[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.
[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.