McMenamin ends speculation on PTC mayoral bid to help candidates decide

By JOHN MUNFORD
jmunford@TheCitizenNews.com

When hats are thrown in the ring for the upcoming Peachtree City mayoral race, Annie McMenamin will keep hers on.

McMenamin declared at Thursday night's council meeting that she will finish her final term as councilwoman instead of running for mayor. She hopes her early announcement will help other qualified mayoral (and council) candidates make their decisions about stepping forward.

An acquaintance told McMenamin that her decision was "selfish," and she said it probably was. But she also cited a commitment to the voters who elected her to serve a four-year term on council.

"Fulfilling the obligations I made to the voters is the main thing," McMenamin said Monday morning.

Admitting she'd like to see a female candidate in the race, McMenamin also said she wants someone with an open mind at the helm.

"I hope someone comes forward without an agenda, who believes fact, not fiction, and can look at all the parameters of the issue," McMenamin said. "Any candidate who has all the answers doesn't know all the questions."

McMenamin's ideal candidate would also cooperate well with other agencies such as county governments, the Georgia Department of Transportation and the Atlanta Regional Commission.

"It's a very enjoyable experience," McMenamin said. "And there are so many qualified people in this community. The negative emphasis dissuades people, but it's really not a negative position."

McMenamin's decision insures a degree of stability for council after the upcoming November election. At least three seats are up for grabs: the mayor's post and two council posts currently held by Carol Fritz and Steve Rapson. Mayor Bob Lenox will depart after serving the maximum two terms on council.

The only way another seat could become vacant is if councilman Dan Tennant decides to run for mayor, thereby vacating his post.

McMenamin has been on council since she was originally appointed in June 1990; she won her first election months later to retain the seat. An acquaintance called her decision not to run "selfish," which McMenamin admits. It certainly was a relief to her family, even though they would have supported her candidacy, she said.

Though she's sitting out of the battle for mayor, don't count McMenamin out. She still has two and a half years left on council.

"You can accomplish a lot as a council member. You don't have to be mayor," McMenamin said. "I love campaigning, but thirteen and a half years is a long time for someone to be in public office."

While council's job is made easier by city staff and volunteer groups like the Planning Commission which do a lot of the leg work, there are some tough decisions facing council in the coming months, McMenamin said.

The first issue will be the fate of projects that will be proposed in the bond issue referendum in November. A community center, one of the potential projects on the list, "would be a tremendous asset to the city," McMenamin said. "It would enable us to do a lot more things and expand programs that have nowhere to go."

City finances are also a crucial matter, with little room in the budget to keep the millage rate (and property taxes) down as council has done in the past, McMenamin said.

Moving along the project to extend TDK Boulevard into Coweta County is also important, McMenamin said. The road would serve as an alternate route from Coweta to the Peachtree City industrial park, and if the city didn't need cooperation from other agencies, the road would have been built some time ago, McMenamin said.

That project should be in place before Ga. Highway 54 is widened to four lanes, and something must be done when that happens to keep traffic from cutting through Planterra Ridge subdivision, she added.

The recent decision to purchase the Drake Field area between City Hall and Lake Peachtree was also important, McMenamin said. The land had been zoned commercial, but now it will remain in its current use, as a recreation area, she added.

"I do think Bob Lenox will be remembered in the long term as a mayor who accomplished a lot for this city," McMenamin said.

The veteran councilwoman had been asked to run for mayor, and in her statement during Thursday's council meeting, McMenamin thanked those who supported her.

"I think it was the best thing to do for me," she said. "I just didn't want to add responsibility to an already overburdened family."

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