The following letter was written to attorney Andrew Whalen and the ethics committee investigating the complaint against Dan Tennant.

Filing an ethics complaint against a fellow councilman is an uneasy and complicated decision. In the nine-plus years I have served on the City Council, I have served with two mayors (Bob Lenox and the honorable Fred Brown) and eight councilmen: David Good, Rich Parlontari, Ed Bradford, Bob Brooks, Jim Pace, Caroline Price, Carol Fritz and now Dan Tennant.

Prior to January of this year, I never had cause to question the intent of my fellow councilmen's actions. In January, I called Mr. Tennant to offer my congratulations on his taking the oath of office that evening at our regular scheduled meeting. Mr. Tennant told me he wanted to get along with everyone and wanted to work together in the best interest of Peachtree City.

He also stated that he very much wanted to be “part of the inner circle.” Not familiar with an “inner circle,” I asked him what he meant by that. He responded, “You know, where you sit around and talk about things and plan the meetings.”

I responded to Mr. Tennant, “We do not do that, Dan. That would be a violation of the open meetings law.”

Again, he asked, “You mean you really don't discuss what is going to happen at the next meeting?” I responded, “No, we do not.”

Shortly thereafter, the city manager informed council that Dr. Brooks was unable to attend either meeting in February due to a conflict. Mr. Tennant then attempted to solicit another council member's vote and to orchestrate the decision concerning the selection of the city attorney in February.

Because of my abstaining in city attorney selections and Councilman Brooks' absence, only two votes would have been a majority. This prompted Councilman Fritz to recommend an ordinance where it would require three votes (a majority of council) to pass any motion.

It soon followed on March 10, when I, collectively, with the mayor and other council members, received an e-mail from Mr. Tennant requesting our opinions, concerns, discussions, etc. prior to the next meeting regarding an ordinance he was introducing.

Mr. Tennant's previous statements and actions to create an “inner circle” and to predetermine decisions that should be made in a public meeting concerned me. It seemed to contradict one of the major platforms he used to run for office — the public's business should be conducted in public and in the public eye.

I was unclear of Mr. Tennant's motivation to deviate from his campaign promises. Did he attempt to create an “inner circle” or was he trying to fabricate the existence of one?

To reply to his e-mail would have, in my opinion, contributed to participation in a discussion which would predetermine the outcome of a meeting. When another council member called with concerns about Mr. Tennant's intentions of asking for discussions “prior” to the meeting, I moved forward to report a violation of ethics against Mr. Tennant.

While I have philosophically disagreed with the mayor and fellow councilmen from time to time, prior to Jan. 1, I never doubted their personal integrity or desire to serve in the best interest of Peachtree City. Unfortunately, in my opinion, this is no longer the case.

Council must police and protect itself from violating the public's trust and to be assured that we do not participate in, nor give the appearance of participating in any degradation of the oath of office we have taken and position we hold as representatives of the citizens of this city.

While I sincerely believe the simple act of disseminating information from one council member to the remaining council members or from city staff to all council members is not violating the open meetings law, I strongly believe members should refrain from requesting additional input from the remaining council members prior to an open meeting in order to comply with open meetings law.

It has always been my intention, regardless of the ethics committee ruling, to discuss the ethics issue at the council retreat on April 7. Because I believe it would be inappropriate to discuss this prior to the formal hearing, I have, today, instructed Mr. Basinger, the city manager, and Nancy Faulkner, city clerk, to withdraw my ethics complaint and have asked them to notify you of the withdrawal.

I originally filed the ethics violation with the best of motivations. I believe that Mr. Tennant's e-mail, combined with his other actions and statements, was an attempt to at least violate the spirit of the open meetings law.

Rather than continue with the formal ethics complaint process, I will ask council to discuss and clarify the city's ethics ordinance and council meeting procedures ordinance during the upcoming retreat in a more open and hopefully productive forum.

I very much appreciate the service of the committee and most respectfully submit withdrawal of the ethics complaint.

Annie McMenamin
City Council
Peachtree City

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