Wednesday, October 25, 2000

Imagine, if you will, this situation. You have been falsely accused of a potentially embarrassing charge at work. You know you have done nothing wrong, but for reasons of "office politics," there are some people on the job that want to hurt you. Someone or some group is trying to defame you. What do you do? Do you walk away from your job in disgrace, even though you are innocent of the charge? Do you confront your accuser(s)?

Do you get angry and upset and mad at the world? Or maybe, do you tell your boss, expose the culprits, and do whatever you have to do to clear your good name and reputation? The citizens of Peachtree City are my boss, so I have chosen the final approach. Here's what happened, Boss.

I believe profoundly in our fundamental rights to privacy. And trust me, it is no fun to feel compelled to comment publicly on matters in my own personal life. But these feelings are outweighed by the need to not only educate and inform the public on how dirty and unfair things can get in local politics, but to prevent any future injustices to innocent people.

So here is the story...

Unfortunately, I have recently gone through a divorce. This is a highly personal and private matter, and the only statement I will make on it is that divorce hurts, and while I am saddened to have to experience it, I have kept the focus on loving and nurturing my wonderful children.

Now this may get a bit confusing to keep the players straight, but stay with me. One of the opposing attorneys in my divorce was Leslie Wade. Leslie Wade coincidentally is married to John Wade, an attorney for the firm of Webb, Stuckey and Lindsey, the same firm I had voted to replace as city attorney earlier this year because they were the high bidder.

Another attorney at the firm is Susan Brown, daughter of Council member Annie McMenamin. It was McMenamin, you may recall, who accused me of an absurd ethics violation a few months ago (only to withdraw the accusation later) after I dared state that I may run for mayor next year. Mrs. McMenamin, I believe, is absolutely driven to run for and be elected mayor in November of next year, at any costs. Indeed, if nobody else steps up to the plate to run against her next year, I will.

The other opposing attorney was Michelle Lundy, who, it is my understanding, strongly supported one of my opponents in the most recent city council election.

You don't suppose Lundy and Wade had ulterior motives in representing my ex-wife in the divorce, do you? Draw your own conclusions.

You with me so far? It gets much more interesting...

The last participant in this story is Nancy Faulkner, who is city clerk of Peachtree City, who I understand lived with Annie McMenamin for quite some time, and who is a good friend of Susan Brown (the Webb, Stuckey and Lindsey attorney and daughter of Mrs. McMenamin). Fortunately, Nancy Faulkner and I have had a good working relationship since I was sworn into office in January.

Back to my divorce, which inexplicably dragged on for nine months, much to my chagrin. I was informed on August 16 that Lundy and Wade had subpoenaed Nancy Faulkner to perform a deposition in my divorce case.

I was dumbfounded as to why in the world Ms. Faulkner would have any reason to be deposed in this matter, but I was sure eager to find out, so I attended her Aug. 18 deposition in the office of my attorney, Dolores Daniel, here in Peachtree City.

Remarkably, city attorney Rick Lindsey was also there since ostensibly nobody knew if she was being deposed in an official capacity as city clerk. So we now have a city employee giving a deposition in my divorce case on city time, and the taxpayers are paying Rick Lindsey $130 an hour to be there as well. A rather imprudent use of public funds, wouldn't you say?

For over two hours, I witnessed one of the most sickening events I have ever seen. I watched a lawyer grill an innocent person, Nancy Faulkner, who had no interest in being there, about my personal affairs, in an unsuccessful attempt to damage my good reputation. Now understand, I was strictly an observer in the matter, and was not permitted to utter a word, and I didn't.

It turns out that the bulk of the important questions centered on what I believe the opposing attorney tried to create, and that is a sexual harassment charge against me. It all stemmed from a remark I was alleged to have made several months ago when conversing with Ms. Faulkner about the sexual harassment charges levied against former Fayetteville city manager Mike Bryant.

Evidently, Ms. Faulkner later mentioned to Susan Brown and others something about the conversation, although Ms. Faulkner clearly stated in her deposition that she did not feel offended by anything I had said. Suffice it to say, I will not even dignify their actions with a response, other than to tell you Ms. Faulkner categorically and irrefutably stated under oath that at no time has she ever felt sexually harassed by me.

As a matter of fact, city attorney Rick Lindsey has recently completed an "investigation" of the incident, and my name has been cleared and Ms. Faulkner again stated nothing inappropriate had occurred. Case closed.

Except for one thing...you can't attempt to damage a person's good name and not expect consequences.

So guess who I think was the primary operative behind all this? If you guessed the daughter of Council member Annie McMenamin, Susan Brown, whose employer is Webb, Stuckey and Lindsey, you would be correct. Ms. Faulkner stated in sworn testimony that Susan Brown asked her to testify against me in my divorce case, and Ms. Faulkner said no.

Why would Susan Brown, Annie McMenamin's daughter, have any interest in asking any person to testify against me in my divorce? Hmmm? And more generically, is it not simply absolutely stomach-turning that anyone might attempt to exploit a tragic family hardship for political gain, especially at this level of government?

Understand that hearing the questions asked during the deposition provided the first time I (and to my knowledge Nancy Faulkner) had even heard about any such sexual harassment talk, yet the supposed "victim" was Nancy Faulkner! And guess what? When Ms. Faulkner did not answer the way the opposing attorney hoped she might, the opposing attorney miraculously offered to settle the divorce case right then. What a remarkable coincidence.

So we did settle the case right then and there. Wade and Lundy came back from their little fishing expedition they went on with an empty boat. Guess their Perfect Storm wasn't so perfect after all.

So what role did McMenamin, the council member who brought forth and later withdrew a frivolous and politically motivated ethics charge against me, or anyone in the law firm that I voted not to keep on as city attorney since they were the highest bidder (and the same law firm that employs Susan Brown and the same firm that sued Mr. Steve Brown and The Citizen newspaper for libel for Steve Brown's letters to the editor) have in all of this? Your guess is as good as mine, but it sure doesn't smell good, does it?

You wonder why people are cynical about government? You wonder why more people don't get in the game and serve their communities? You wonder why most people would rather spend a week in jail than be president of the United States for a day? It's because of horse manure like this.

Trust me, it would be a lot simpler for me to just let this die and get on with my life. If I say nothing, then nothing becomes of this matter and I never have to hear the term "sexual harassment" and my name in the same sentence. But you see, I have done nothing wrong. And I strongly feel it is incumbent upon me to let you know what is going on. This kind of stuff has to end, but it won't end if people think they can get away with it with no consequence.

If you challenge the power structure in this town, if you stand up for what you believe in, if you don't cave under pressure, if you fight for what is right, if you hold your convictions close and honor your word, you stand a heck of a good chance of making the old boy and old girl network in this town very uncomfortable.

But let me tell you something. They can just keep on coming. They can accuse me of groundless ethics violations, they can attempt to manufacture a nonexistent sexual harassment case against me, they can blame me for the drought if they want to. But I will never stop seeing to it that the concerns and needs of ordinary citizens are heard and met. Period.

I will do whatever I have to do to defend my own honor and to repress any evil or malicious acts against innocent people, including but not limited to filing ethics charges and bar complaints if necessary. In the meantime, just keep on firing away, Power Structure of Peachtree City. Your days are numbered.

Thanks for listening, Boss.

Dan Tennant

Peachtree City Councilman

DanTennant@aol.com

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