Wednesday, September 5, 2001

OK, Labor Day is behind us, so we can talk about politics now.

When Annie McMenamin announced several months ago that she would not run for mayor, I figured I had a fairly good shot at winning this year's mayor's race in Peachtree City myself. Depending on how things developed, of course.

Well, things have developed in a weird sort of way this year. Bob Brooks resigned his position on council, and Steve Rapson was appointed by the remaining council members to serve out the rest of Brooks' term, which ends this fall, of course.

I really didn't know Steve Rapson very well at all, and to be honest with you, I was rather impressed with Fred Wellman's performance in the selection process. But Steve Rapson got the highest point total based on the selection process we used, and he was selected to serve on council.

I could not be more impressed with Steve Rapson. He is a hard-working, intelligent, fiscally conservative professional, and I will be supporting Steve this fall in his campaign. I hope you do, too.

As for the mayoral race, as I mentioned, I figured early on this may well be my best opportunity to serve the community from the top spot in city government. However, my company made a huge acquisition a few months ago, and it has taken an unexpectedly inordinate amount of my time, so I simply don't think it would be fair to the citizens of our great city for me to bite off more than I can chew right now.

Therefore, I will stay in my position as Post 2 councilman for at least another year 28 months, and continue to stand by my convictions and the will of the people of Peachtree City.

I am extremely grateful to the many supporters who urged me to run for mayor, who have stood by me through thick and thin, and who encourage me in my daily efforts to serve the community. It is very humbling to serve you, and even more so to know so many urged me to run for mayor this year. Perhaps in four years, we shall see....

In any case, who do I think will make the best choice for our city in the mayor's race? Well, even though I never heard of Fred Wellman a few months ago, I was and still am impressed by him. He in energetic and intriguing, and has a good heart, in my opinion.

However, when you look at Mr. Wellman's only announced opponent, Steve Brown, I think it is clear that we must hand the baton to the guy who has been in the trenches, day in and day out, night in and night out, literally for years.

Steve has managed to find himself in a bit of controversy, from time to time, because he is not afraid to take a stand. His convictions are rock-solid, his character is impeccable, his knowledge of the workings of city government and policy procedures is remarkable, he does his homework better than anyone I have ever met, and his commitment to doing what is right by the majority of the will of the people is unwavering. I believe Steve Brown will be the next mayor of Peachtree City, and I hope you will help me elect him.

A couple of weeks ago, I stopped by City Hall to pick up a packet for the mayor's race. I did this as a personal favor for Steve Brown, since I knew Steve would be attending several courses in the next few weeks, including one on negotiating and one on environmental planning training through the Atlanta Regional Commission.

I didn't want to see Steve scrambling for forms when he has plenty of other things on his mind. Incidentally, I am certainly thankful that Steve is always willing to attend the classes and do the research in order to keep our city one of the best places to live in metro Atlanta. His research has served me well in my time on council, and it takes a lot of tireless and thankless effort to do what Steve had done for all of us for several years.

Anyhow, when I picked up those forms is when the rumors starting flying left and right that I am running for mayor. Again, I am NOT running for mayor. I am serving out my term and supporting Steve Brown.

To those of you who would have supported me, I urge you to vote for Steve Brown for mayor this November. It's going to be a challenging and exciting time, and I feel quite certain that Steve really is the right person for the job.

Dan Tennant

Peachtree City Councilman

DanTennant@aol.com

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