Candy Waites

Candy Waites
Member of the South Carolina House of Representatives
from the 75th district
In office
June 1988 – December 1994
Preceded byJean Hoefer Toal
Succeeded byJim Harrison
Personal details
Born
Candy Yaghjian

1943 (age 80–81)
New York City, New York
Political partyDemocratic
Spouse
Robert G. Waites
​
(m. 1965)​
Alma materWheaton College
University of South Carolina

Candy Yaghjian Waites (born 1943) is an American former politician.

Candy Yaghjian Waites was born in 1943 to Armenian-American painter Edmund Yaghjian [d]. Her mother was of Scottish descent. The family moved from New York City to Columbia, South Carolina, in the mid-1940s, when Edmund Yaghjian left the Art Students League of New York for a position at the University of South Carolina.[1] Candy Yaghjian attended Wheaton College. During the 1964 presidential election, the student body of Wheaton College helped Yaghjian raise money to travel home and vote in the election, as, at the time, South Carolina law only permitted military personnel to request absentee ballots.[2][3] Yaghjian married Robert G. Waites in 1965. The couple raised two children.[4][5]

Candy Waites was president of the League of Women Voters of Columbia/Richland County from 1973 to 1976.[5] She ran for a seat on the Richland County Council for the first time in 1976. Waites remained a county council member for twelve years.[6][7] Subsequently, Waites was nominated by the Democratic Party and won a June 1988 special election against Republican candidate Ray Rossi in the South Carolina House of Representatives's 75th district. Waites faced Rossi in the November general elections and secured a full term in office.[8][9] As a legislator, Waites was supportive of environmental regulations.[10][11] In 1989, she filed a complaint with the state ethics board regarding a contract between the state government and architectural firm R. Phil Roof to build a new state prison.[12][13][14] Waites opted not to run for another full term as state legislator in 1994, because her district was subject to reapportionment.[5][15] After leaving public office, Waites served as lecturer of political science and an associate dean of the Leadership Institute at Columbia College from 1993 to 1999. During her tenure at Columbia, Waites earned a master's degree in public administration at the University of South Carolina in 1997. Between 1999 and 2003, Waites was director of the division of children's services for the South Carolina Governor's Office. She then returned to Columbia College as director of the Leadership Institute, serving until 2010.[16]

References

  1. ^ Waites, Candy (February 27, 2019). "Accession #: SWW 002" (Interview). Interviewed by Andrea L’Hommedieu. University of South Carolina.
  2. ^ "One vote's lasting power". Wheaton College. October 3, 2008. Retrieved February 24, 2022.
  3. ^ "Coming Back To S.... Girls Give So Candy..." The Greenville News. October 28, 1964. Retrieved February 24, 2022.
  4. ^ "Columbia native named to college post". The Index-Journal. April 29, 1985. Retrieved February 24, 2022.
  5. ^ a b c "South Carolina Political Collections: Candy Yaghjian Waites (b. 1943) Papers 1964–2010" (PDF). University of South Carolina Libraries. Retrieved February 24, 2022.
  6. ^ "Candy Yaghjian Waites Papers". University of South Carolina. Retrieved February 24, 2022.
  7. ^ "The Candy Yaghjian Waites Collection". South Carolina University Libraries. Retrieved February 24, 2022.
  8. ^ Karr, Gary (December 13, 1988). "Horry County candidates spent $75,000 in campaigns". The Greenville News. Retrieved February 24, 2022.
  9. ^ "GOP targets five Democrats for defeat". The Times and Democrat. June 30, 1989. Retrieved February 24, 2022.
  10. ^ "(continued from page 1)". The Index-Journal. August 12, 1991. Retrieved February 24, 2022.
  11. ^ "(continued from page 1)". The Index-Journal. March 23, 1994. Retrieved February 24, 2022.
  12. ^ "...dismissed against 3 state officials who took trip". The Greenville News. August 26, 1989. Retrieved February 24, 2022.
  13. ^ "(continued from 1C)". The Greenville News. May 9, 1989. Retrieved February 24, 2022.
  14. ^ "Ethics (continued from page 1)". The Greenville News. May 3, 1989. Retrieved February 24, 2022.
  15. ^ "Candy Waites". South Carolina Women's Leadership Network. Retrieved February 24, 2022.
  16. ^ "Candy Yaghjian Waites". Marquis Who's Who. December 20, 2020.