As a Covington native, Anderson Bailey has been involved a lot. 

For the past 15 years, Bailey has worked with the city of Covington in various positions. He’s also volunteered with the Newton County Recreation Department as a coach, referee and umpire. Additionally, Bailey has worked as a Georgia High School Association (GHSA) referee for more than 20 years. 

Most recently, Bailey was elected to the Newton County School System Board of Education representing District 4. 

Bailey views his many positions as a way to help all of Newton County succeed. 

“Really, the city serves the community and the students, too,” Bailey said. “Yeah, we have flaws but, if we can bring unity in our community, we can accomplish a lot.” 

Bailey returned to Covington after serving in the military. 

Once he graduated from Newton County Comprehensive High School in 1979, Bailey entered the Army. There, he served in active duty for three years. He then enlisted in the Georgia Army National Guard where he served for 20 years. 

Throughout his years of service, Bailey served as cavalry scout, administration clerk, communication chief and platoon sergeant before retiring as a staff sergeant. 

According to Bailey, he never envisioned himself living anywhere other than Covington when his time concluded in the military. 

“I wanted to come back to a place I knew and loved,” Bailey said. “I knew some people in the Army who were against going back to their hometowns, but not me. I love Covington.” 

Bailey is married to another Covington native in Angela Bailey. They’re coming up on their 39th wedding anniversary in November. They have three children named Courtney, Yasmine and Anderico along with two grandchildren named Jaylin Gunn and Parker Bailey. 

Currently, Bailey sees Covington as a place that has a lot of potential. 

He pointed back to his campaign slogan when running for the board of education as a mantra he still abides by. 

Bailey’s hope is for the community to build on the foundation here and make Newton County better for the future. 

“I ran on ‘Anderson Bailey For All,’” Bailey said. “We need to realize that I don’t need to stop being your friend just because we disagree. If I can’t help you because of that, then I don’t need to help others. At the end of the day, we need to help everyone be successful.”