In a surprising move, Councilmember Annie McMenamin has abruptly dismissed her ethics complaint against me. Why? Read on, and you will discover attorney Andrew Whalen instructed the ethics board the complaint had no merit.

Councilmember McMenamin contended that by my e-mailing council members requesting their input, advice, and suggestions on a proposed ordinance I had sponsored to protect free speech, I had committed a crime. Ms. McMenamin's charge was a serious one, potentially punishable by criminal fines and penalties and even recall from office. But as the sponsor of our enhanced ethics ordinance, I had faith in the process.

At approximately 5 p.m. Monday afternoon, I received an e-mail from City Manager Jim Basinger that the ethics complaint filed against me by Councilmember McMenamin had been withdrawn. Shortly afterward, I received a follow-up fax from city hall which outlined an “explanation” from Mrs. McMenamin as to what caused her sudden change of heart. The final score for this one was Justice 1, Politics As Usual 0.

Although I believed Mrs. McMenamin's complaint was baseless political retaliation against me, this was nonetheless a serious charge and I treated it as such. I therefore decided I must enlist the services of legal counsel, and informed city staff and council that was my intent. I retained John W. Mrosek of Fayetteville, a trusted advisor and highly respected Fayette County attorney. I know that Mr. Mrosek has spent substantial time preparing for the upcoming hearing, and I have incurred substantial costs as a result.

[Monday] morning Mr. Mrosek faxed a notice to council members Fritz and McMenamin, as well as Mayor Lenox, to inform them they would be subpoenaed by the method of their choice to testify at my hearing on April 12. To my knowledge, it was placed in all councilmembers mailboxes before noon, because my copy was in my box at 11:45 a.m.

Amazingly, even though the ethics complaint had been pending for two weeks, with one ethics board meeting convened, it took just five hours after being notified of Mr. Mrosek's intention to compel testimony at my hearing that Ms. McMenamin coincidentally decided to dismiss her complaint. Is it possible the mayor and McMenamin were reluctant to answer questions under oath that might arise on the subject of open meetings? As my good friend Steve Brown would say, draw your own conclusions.

Mrs. McMenamin, do you honestly think I ever had any desire to become a part of the “inner circle” of this town? I got elected because I wasn't a part of the “inner circle.” Your remarks on that subject are misguided and taken out of context. For the record, the only “inner circle” I am interested in being a part of is when I play Ring Around the Rosies with my 2-year-old son, Jackson.

It gets more interesting. Just [Monday], I received a copy of a letter dated March 27 from Mr. Andrew Whalen, the advisory attorney in this ethics complaint, in which he responded to Mrs. McMenamin's inquiry as to whether or not she could withdraw her complaint against me.

Mr. Whalen responded that indeed she could, but added, “However, it would have been my advice to the Board of Ethics that Councilman Tennant's action in circulating a proposed ordinance by e-mail in which he expressed his opinions and solicited the opinion of other members of the governing body before the Council meeting at which it would be officially considered, did not constitute a `meeting' as defined by law.”

Why in the world did Mrs. McMenamin not ask this fundamental question before she put me, my family, and our community through this turmoil? One can reasonably conclude her reaction is attributed to political retribution for criticizing the city attorney and/or mayor's actions on the Steve Brown libel case. Or for not going along to get along with regard to appointing the highest bidder for city judge. Or for not going along to lift the annexation moratorium. Or for having the audacity to write a free speech ordinance. Again, draw your own conclusions.

The unfortunate thing is that this entire matter has resulted in an enormous waste of my time and energy as well as legal fees. Nonetheless it is with great humility that I thank all the kind people, most of whom I don't even know, who have supported me throughout this ordeal. It is a very humbling experience to be mistreated, only to have the community rally to your defense. Let's hope the future is brighter for all of us.

Daniel R. Tennant
Council Member,
Peachtree City
DanTennant@aol.com

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