Friday, September 29, 2000
Friday, September 29, 2000 |
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Explosive charges are leveled at Senoia council candidate By JOHN THOMPSON Senoia City Councilman Judy Belisle is urging residents not to support Ken Gordon and outlined her problems with the candidate in a letter to local newspapers. In a move that has turned the campaign season upside down, Belisle accuses Gordon of everything from being selfish and irresponsible to violating the Open Meetings Act when he previously served as a councilman. Gordon refutes the charges and said the move doesn't surprise him. "I've been waiting for something to happen," he said. Belisle wrote that on a trip to Chicago to examine the city's sewer system, Gordon had promised to give the group a ride back to the hotel. Belisle, who was five months pregnant at the time, repeatedly tried to reach Gordon, but was unsuccessful. "We tried to get a taxi, but after waiting two hours, we ended up walking a mile to a gas station. We got to the gas station where we had asked a stranger talking on the phone if he would give us a ride," she said. Gordon disputes the account and said he was visiting a friend in Chicago and never made any concrete plans to pick up Belisle. Belisle also voiced concerns about Gordon representing a group called Citizens for Good Government after he left office. "When asked who the other members are, he could not, or would not, tell us who they are. He has even openly alluded to the fact that they could be members of what I call an undesirable group," she said. Gordon chuckled at the charges. "This is just a group of citizens who are concerned about how the city's being run. It's none of her business," he said. The councilman said she had a problem with Gordon winning a bid for a fencing job in the city park while he served as a councilman. "I find this to be a conflict of interest," she said. But Gordon maintains the bids were closed and he recused himself from the awarding of the bid. The most explosive charge Belisle levels at Gordon is the violation of the Open Meetings Act. "Kenny was one of the members of the council who did not think there was anything wrong with voting on issues of spending taxpayers' money in a closed session. Issues of spending thousands of dollars should be discussed and voted on in an open forum," she said. Gordon vehemently denied the charge and challenged Belisle to prove the allegations. Gordon, along with Pam Youngblood, Sonny Duke and Darren Ratajski, is running in the Nov. 7 election for two council posts being vacated by Belisle and Kyle Frank.
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