Peachtree City Councilman Dan Tennant faces an ethics hearing after fellow council member Annie McMenamin filed a complaint this week charging Tennant with violating the state “Sunshine Law.”

Tennant said the complaint is political retaliation for his stands and for his possible run for the mayor's post, a slot already eyed by McMenamin.

McMenamin said Tennant requested opinions from her and other council members on a proposed ordinance “and requested we respond to him prior to the council meeting.”

“I consider the attached e-mail request to all the council to be a violation of the Sunshine Law,” McMenamin said. “These requested discussions, opinions, proposals and ideas are the citizens' business and are required to be done in public.”

“This is very clearly baseless political retaliation designed to silence me because I have been a critic of injustices and irresponsible policy decisions, and I pose a real threat to the way things are traditionally done in Peachtree City government,” Tennant responded in an e-mail to The Citizen.

“Nonetheless, I have faith in our form of government, and faith in the process, and I certainly have no doubt the Ethics Board will concur with my belief that no ethics violation has occurred,” Tennant said.

“Although there was never any meeting of any kind in person, electronic, or otherwise on this subject, but simply a written request for feedback,” Tennant said, “evidently Mrs. McMenamin is upset with the manner in which I asked for council members' input on a proposed ordinance I authored which would enhance citizens' rights to be heard by their elected representatives.”

Tennant plans to introduce a right-to-reply ordinance at Thursday night's meeting.

Now the council has two ethics charges to consider Thursday: Tennant's and one filed earlier this month against city attorney Jim Webb.

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