On Tuesday August 19, 2025, Washington, Georgia citizens Shawn and Rebecca Preston filed an ethics complaint naming Washington mayor Bruce Bailey. The mayor’s wife, Tina Bailey is also named in the complaint although, Tina Bailey is not an elected official or employed by the city of Washington. Tina Bailey is however employed by Wilkes County Emergency Medical Services and the Prestons’ said they filed the complaint with the county as well. Both complaints can be seen below this article.
This is not the first time since being elected Mayor that Bailey has been named in an ethics complaint. In June 2024 he was named in a complaint filed by the Editor of the Washington Wilkes Informer.
In their complaint, the Prestons’ state “This complaint is being filed due to multiple violations of public trust, potential legal breaches, and a disregard for established ethical and professional standards.”
Specifically mentioned are:
- Violation of Decorum at City Council Meeting
- Slander and Distribution of False Information
- HIPAA Violations and Breach of Medical Confidentiality
- Misuse of Public Resources and Law Enforcement
- Misuse of Authority, public position and public resources
- Standards of conduct and ethical behavior by city officials and employees
You can see the details of the allegations made in the documents below this article.
The Prestons told me that they moved to Washington in 2024 with the intention of bringing handyman and electrical services to the community. The name of their company is The Lion and The Hare (articles of incorporation were filed with the Prestons' complaint and can be seen below this article. They say they wanted a quiet and friendly community to raise their two daughters. Rebecca shared that she has a neurological condition and a slower pace, with her husband being close to home in case she physically isn’t doing well, was a top priority to them. Shawn Preston shared that he has worked as an electrical contractor for many years and is a 15-year member of the IBEW (International Brotherhood of Electrical Workers) Local 613 beginning as a journeyman and apprentice where he was once nominated for apprentice of the year. He also has NFP electrical safety, OSHA 30 certifications and an Electrical Contractor Class Unrestricted certification. Electrical contract work is something he grew up immersed in because it was his family's business.
When they first moved to Washington, they said they were welcomed and began getting work immediately. “It was mostly handyman projects to start, and that was just fine with us.” She said many people in the community needed a variety of help such as installing light fixtures, ceiling fans and other things not specific to electrical contracting that Shawn was experienced in doing.
“We were welcomed by the community and people gave us great reviews” Rebecca said.
Over time, as they were doing jobs in the homes of citizens living in Washington, they began to notice work that had been done incorrectly. Some of it they felt, was even dangerous. Some citizens had told the Prestons’ that they had issues after the work was completed by others. They wondered how the work had passed the inspection of the city code enforcement officer, Jimmy Toto. They discovered their own home had work done that had been signed off by Toto but had not been done properly.
They took their questions and concerns to Toto, thinking he would want to know about issues that were, in their opinion, negatively impacting the community and could be hazardous.
They said they didn’t get the response they expected. They claim Toto told them “Go (expletive) yourselves, I make the rules.”
The Prestons said they had an issue with the HVAC system that had been installed in their home before they purchased it. Toto had signed off on it and after they moved in, there was a major issue with the system. Because it had been signed off as the install being proper, they had to pay for the repair out of pocket which cost them $25,0000. “We were paying to air condition our crawl space.” Rebecca said. They needed the city to sign off after the repair and the city sent out inspectors from another county and the city requested they have a police escort. The Prestons said this was embarrassing to them and to their reputation. They said the officers were also confused as to why they were asked to be there.
After they voiced their concerns, they said the threats started and the work requests stopped. Specifically, they said Tina Bailey was telling people they were unqualified and where she had once left positive reviews about their work online, she added negative ones.
Rebecca said Tina Bailey has also made public comments about her mental and physical health and made fun of her illness. “She called the sheriff to come to our home and do a wellness check” Rebecca said. She went on to say that their business is how they put food on the table and this has impacted their two daughters who are ages 13 and 9.
Last Monday night, Shawn and Rebeccas decided to make public comments at the city council meeting they felt that way, at least they could address the entire city council. Some citizens gave their three minutes allotted to citizens at the meeting, to the Prestons. At the meeting, which can be watched on the Washington Wilkes Informer YouTube Channel, Shawn spoke first. He read from documents and shared his own credentials and his background as well as the concerns he has. Rebecca also spoke. At one point the mayor cut her off and said “Facts only” meaning he felt what Preston was saying wasn’t true. Per open meetings law and the First Amendment, citizens are allowed to speak openly at public meetings and say whatever they wish. Preston was held to the three-minute limit allowed for public comments. Bailey used the gavel to indicate her time was up. Some others who spoke that evening were not given the gavel and were allowed more than three minutes to speak. The mayor engaged in conversation with some of them.
I requested and received from the city, the credentials of Jimmy Toto. He was awarded Electrical Contractor Non-restricted on August 26, 2005. On May 2, 2017, he was granted the designation Residential Building Inspector by the International Code Council. On June 26, 2018, he achieved Residential Electrical Inspector. He also completed certificate “Permit Requirements, Site Inspections, and State Waters for Construction Sites in Georgia on July 30, 2025.
Toto also does private work and was hired to do work on the houses that were built using the CHIP grant funding. This became a concern because of the appearance of being a conflict of interest working on the project as a city employee and inspector and as an independent contractor. Toto was asked to return the money he was paid for his work on the project outside of his employment by the city.
The Prestons said they know speaking out has caused a great deal of backlash and is taking a serious toll on them in many ways but they feel “What’s right is right and nobody should be punished and threatened for telling the truth.”
The city code states when an ethics complaint is made against the mayor, it is to be given to the mayor pro tem who follows the protocol of setting up a committee to investigate the complaint. The committee is to be made up of three council members. Councilman Larry Hill, representing district 1, is the mayor pro tem.
I contacted councilman Larry Hill and he confirmed he is mayor pro tem. He said he has not yet received the complaint and doesn’t wish to comment until the complaint has been given to him. That committee investigates the complaint, decides whether or not it is valid and if valid can conduct a public hearing as was the case when former Washington mayor Bill deGolian filed a complaint against Nathaniel Cullars Sr.
Add comment
Comments