of the freshman caucus.
“Jimmy always understood that he needed to work across party lines to effectuate meaningful, positive change,” Bales’ obit said. “He and Jay Lucas became great friends as members of the same class of representatives despite Jimmy being a Democrat and Jay being a Republican.”
Rarely, if ever, did the two have conversations about politics, Lucas said. But there was always an exception.
“One time, Jimmy had Democratic opposition, I think two people running. He came to me and said, ‘Would you send a mailer telling them what a good representative I am? I said, ‘Darn right I will,’” Lucas said. “I’m an institutional guy, and I want people to make the institution better. Jimmy Bales was that guy.”
Earlier this year, Lucas, with state Rep. Dennis Moss, R-Cherokee, presented Bales with the Order of the Palmetto, the state’s highest civilian honor.
“Richland County and the state of South Carolina have lost a true statesman,” Rutherford, the House Minority Leader, said Saturday night. “Jimmy Bales spent his life in service to others — as an educator ... and as a state representative. It was an honor to serve with him and learn from him. He will be missed.”
Over Saturday night into Sunday, tributes poured in expressing what Bales meant to Richland County and South Carolina overall.
Former Columbia Mayor Bob Coble, who served on County Council with Bales, tweeted, “When Jimmy told you something you could take it to the bank.”
“Dr. Bales was the epitome of a public servant, always placing the needs of others above his own,” House Majority Leader Gary Simrill, R-York, tweeted. “While his passing leaves a void, his legacy endures.”
A ‘true statesman’
Bales, a longtime member of the House’s budget-writing committee, was known affectionately by his colleagues as “Dr. Bales.”
“Jimmy was committed to, most importantly, to the citizens of his district. He was always wondering what things we would do, how that would affect his district. He always had their concerns, first and foremost,” House budget Chairman Murrell Smith, R-Sumter, said. “He loved his community. He loved his state.”
State Sen. Darrell Jackson, D-Richland, called Bales an excellent public servant, adding, “He always looked out for his district and looked out for the state.”
Jackson, with state Sen. John Scott, D-Richland, filed a resolution earlier this year to rename the Shop Road extension after Bales.
The State last spoke to Bales after the resolution was filed.
“I stayed over there (the House) 22 years, and I had things in the community that I thought would improve the lives of our citizens, and I got money to fund them. And all the delegation voted for it. I am grateful to them,” Bales said at the time. “We had a good relationship. There wasn’t any difference between the Republicans and the Democrats. (On) things that helped our community, we all voted.”
Community was what Bales was about, Jackson said.
“A lot of things we were able to accomplish in Lower Richland was his cooperation, from the health care center down in Eastover to the Shop Road extension to the substation for law enforcement that’s at Lower Richland High School,” Jackson said. “And the thing about Jimmy is that you would never know it, none of that he ever wanted press conferences or wanted to get any type of pat on the back for it. He just felt it was the right thing to do.”
Despite his declining health, Bales sought election to another term in the House last year but lost to a younger newcomer, state Rep. Jermaine Johnson.
Johnson won his Democratic primary election against Bales and the eventual general election, becoming the Lower Richland House District 80’s first Black representative in two decades.
Jackson told The State many of Bales’ close friends had hoped Bales would retire rather than seek another term and lose.
But Bales was determined, Jackson said, and was supported by his colleagues.
“We just felt like he earned the right to go out on his own accord. It did not happen, unfortunately,” Jackson said.
During his final year in the House, Bales’ health took a turn. He told The State earlier this year he was no longer driving because his “health couldn’t keep up” with him. To help him, Smith drove Bales back and forth from the State House, giving the two lawmakers more time to talk.
“He’s a prince of a man. He’s a gentleman, he is,” Smith said. “He is someone that was a true statesman and someone that I had a lot of admiration and respect for, and I was blessed to be able to serve with him for as long as I (did).”
Bales never sought the limelight as a legislator, his colleagues recalled.
But he was not quiet and made sure his thoughts were heard, they said.
“He had a sense of humor, which in my world mattered a lot,” state Sen. Dick Harpootlian, D-Richland, said of Bales, known on the House Ways and Means Committee to snip at his colleagues who would at times speak too long. “But he did it with a sense of, in most instances, with a sense of humor or sort of a ... country gentleman’s cordiality, which I lack totally so it amazed me to watch him be able to do that.”
“Jimmy was not a wallflower. Jimmy had opinions on a lot of different things, and he shared those opinions on a regular basis,” Lucas said. “I was always very proud to call him my friend. I’m going to miss my friend.”
Bales is survived by his wife of 28 years, Helen Lynn Bales; two stepsons, Kevin and Kris Smith; his daughter, Kristen Bales; and two brothers, Joe and Johnny Bales. He also is survived by six grandchildren and 10 great-grandchildren.
A public visitation will be held 5 to 7 p.m. Friday at the Dunbar Funeral Home Devine Street Chapel.
Due to COVID-19, the family will hold a private funeral service at 10 a.m. Saturday, according to his obituary.
It will be livestreamed at facebook.com/DunbarDevine.
Reporters David Travis Bland, Emily Bohatch and Joseph Bustos contributed to this report.
This story was originally published September 25, 2021 at 10:02 PM.
