Wednesday, October 24, 2001
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Wednesday, October 24, 2001 |
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Fritz must answer for higher tax, Wal-Mart I have been asked my opinion from a substantial number of citizens recently on whom to vote for in the upcoming election. I have already endorsed Steve Brown for mayor and Steve Rapson for Council Post 3. Up until now, I have remained rather quiet regarding the Council Post 4 seat. Recent publications in this newspaper, however, have persuaded me to respond accordingly. I read with great amusement two letters to the editor in recent weeks from Post 4 candidate and current Peachtree City Council member Carol Fritz. After having criticized me for years for writing letters to the editor, and after having vowed not to do so herself (in a public meeting no less), the hypocritical Ms. Fritz has earned a hearty welcome to this section of the newspaper. The only problem, Carol, is that you have opened up an enormous can of worms. I tried, but I just couldn't resist the fun of responding to your self-glorifying prose. The bulk of these two letters from Ms. Fritz centers on three themes: 1) Ms. Fritz has attended numerous taxpayer-funded courses and seminars; 2) Ms. Fritz's erroneous notion that she was elected to make tough decisions; and 3) Her only agenda is "the people's business," a catchy but wholly meaningless phrase she used in both letters. Well, I hardly know where to begin, but let's see if I can't weave some facts into those lofty yet nebulous claims. It is amazing what a voting record can do to set the record straight. As to the courses she has taken, I can't really criticize her for that. I have taken plenty of GMA courses myself in order to make better informed decisions; education is good for the soul and the brain. It just appears that Ms. Fritz has managed to attend some courses I have been unable to locate. The top 10 courses I had trouble finding are: 1) How to Award the City Attorney Contract to the Highest Bidder; course material implemented 5-4-00. 2) How to Deny Citizens the Right to be Heard Before Council; course material implemented 3-2-00. 3) How to Allow Home Depot and Wal-Mart to Infiltrate Your Town; course material implemented 12-16-99 and 11-2-00. 4) Keep the Citizens in the Dark: Don't Televise Council Meetings; course material implemented 1-4-01. 5) Higher Density Rezonings Are Your Friend; course material implemented 11-5-98 and 5-4-00. 6) How to Contact Your Constituency with Offensive E-mails (just ask mayoral candidate Steve Brown or registered voter Ann Monihan); course material implemented routinely. 7) How to Double Your City's EMS Fees; course material implemented 8-17-00. 8) How to Sponsor the Lifting of Your Annexation Moratorium and Cost Your City $25,000; course material implemented 3-2-00. 9) How to Dramatically Increase Your Recreation Fees; course material implemented 5-3-01. 10) How to Be the Deciding Vote in a Whopping 12.4 percent Tax Increase a Month Before Your Election; course material implemented 10-4-01. It is my understanding Ms. Fritz graduated with honors from each of these courses. I think she was magna cum laude in the Tax Increase of the Century Vote she made just last month. The "tough decisions/people's business agenda" boils down to one concept. You see, there are two ways of looking at what it means to be a representative of the people at any level of government. One is to believe that because you were elected, you necessarily have the privilege of voting any way you see fit on any issue, regardless of public sentiment. The other is to believe that as an elected representative (understanding that while we are a republic and that we are given the privilege to exercise some personal discretion in casting a vote on an issue) we are indeed accountable to the voters, and our votes should be an accurate reflection of public sentiment. There is no question in my mind that Ms. Fritz is a disciple of the former philosophy. She truly believes that, by God, she was elected by the people, and she will vote any way she chooses; to hell with public sentiment. The perfect examples are the famous Wal-Mart and Home Depot approval votes, where Ms. Fritz cast the deciding vote to allow the big boxes into our city, despite the absolutely overwhelming public sentiment that they be kept out. Rather than stand by the will of the people and protect their health, safety, and welfare (and actually have some backbone by standing up to the developer's interests), the Arrogant One doomed our city landscape forever and ordered the tombstone for many local businesses. Thanks, Carol, we all appreciate your great responsiveness to our call. So much for "my only agenda is the people's business." With an agenda like that, we could do without an agenda. (The sickening part of the Home Depot/Wal-Mart votes is that hundreds of citizens who jammed into council chambers those nights to express their strong and overwhelming feelings of opposition to the big boxes walked away with feelings of helplessness and despair ... you just can't fight city hall. Our collective voice means nothing. How tragic. My God, how tragic.) In any case, the last words I heard from Carol Fritz were several weeks ago when she literally threatened to "bury you and Steve Brown" (her actual words) if either of us released to the public any of her gutter-talking e-mails. Don't worry, Carol, I have too much respect for my fellow citizens to embarrass them or you in that manner. So you can put your hate shovel away, and sleep a little easier knowing your foulmouthed correspondence is safe with us. Oh, and one last thing. Remember the famous "If You Don't Vote, You Don't Count" debacle that Mayor Lenox took so much grief over a couple of years ago? Well, Ms. Fritz just happens to subscribe to the same philosophy because she implied to Ann Monihan in writing that her opinions were inconsequential because Ann was not registered to vote. What the Arrogant One didn't realize is that Monihan is Ann's maiden and professional name. She is indeed registered to vote under her married name, Ann Blaum. I guess Carol need not ask Ann permission to place a campaign sign in her yard. The purpose of this letter is to cut through the "my only agenda is the people's business" psycho-babble and simply to expose the facts so you can make an informed decision in the voting booth. My comments are clearly not any kind of personal attack on Carol Fritz, as I have referenced only Ms. Fritz's public record here. I'm sure she is a good wife, mother, and grandmother. It's simply the case that she does not deserve to be reelected, plain and simple. Council Post 4 will have four candidates on the ballot on Nov. 6. Carol Fritz is one of those candidates. It will be very difficult for any one candidate to win 51 percent of the vote on that day, so a runoff election is virtually assured. I urge you to vote on Nov. 6 and in the runoff election, if necessary, on Nov. 20. There are three other candidates from whom to choose in the Post 4 race. Let's be certain we are represented by someone who actually represents us. On Tuesday, Nov. 6, in the Post 4 City Council race, I urge you to vote ABC Anybody But Carol. Dan Tennant Peachtree City Councilman DanTennant@aol.com
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