Jeremy Hsieh's profile of Randy Bates will run in Saturday's Beaufort Gazette, followed by Diane DeWitt on Sunday and Shannon Erickson on Monday.

Here is the full bio information that Randy has provided The Gazette with and posted on other Web site.

WHY I AM ASKING FOR YOUR VOTE AND SUPPORT
By Randy Bates, Candidate for S. C. House of Representatives, District 124

As you may know, I have served for nearly five years as Legislative Coordinator, Campaign Manager and yard boy for Catherine Ceips, our State Representative since
2003. Last month, Catherine was elected as our State Senator, resulting in a
special House election on September 4th to replace her.

First and foremost, I would like to thank each and every person who
participated in the campaign to elect my gal Catherine Ceips -- as a committee
member, a volunteer or active supporter -- as well as each person who took the
time to vote in that election. While I may have been her campaign manager, it
was you who made the difference. I thank you.

Now, we are faced with the challenge of electing someone to replace Catherine
in the House. In mid-July, I made the decision to offer as a candidate for this
position. I believe I offer three crucial qualifications for the State House seat:

First, I have the right experience to do a great job: real-world leadership
experience; experience as a community leader helping my neighbors solve my
problems; and experience serving our community side-by-side with Catherine
as she has fought for the citizens of Northern Beaufort County. Having worked
so closely with Catherine, I believe I can carry forward her hard work, stellar
constituent service and positive, unifying leadership. I share her vision for our
community. I helped her respond to constituent problems, worked with her on
issues and probably understand her unfinished work in the House of
Representatives better than anybody.

Second, I'm a Reagan Republican: a fiscal conservative who believes in less
spending and lower taxes (really lower in my case). I understand that the most important thing any government can do is to let the hard-working taxpayers keep more of their own
money (like me) I keep it all. Government is necessary. Big government is not. Like our founding
fathers, I believe the proper role of government is to do only those things that
people cannot do for themselves.

Third, I'm recently a hard worker. And there is just no substitute for good, old-
fashioned hard work. No one will work harder than I will for the people of
Lady’s Island, Saint Helena, Beaufort and Port Royal.

In the coming weeks, I'll be traveling to all corners of our district, meeting with
voters to discuss the issues and my five major goals as your new voice at the
State House:

Keeping taxes and spending as low as possible, so hard-working
taxpayers can keep more of their own money;

Improving education, so South Carolina’s young people are given every
opportunity to succeed in life;

Protecting our natural resources and preserving our quality of life;
. Finding solutions to traffic congestion and other infrastructure
problems caused by out-of-control over-development;

Finding local solutions to the illegal immigration crisis, that are not
being addressed by the federal government; and

Continuing to enhance and improve services for South Carolina’s
aging population.

Most importantly, I will always listen to the people of this district to accurately
represent your views on the issues we face. Just as Catherine did as our
representative, I will stay in touch with you to serve you well.

I look forward to meeting you in the weeks ahead and to working for you in the
years to come. As always, please feel free to contact me if I may assist you on
any matter. Thank you.

Randy Bates
145 Alston Road, Lady’s Island, SC 29907

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Brief Biography of Randy Bates

Veteran – United States Marine Corps & Marine Corps Reserve
1981-2000
Called to active duty for the first Gulf War

Marine Corps Family Readiness Committee
2002-2004 – Volunteer appointment to a service-wide board dealing with family
readiness

BA & MA in American Studies/History - Pennsylvania State University
Graduated with high honors and was a member of several national honor
societies

Chairman, South Carolina Republican Party Second Congressional District
Vice-President, Beaufort Federation of Republican Men
Secretary, Beaufort Area Republican Club
Precinct Executive Committeeman, Beaufort County Republican Party
Member – 2007 Platform Committee, Beaufort County Republican Party

As a child of deaf parents, I was honored to serve as the Executive Secretary of
the International Catholic Deaf Association – a social organization supporting
Catholic Deaf issues.