Two set for PTC's mayoral race; two more on the way?

By JOHN MUNFORD
jmunford@TheCitizenNews.com

The race for mayor of Peachtree City has certainly heated up with the week-long election qualification period that began Monday morning.

By lunchtime Thursday, two candidates had officially qualified for the mayor's race: Steve Brown, who announced his candidacy back in March, and surprise candidate Dan Lakly, a former city councilman, county commissioner and state legislator.

At least two other mayoral candidates are expected to qualify before 4:30 p.m. today: Fred Wellman and Frank Murphy. Wellman has been publicly campaigning for several months while Murphy put the public on notice at last week's City Council meeting when Mayor Bob Lenox gave potential candidates the chance to address the public.

Prior to Murphy's announcement last week, it was believed that Brown and Wellman could be the only mayoral candidates, particularly after current Councilman Dan Tennant announced he would not seek the mayor's post.

Also by Tuesday morning, five people had qualified for two seats on the City Council. Both incumbents, Carol Fritz and Steve Rapson, have qualified for their respective posts.

Former City Clerk Nancy Faulkner has qualified to run against Rapson as his only challenger so far. Municipal attorney Murray Weed and newcomer Alison Chambers have qualified to run against Fritz.

All this information was gathered Thursday at lunch time, but as City Public Information Officer Betsy Tyler noted then, "There is still a full day and a half left."

In a press release to The Citizen last week, Murphy said focusing on families and smart growth is crucial to maintaining the lifestyle for Peachtree City residents.

Murphy pointed out that traffic at the intersection of Ga. Highways 54 and 74 is a concern, but solutions need to be sought for the problems. He suggested having major industries stagger their operating hours as a partial solution.

"Every city has growing pains," Murphy said. "We need to be prepared to handle these challenges with minimal interruption to our lifestyle."

Murphy formerly served as the city's director of emergency medical services and as an officer in the Peachtree City Fire Department.

Lakly has not contacted The Citizen with any information about his upcoming campaign.

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