May 17–23 is National Public Works Week, a time to recognize and celebrate the people who keep our community running. Each day this week, we share the story of an employee from General Services Administration. Their work often happens behind the scenes, but it’s essential, from fleet operations to building maintenance. These are the individuals who make sure everything runs smoothly, supporting the services our community depends on every day.
Peter Bailey starts his workday long before he gets to the office.
Every morning, he scans his email for anything that came in overnight, especially security issues that can’t wait. By the time he walks through the door, he already knows what kind of day he’s stepping into.
“There is no typical day in my role,” he said. And he means it.
Peter is a security supervisor in the Safety and Security Division of General Services Administration, responsible for keeping county staff and the public safe across Wake County facilities. That covers a lot of ground, literally. On any given day, he might be reviewing security footage, responding to an incident at a building across town, managing contractors, helping with the badging process or sitting in a meeting about a new facility. Often, it’s all of the above.
His path to this role wasn’t a straight line. He grew up in Orlando, started at the University of Central Florida, then shifted to full-time work and joined the Marine Corps Reserves in 2006. He served as an amphibious assault vehicle crewman and crew chief, eventually reaching the rank of corporal before being honorably discharged in 2012. After that, he worked as a security contractor, including for Wake County.
In fact, he had a relationship with Wake County long before he became a full-time employee. From 2009 to 2012, he contracted with the county and built strong professional connections. When the opportunity came to join full-time in January 2018, he took it. He wanted a career path, stability and he had a growing family to think about.
He has three children, ages 11, 7 and 2. “Trying not to miss them growing up,” he said. It’s a real tension for someone whose job doesn’t exactly end at 5 p.m. Even after he leaves the office, Peter monitors security emails and stays available for questions from his team.
One thing people often misunderstand is assuming he’s not working when he’s not physically in his office. “Just because I appear away or am not physically at my office does not mean I am not working,” he said. On a busy day, he might move through several buildings depending on where he’s needed most.
Another misconception is that updating someone’s building access is quick and easy. It’s not. Access control is intentionally careful and precise; people only get the access they truly need. Designing a system for a brand-new building is a major effort. When the new Public Health Building opened, his team spent close to a month designing and assigning access. That building alone has more than 300 card readers.
When Peter does get a moment to decompress, he keeps it simple: video games, science fiction books and anime. He’s a big fan of magic-and-dragons stories and a longtime Star Wars devotee.
And then there’s the fun fact that tends to stop people cold. Years ago, he was in a car accident so severe that both the responding officer and the tow truck driver said the same thing when they arrived: “Normally we find a dead body in this wreck.”
Peter walked away with a scratch.
For someone whose whole job is preventing things from going wrong, it’s a story that fits.
