Wednesday, October 3, 2001

The tragedy of Sept. 11, 2001, has created a series of questions regarding national security, the economy, religion, international unity and many others. It was comforting to witness the ability of our people to come together during this assault on our freedom.

On that sad day, I was in Boston attending classes on negotiation through a program set up by Harvard Law and MIT. I thought the course would be helpful in light of the regional government structure we are now facing in Georgia. The courses were first rate but the people were even better.

There was not an airline flight or a rent-a-car to be had within a five-state radius. A woman who was a corporate VIP with a privately held grocery store chain in Texas was nice enough to give me a ride as far as Chattanooga on her way back to San Antonio. Because of this stranger that I met in the hotel lobby, I was able to attend my sister's wedding that Saturday.

I was deeply moved to see the Fayette County schoolbus drivers collecting funds in downtown Fayetteville. They had parked a large yellow bus along the road and draped it with a large American flag. The symbolism was incredible. Here we had one of our fondest symbols in the yellow schoolbus; the very thing we trust to send our children in safely to school towards a better future. Hanging on the bus was the flag that symbolizes the ideals that our country was founded upon and that gives our children a much better future than the rest of the world.

Seeing the safe vessel we trust with our children wrapped in the emblem of American greatness froze me in my tracks. To all the bus drivers, thanks for your devotion.

Quite a few people working on my campaign strongly advised me not to say what I am about to state. There is an unwritten rule in politics that states that you should never get involved with anyone else's political race. I believe that living by principle is much better than living by the rules of politics (which stink).

There is a local woman that handwrites letters and distributes them to a multitude of people by dropping them on driveways throughout town. She has become known as the "driveway letter writer" because she does not sign her dissertations on local themes.

That fact that she is trying to make a difference is wonderful. However, some people around the area have thought that I might have something to do with these driveway letters, which is not true. I was particularly worried when the last driveway letter included my name and a negative comment about Peachtree City Council candidate Murray Weed. The driveway letter writer's husband is running against Mr. Weed and incumbent Carol Fritz.

For the record, I am very impressed by Murray Weed. Throughout the years, Mr. Weed has been a certified police officer and a certified police academy instructor. He later obtained a law degree at the University of Georgia. In 1998, he continued his studies with a masters degree in public administration with a 4.0 GPA. Mr. Weed has served as an assistant district attorney, an in-house county attorney and is now employed by the firm of Fincher and Hecht, LLC, where he works as a municipal law attorney. He has also participated in a host of civic and charity projects.

Mr. Weed is a quality candidate that I would enjoy working with on the City Council. I have had many fellow Republicans tell me that since Mr. Weed is employed by a firm that is partnered by a Democratic state House member (Greg Hecht) that we should reject him. This logic is skewed. The fact that many of us work with people who have a different political perspective does not mean that we automatically have to abide by the same views.

Also for the record, I supported Council member Carol Fritz when she ran four years ago. I made a mistake. I was wrong and I apologize to everyone of you for my error. Her first term in office can best be described as inattentive, ineffective and insulting. Mr. Weed is much more willing to work with the local citizens.

Many people have told me that we cannot fight the lowering of the standards that has recently taken place in our city and the relationships that appear to favor profit motive over public good. This position is absolutely wrong.

Ladies and gentleman, you are the board of directors of this city. If the upper level management (City Council) is failing to achieve the proper results, you need to fire the one running for reelection at the next board meeting on Nov. 6 and bring in a team that can do the job. As the board of directors, YOU have the responsibility of selecting the right candidates, so please question the candidates on every issue and do your homework.

Steve Brown

Peachtree City

Steve_ptc@juno.com

[Brown is an announced candidate for mayor of Peachtree City. The Citizen welcomes letters from candidates for all local offices and from citizens commenting on the candidates and issues raised. We will print the letters from candidates and a representative sampling of others subject to standard editing practices for length and conformity to libel laws, until the week before the election.]

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